Delivery and stores
Which stores accept an AI-narrated audiobook, what the mastered release contains, how it is measured, and the files each store wants.
Stage ④ Release turns the recording into what stores accept.
Where you can sell an AI-narrated audiobook
AI narration is welcome in fewer places than books are. As of September 2026:
| Store | Takes AI narration? | What it asks for |
|---|---|---|
| Google Play Books | Yes | A disclosure in the description. Files named ISBN_1of12.mp3… |
| Kobo Writing Life (Kobo, Walmart, Indigo, Bol) | Yes | The narrator credited as Female / Male Synthesized Voice. MP3s under 200 MB. |
| PublishDrive (Apple Books, OverDrive, Storytel, Spotify…) | Yes | The AI voice named as a contributor, and a disclosure in the description. |
| Author's Republic (about 50 channels) | Yes — not every channel | Files under 119 minutes, credits as their own files, a 2400 × 2400 cover. |
| Selling direct (BookFunnel, Payhip…) | Yes | An M4B, or the chapter MP3s. |
| Spotify for Authors | Check first | It names some AI providers “and more”; confirm with Spotify before relying on it. |
| Audible / ACX | No | Human narration only. The AI route to Audible is Amazon's own Virtual Voice, made from your Kindle eBook. |
| Voices by INaudio (formerly Findaway), Draft2Digital audio | No | AI narration only from three approved vendors. |
Each store in the Studio links its source and the date it was checked. Store policies change — check the store's own rules before you upload.
Pick your stores
Tick the stores you will sell on. For each one the Studio shows the narrator credit and disclosure line to type, the steps, and — once built — its files, named the way it wants them.
Build the release
Build the release masters the whole book. It needs every passage in the reading plan recorded; if one is not, it says how many and takes you to them.
What you get:
- Opening and closing credits as their own files.
- One file per chapter, split at a passage boundary if a chapter runs past 115 minutes. Front and back matter get their own files.
- A retail sample of a few minutes that opens on the story, never on a heading.
- An M4B — one file with chapter markers, for direct sales and listeners.
- metadata.json — what each file is, the narrator credit, the disclosure and the measurements.
It is free: the passages were paid for when you recorded them.
Mastered, and measured
Every file is mastered to the audiobook spec the stores share — 44.1 kHz mono MP3 at 192 kbps, −20 dB RMS, peaks under −3 dB, with room tone at each end — and then measured. The Studio shows each file's figures and whether it meets the spec. Nothing shows a pass without a measurement behind it.
The disclosure is built in: the opening credits say the narrator is an AI voice, and every file's tags say it too.
What to watch for
- You need a square cover (2400–3000 px, no border) for every store. The Cover Studio does not make one yet; upload your own.
- An audiobook ISBN is separate from your ebook's. PublishDrive, Author's Republic and Kobo can give you one free; Google Play can issue its own ID.
- Download links last an hour. Build again for fresh ones — the files are kept.