Author's Republic vs Voices by INaudio: Which Audiobook Distributor Should You Use in 2027?

If you've decided to take your audiobook wide, you'll end up choosing between two names: Author's Republic and Voices by INaudio, which most authors still know as Findaway Voices.

On paper they look almost identical. Both are free to join. Both pay you 80% of what they receive. Neither asks for exclusivity. Both reach Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play, Spotify and library apps.

If you're planning a 2027 release, does it matter which one you pick? A little. The differences are in the details: how many stores each one reaches, how Spotify sales are handled, and, if your audiobook is AI-narrated, which stores will actually take it. This guide covers those details.

If you haven't decided between Audible exclusive and going wide yet, start with  Audible Exclusive vs Wide . For every platform you can publish on, see  How to Publish an Audiobook .

The short answer

Choose Voices by INaudio if Spotify, libraries and Chirp promotions are central to your plan, or if your audiobook is AI-narrated. It doesn't take a fee on Spotify sales, and it accepts approved AI narration.

Choose Author's Republic if you want the widest possible list of stores, including smaller international and streaming platforms, and your audiobook is human-narrated.

If neither of those decides it, pick the one whose dashboard you find easier to use. You'll be logging into it for years.

Side by side

Distributor terms change. Check the current royalty rate, channel list and AI policy on each site before you sign up.

What happened to Findaway Voices?

Findaway started in 2004, launched Findaway Voices for indie authors in 2016, and was bought by Spotify in 2022. For a while it ran as "Findaway Voices by Spotify."

In August 2025, Findaway's co-founders bought the business back and relaunched it as INaudio. The service authors use is now called Voices by INaudio. If you see an older guide, including some of ours, mention Findaway Voices, it means this service.

Spotify still runs its own direct upload portal, Spotify for Authors, separately. More on how that affects your choice below.

Royalties: the same headline, different details

Both distributors pay you 80% of what they receive from each store. That's after the store takes its own share.

Here's how that works on a sale. Say your audiobook is listed at $20 on a store that pays distributors 50%. The store sends $10 to your distributor. The distributor keeps $2 and you get $8.

The main exception is Spotify. Voices by INaudio doesn't take its fee on Spotify sales. If Spotify is where most of your listeners are, that difference adds up.

The other thing to know is that neither distributor controls what each store pays or whether a store discounts your book. Apple and Google Play, for example, can run their own price promotions. You set the list price. The stores decide what happens after that.

Library income works differently from retail. Libraries buy licenses or pay per borrow, and both distributors set library pricing separately from retail. For more on how that money works, read  how to get your audiobook into libraries .

Reach: 30+ stores vs 50+

Author's Republic lists more channels. On the surface, more stores sounds better.

In practice, most indie audiobook income comes from a handful of places: Audible (if you're non-exclusive), Spotify, Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo and the big library apps. Both distributors reach all of those. The extra channels Author's Republic adds are mostly smaller international and streaming platforms.

Those extra stores can matter if you publish in languages other than English, or if your genre does well somewhere specific. For most English-language authors, the difference in reach is smaller than the numbers suggest.

Audible through a distributor

Both distributors can deliver to Audible and Amazon, as long as your audiobook isn't enrolled in ACX exclusive distribution. Voices by INaudio also requires an ebook edition of your book on Amazon.

Some authors use ACX directly for Audible on non-exclusive terms, then use a distributor for everything else. If you do that, deselect Audible in your distributor so you don't end up with two listings.

Remember that Audible doesn't currently accept third-party AI narration, whichever route you use. If your audiobook is AI-narrated, leave Audible off your list. Our guide to  whether ACX accepts AI audiobooks  explains the current rules.

Spotify: distributor or direct?

You can reach Spotify two ways:

1. Through your distributor. Simple, and with Voices by INaudio there's no distribution fee on Spotify sales.
2. Directly, through Spotify for Authors. You set your own price and get 50% of each individual sale, plus a pooled rate from Premium listening.

Spotify for Authors also lets you share your catalog with Voices by INaudio from the same upload, which makes the two work well together.

Whichever you choose, use only one route to Spotify. Read  how to upload an audiobook on Spotify  for the direct process.

AI-narrated audiobooks

This is where the two distributors differ most.

Voices by INaudio accepts human-narrated, author-narrated and approved AI-narrated audiobooks. It's one of the most practical ways to publish an AI audiobook widely.

Author's Republic takes AI-narrated titles only through a limited test program, under its own naming guidelines. Even when it accepts an AI-narrated book, not every store or library in its network will carry it. You'll likely reach fewer channels than with a human-narrated title.

So if your audiobook is AI-narrated, Voices by INaudio is usually the safer choice. Whichever you choose, disclose the AI narration clearly in your metadata, and check both the distributor's policy and each store's policy before you publish. Our free  Where to Publish AI-Narrated Audiobooks workbook  lists which platforms take which kind of narration.

Libraries and Chirp

Both distributors supply OverDrive (which feeds Libby) and Hoopla. Voices by INaudio also lists Bibliotheca, and Author's Republic lists cloudLibrary. If a particular library platform matters to you, check each distributor's current list.

Chirp is BookBub's discount audiobook store. Deals there can bring a big spike in sales. Voices by INaudio lists Chirp as a channel. ACX-exclusive titles can't take part, whichever distributor you use. Read  distributing audiobooks to Kobo, Apple and Chirp  for more.

File requirements

Both distributors check your files before sending them to stores. Specs are close to ACX's:

• MP3 at 192 kbps, constant bit rate
• Average loudness (RMS) around -18 to -23 dB
• Peaks no higher than -3 dB
• Noise floor no higher than -60 dB
• One file per chapter, with a square cover

Author's Republic also accepts WAV files. The free  ACX Compliance Checker  is a quick way to test your files before uploading to either one.

Publishing to most major stores takes two to six weeks after your files are approved. Library platforms can take longer.

Can you use both?

Yes, but carefully. The rule is one distributor per store.

Some authors use Voices by INaudio for its core stores and Spotify, then add Author's Republic only for channels INaudio doesn't reach. That works, as long as you deselect any store that's already covered. Two distributors sending the same book to the same store creates duplicate listings, mismatched prices and slow takedowns.

Keep a simple list for every title: each store, and which route delivers to it.

Which one would we choose?

For most of the indie authors we work with, we'd start with Voices by INaudio. The Spotify fee waiver, the clear AI narration policy and the strong library coverage cover what matters most to a small author.

We'd choose Author's Republic for a human-narrated audiobook when the author specifically wants the smaller international and streaming stores, or prefers its dashboard and reporting.

And if you can't decide, honestly, either is fine. The bigger factors in your income are the narration, the cover, your launch and how you promote the book. A distributor just gets it onto the shelves.

Common questions

Is Findaway Voices the same as Voices by INaudio? Yes. Findaway's co-founders bought the business back from Spotify in August 2025 and relaunched it as INaudio. The author service is now called Voices by INaudio.

How much do Author's Republic and Voices by INaudio pay? Both pay authors 80% of the net royalties they receive from stores. Voices by INaudio doesn't take its fee on Spotify sales.

Which distributor accepts AI-narrated audiobooks? Voices by INaudio accepts approved AI-narrated audiobooks. Author's Republic accepts them only through a limited test program, and not every store in its network carries them. Neither can deliver AI-narrated audiobooks to Audible.

Can I use a distributor and ACX at the same time? Yes, if your ACX title is non-exclusive. Deselect Audible in your distributor so it isn't delivered twice.

Do I need an ISBN? Many stores and library platforms expect one. Check your distributor's current requirements before you upload.

Make the audiobook first

Whichever distributor you choose, it all starts with a finished audiobook. The  Narration Box Audiobook Creator  turns your  EPUB ,  PDF  or Word file into chapter-based AI audiobook narration you can edit paragraph by paragraph, with Enbee V2 voices that are multilingual and multi-accent. Export MP3 or WAV chapters ready for your distributor.

Planning the rest of your launch? Read  how to sell your audiobook directly , or work through the  audiobook launch checklist .

Get started for free  or  view pricing .