Spotify tries to win indie authors by cutting audiobook fees
Spotify-owned audiobooks seller Findaway will no longer take a 20 percent cut of royalties for titles sold on its DIY Voices platform — so long as the sales are made on Spotify. In a company blog post published on Monday, Findaway said that it would “pass on cost-saving efficiencies” from its integration with the streaming service. Last summer, Spotify finalized its $123 million purchase of Findaway in a bid to cement its position in the audiobooks business.
While it’s free for authors to upload their audiobooks onto Findaway’s Voices platform, the company normally uses an 80/20 pricing structure — where Findaway takes a 20 percent fee on all royalties earned. But that fee comes after sales platforms take their own 50 percent cut on the...