Who usually holds the audio rights, case by case
The usual position in each situation. Your own contract or local law can change it, so treat the last column as your to do list.
| Situation | Who usually holds the audio rights | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Self-published, no audio deal | You, the author | Any exclusive term you accepted from a platform or distributor |
| Traditionally published | Often the publisher, sometimes the author | The audio or subsidiary rights clause, and any reversion terms |
| Audio rights licensed to an audio publisher | The licensee, for the agreed term | Term, territory, formats and when rights come back |
| Co-written or illustrated book | Shared between the creators | Your agreement with the co-author or illustrator |
| Public domain work | No one; anyone may record it | The exact edition or translation you are using |
| Someone else’s book in copyright | The author or their publisher | A written license before you publish or share anything |
| Fanfiction | You hold your words; the original creator holds the world | Fandom norms and the original creator’s stated policy |
How audio rights work in a publishing contract
Audio is a subsidiary right. Publishing contracts list the formats the publisher may exploit: print, ebook, audio, translation, film. Some name audio explicitly, some cover it through broad wording such as “all formats now known or later developed”. If audio is granted to the publisher, you cannot produce your own audiobook of that book, even if the publisher never makes one.
Look for reversion terms. Many contracts return a right to the author if it is not used within a set period, or after a written request. Authors with a backlist sometimes recover audio rights this way and produce the audiobooks themselves. Your agent, if you have one, can check and make the request.
Newer contracts may mention AI narration. Some agreements now address synthetic or digitally narrated audio, either reserving it, forbidding it without consent or treating it as a separate format. Read that clause carefully if it exists, and ask before assuming silence means permission.
Exclusive distribution is not ownership. Choosing an exclusive deal with one audiobook platform, often in exchange for a higher royalty, does not transfer your copyright. It does limit where you may sell the audio for the term of the deal, so check that term before signing up anywhere else.
Public domain books: free to record, with a few traps
In the United States, at the time of writing, books published in 1930 or earlier are in the public domain, and a new year of works joins each January. Some later US books are public domain too because their copyright was never renewed, but confirming that takes research. Many other countries, including the UK and the EU, use the author’s lifetime plus 70 years instead. A book can therefore be free in one country and protected in another, which matters because audiobook stores sell across borders and let you set territories.
Translations have their own copyright. Tolstoy is public domain; a translation of Tolstoy published in 1995 is not. Use a translation that is itself out of copyright, such as many early twentieth century translations of the classics.
So do new additions. Modern introductions, footnotes, illustrations and abridgments in a new edition are protected even when the original text is not. Record from a plain public domain text. When the source is Project Gutenberg, remove its license header and footer before publishing; the importer sets that license text aside automatically. The public domain audiobooks page and the Shakespeare audiobook page show finished examples.
Someone else’s book: private listening versus sharing
Turning a DRM-free copy of a book you own into audio purely for your own ears is a different matter from distributing it, and in many places it carries little practical risk. The law still varies by country, so do not treat this as a guarantee. AI Audiobooks does not remove DRM, and removing it may itself be unlawful where you live.
The moment the audio leaves your own devices, it is distribution. Posting it on YouTube, in a podcast feed, on a free website, in a group chat or a Discord server all count, whether or not you charge for it, and all need permission from the rights holder.
Accessibility exceptions exist, such as the Marrakesh Treaty and national laws that let authorized organizations make accessible copies for people with print disabilities. They generally cover those organizations and their users, not individuals publishing audio online.
How to ask for permission to record a book
- 1
Find who holds the audio rights
Start with the copyright page, then the publisher’s rights or permissions department, or the author’s agent. For self-published authors, contact the author directly.
- 2
Make a short, specific request
Name the book, the format, where the audio will appear, whether it is paid or free, and that the narration uses AI voices if it does.
- 3
Agree the terms
A license usually sets the term, the territory, exclusivity, the payment (a flat fee or a royalty) and whether the rights holder approves the finished audio.
- 4
Get it in writing and keep it
An email reply is better than nothing for a free, personal project. Anything commercial deserves a signed license. Store it with the project files.
Fanfiction, podfic and fan audio
Fanfiction mixes your own words with characters and worlds that belong to someone else. Fan communities have long run on a non-commercial understanding: share for free, credit everyone, never sell. Audio versions, called podfic, follow the same norms plus one more: ask the fic author before recording their work. Many writers on AO3 state a blanket permission for podfic in their profile.
Recording your own fic is the simplest case. You still keep it free, and you respect any policy the original creator has published about fan works. The fanfiction to audiobook and AO3 to audiobook pages cover the practical side.
Audiobook rights when the narrator is an AI voice
The rights question does not change with the narrator. You need the audio rights to the text, whether a person, a full cast or an AI voice reads it. If you make AI audiobooks on this site, the audio you generate from text you hold the rights to is yours. Only the lines you generate are sent to the speech model, and manuscripts are not used to train AI models.
Two things can differ. An existing audio license may specify human narration, so check the wording before using it for AI audio. And store rules on AI narration are separate from copyright: at the time of writing, ACX does not accept AI narration uploaded by authors, while Google Play Books, Kobo and several distributors accept disclosed AI narration under their own rules. See where to sell AI audiobooks and check each store’s current policy.
When to get professional advice
Talk to a lawyer or your agent before signing an audio deal, when a contract clause is unclear, when a book’s public domain status depends on renewal records or on the country, before selling a translation, and whenever you receive a takedown notice or a rights claim.
