Audiobooks have surged in popularity making them an important source of exposure for many authors. You have taken the time to write an incredible book, so of course, you want to get it out to as many people as possible. An audiobook opens you up to a whole new world of listeners who may not have discovered your work otherwise.
With the number of audiobook readers projected to reach 1.8bn by 2029, this is simply an opportunity you cannot miss. Now you might be wondering how you can make this happen. To tap into the audiobook market, you will need a publisher or production company to help create your audiobook.
Production Companies vs Traditional Publishers
You might be wondering about the difference between a production company and a traditional publisher. Well, that is a good question. We will outline some of the details of each so you can decide what is best for you.
A production company will create the audio version of your book in exchange for a price. The fee structure will vary depending on the company. The author will have a say in the creative direction and retain the rights and profits to their book.
On the other hand, we have a traditional publishing company. In this case, the publisher is purchasing the rights to your book with an upfront payment called an advance. In this case, you are selling the rights and profits to your book. The publisher will earn all the money from sales minus a royalty that the author will get paid. In this case, you also lose any control over the creative direction.
Below, we will cover the top 17 best audiobook production companies and publishers you can choose from.
1) Jony Studios
Jony Studios specializes in audiobook production services tailored for authors seeking to convert their books into audiobooks. With a focus on B2B podcasting and audiobook solutions, they have collaborated with industry leaders such as Amazon, Penguin Random House, and Brilliance Audio.
Their streamlined remote workflow ensures a seamless production process, delivering high-quality audiobooks that resonate with a global audience. For authors and leaders looking to enhance their reach through audio, Jony Studios offers professional expertise and a proven track record in the field. They manage the entire audiobook process, from production and distribution to content marketing.
2) Blackstone Publishing
Blackstone Publishing is an independent publishing house with over 30,000 titles. They have multiple New York Times bestsellers, Grammy Award-winning audio productions, and books placed on the New York Times Best Books of the Year list.
They feature a wide variety of authors and genres with some notable names including Gabriel García Márquez, Ayn Rand, Ian Fleming, George Orwell, Robert Heinlein, James Clavel, and many more. To publish with Blackstone, you must go through a literary agent.
3) Recorded Books
Recorded Books is RBMedia’s flagship audio brand with titles spanning romance, business, comedy, mystery, classics, etc. RB Media has an extensive distribution network including every leading digital retailer allowing for great reach for all its titles. They also have key partnerships with library and school platforms. Their titles, narrated by award-winning actors, include works by Danielle Steel, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jenny Han, Jeff Kinney, and many more.
4) Audible
Audible as you may know is the leading retailer for audiobooks. They do sell audiobooks but they also act as a publisher and producer. In the way a traditional publisher acts, Audible will buy the rights to books and produce the audiobooks. They also have a production marketplace known as Audiobook Creation Exchange which helps to connect authors with narrators and producers rather than doing the publishing themselves.
With ACX, authors will go through an entire process of auditioning producers until they work out their terms either a per-finished-hour rate or a royalty-share program. The audiobook will be recorded, adjustments will be made until a final product is produced and distribution methods will be decided.
5) Brilliance Publishing
Brilliance Publishing is a subsidiary of Amazon that acquires the rights to books and produces an in-house recording which will be released as an audiobook. The works they feature span many genres including entertainment, business, faith, classics, romance, crime, politics, etc.
6) Naxos Audiobooks
Naxos has been around for 30 years and was founded with the purpose of providing classic literature. The label began with key works including Homer, Shakespeare, Austen, Dickens, and more.
They developed a strong reputation with classical actors such as Juliet Stevenson, Kenneth Branagh, Anton Lesser, and more. Naxos has won several Audie Awards, AudioFile Earphones Awards and The Times Audiobook of the Week.
7) Macmillan Audio
If you know anything about the publishing space, you know there is a Big 5 for traditional publishers. Macmillan is one of those Big 5 publishers. They publish a wide variety of books from adult fiction and non-fiction to children’s books.
Macmillan uses authors, celebrity readers, and professional actors or artists as their narrators including Meryl Streep as a notable figure. With any of the Big 5, you need to work through a literary agent to publish with them.
8) Deyan Audio
Deyan has grown into the largest independent producer of audiobooks with over 30 years of experience. They have 12 Grammy Nominations and 5 wins in the category of spoken word. They also have 35 Audie Awards, 5 Odyssey Awards, 2 Benjamin Franklin Awards, and 18 SOVAS Awards. Deyan does not operate as a traditional publisher but rather produces audiobooks for a per-finished-hour rate.
9) Mosaic Audio
Mosaic is an award-winning, full-service audiobook studio in Los Angeles. Their narrators include authors, celebrities, and the top narrators in the business. They provide casting services, VIP studios, engineered recordings and much more. They typically record books for traditional publishers.
10) John Marshall Media
John Marshall Media is a production company that works with major publishers including HarperCollins, Pearson, Penguin Random House, Hachette Books, Blackstone Publishing, and much more. They have over 25 years of experience, 5 Grammy Awards, 50+ Audie Awards, and much more. They have 21 studios in 2 countries and over 1000 narrators and voice actors. They’ve worked with notable figures such as Meryl Streep, Cameron Diaz, 50 Cent, and many others.
11) Oasis Audio
Oasis is a leading publisher of inspirational and family-friendly audiobooks for adults and children. Their works include kid books, romance, growth, classics, biographies, and more. With Oasis, you benefit from an established production company that has a boutique studio feel. Their focus is to produce titles that will encourage growth in their listeners.
12) Simon & Schuster Audio
Another Big 5 publisher is Simon & Schuster. They publish books that represent many perspectives to stimulate readers’ curiosity including fiction, nonfiction, business, self-improvement, language, inspiration, etc. They have won 5 Grammy Awards and received 26 nominations.
13) Penguin Random House Audio
Penguin Random House is also part of the Big 5 publishers. They have nearly 20,000 titles from fiction to non-fiction books. They have received 19 Grammy Awards, 111 Audie Awards, and 28 Odyssey Awards and Honours. Some of their bestselling authors include Michelle Obama, Brene Brown, Celeste Ng, and much more.
14) HarperCollins
HarperCollins Audio is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing and produces audio versions of their frontlist and backlist books. They have many award-winning books and is part of the Big 5 publishing companies. They are considered a traditional publisher meaning you would not retain full rights to your book as we mentioned earlier.
15) Dreamscape Media
Dreamscape is an award-winning independent publisher and multimedia studio with over 7000 audiobooks and 2000 video titles in its catalog. They feature bestselling audiobooks, children’s educational videos, prominent independent authors, and more.
They have 25 Audie Award wins and nominations and 100s of titles have hit bestseller lists. Dreamscape distributes their titles primarily through traditional retail outlets with a prominent relationship with Hoopla Digital, a library digital platform.
16) Hachette Audio
Hachette is another member of the Big 5. They have won 3 of the 5 Grammy Nominations for spoken word productions in 2014. They have been recognized with over 200 Audie Ward nominations with 47 wins, 24 Grammy nominations with 9 wins, and over 60 Listen Up! Awards from Publishers Weekly, and over 150 Earphone Awards from AudioFile Magazine. They feature a wide variety of books from children’s books to cooking to fiction to thrillers and much more.
17) Harlequin
Harlequin is known around the world as being the best romance publisher. Their works include fiction and narrative non-fiction targeted to women. Harlequin is a division of HarperCollins Publishers. They are a well-recognized name with many award-winning New York Times and USA Today best-selling authors.
Conclusion
Now, this is an extensive list of publishers and production companies. How do you choose what’s best for you? It’s important you lay out your goals and decide on the right fit. Would you rather retain more control and creative direction or have a publisher buy out the rights and take care of production for you? Every author will have their own preference. Producing a great audiobook is key to gaining exposure for your work. So, take the time and find the best fit for your book.
Written by Kaitlin Duong
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Jony Studios is a client-focused media production studio offering audio/video production, B2B podcasting, and audiobook services. They have worked with a wide range of clients from small businesses to larger organizations such as Penguin Random House, Amazon, University of Waterloo, Freakonomics Radio and many others.
