Listening time pays.
On Spotify and other stream platforms, royalties track how long people actually listen. Flat Virtual Voice and Google auto-narration are easy to skip. A produced Lex title keeps ears in the book, which is how those payouts work.
For authors and rights holders
Don't just get listed.
Get people listening.
Amazon Virtual Voice and other AI tools get you the bare minimum. Lex gives you the next format in publishing: the cinematic audiobook.
- Audible
- Spotify
- Google Play
- Kobo
- Apple Books
Why quality is the business case
Platforms pay for listens. Readers pay with loyalty.
A throwaway synthetic read can clear a listing checkbox. It cannot hold a commute. Lex exists so you do not have to choose between price and a listen people finish.
Repeat customers matter more.
Someone who finishes a good listen buys your next book. Someone who bails on synthetic chrome never comes back. Quality is not a vanity metric. It is how you build a catalog audience.
Affordable without sounding cheap.
Amazon Virtual Voice, Google auto-narration, and Kobo's synthetic options trade price for a one-pass robot read locked to their platforms. Lex is the same idea of affordable AI, directed, scored, and mixed so it sounds like a studio book. Custom once. Masters you own. No royalty split.
Lex vs the checkbox tools
Not a virtual voice. A produced audiobook.
Amazon Virtual Voice and Google auto-narration run one automated pass and keep the files on their platform. Kobo has its own synthetic lane. Lex casts a narrator for your book, directs the performance, reviews pronunciation, scores and mixes it, and hands you the masters. On the sample clip, that difference is what makes a browser press play.
The math is just as simple: Custom once, no royalty split, no exclusivity. Google Play pays 52% of list, Kobo 45%, Spotify a direct author share. A few sales a month covers the whole production. Everything after that is yours.
Two moves
Make audio worth finishing. Then put it where people listen.
01
Audio people actually finish.
We cast, direct, score, and mix so the listing does not sound like Virtual Voice. First chapter free, finished in about a day, yours to keep. That is the product listeners judge you on.
02
Then we publish it wide.
The Publisher pack (Custom, once) is production plus done-for-you distribution. Approve the audio and we upload everywhere with disclosure handled. You never create a store account. A five-minute payout link is the only other step, so we can send your royalties.
Concierge publishing
One click from manuscript to storefront.
Buying the pack is the whole publishing decision. Lex is publisher of record on Google Play, Kobo, Spotify, and the aggregator feed; you never create a store account. Rights stay yours. Listings are non-exclusive. Pull any store on 30 days' notice.
- 1
Click once.
Custom, once, covers scored production, a full cast, and publishing on every open store. That click is the whole publishing decision.
- 2
Approve the audio.
Nothing goes live until you have listened. Fix a name, a line, a pace. Then we upload everywhere with disclosure handled.
- 3
Get paid.
Before your first royalty payment, a five-minute secure link collects bank and tax details. Stores pay Lex; we forward 100% of net every month with a per-store statement.
Prefer the keys yourself? Accounts in your name, stores pay you directly. About an hour, once. We still do files, metadata, disclosure, and submission. Either way you keep 100% of net. The Custom is the whole cost.
Verified August 21, 2026
Where a Lex audiobook can sell today.
Audible, Spotify, Google Play, Kobo, Apple Books, libraries, and more. One Publisher pack covers the shelf. Same wide reach as the checkbox tools, without the throwaway listen.
Audible
IncludedPublisher titles go to Audible/Amazon through Author's Republic, with Lex's own publishing path as the second lane. Included with the Publisher pack at no extra charge.
- How
- Via Author's Republic; Lex publisher path also in place.
- Royalty
- Store rates; AR keeps 20% of net on aggregator sales
- Disclosure
- AI Voice flag via AR; Lex publisher path per Audible rules
Google Play Books
IncludedMost AI-friendly major storefront. Same pipeline as human-narrated titles.
- How
- Direct upload via Play Books Partner Center.
- Royalty
- 52% of list
- Disclosure
- Narrator type = "Synthesized voice"
Kobo Writing Life
IncludedExplicitly welcomes AI narration. Strong in Canada; includes Kobo Plus.
- How
- Direct upload via Kobo Writing Life.
- Royalty
- 45% of list (32% below thresholds)
- Disclosure
- "Synthesised voice (male / female / unspecified)"
Spotify
IncludedOpened to AI narration February 2025. Standard review before live.
- How
- Direct upload via Spotify for Authors.
- Royalty
- Direct author share, no aggregator cut
- Disclosure
- Digital voice flag; Spotify prepends the disclosure sentence
Apple Books
IncludedAccepts third-party AI narration via aggregators when disclosed. We submit with disclosure handled and report the outcome.
- How
- Via Author's Republic. No direct indie portal.
- Royalty
- ~52% of list, minus aggregator cut
- Disclosure
- "AI Generated by" role + description
Everand, Storytel, libraries & more
IncludedThe same aggregator upload that covers Apple Books also reaches 19 channels verified for AI-voice titles as of August 2026: Apple, Audiobooks Now, Audiobooks.com, Audioteka, BookBeat, BookMate, Chirp, Everand (formerly Scribd), Globook, Google, Hoopla, Kobo, Libro.FM, Nextory, OverDrive/Libby, Spotify, Storytel, The Audiobook Store, and UBook. Channels that reject AI narration are skipped automatically, and new ones are added as they open.
- How
- One Author's Republic upload, fanned out to every channel that accepts digital-voice titles.
- Royalty
- Varies; aggregator keeps 20% of net
- Disclosure
- "AI Voice = Yes" + engine at upload; AR prepends its disclosure line
Lex Premium catalog
IncludedAll-you-can-listen catalog, opt-in only, no exclusivity. Removable anytime.
- How
- Optional with the Publisher pack; listed only if you opt in.
- Royalty
- Bonus discovery on top of 100% retail royalties elsewhere
- Disclosure
- Handled by Lex
Direct sales (BookFunnel, Shopify, Payhip)
IncludedHighest margin. Commercial license covers it from day one.
- How
- Your own site or storefront.
- Royalty
- 90%+ after payment processing
- Disclosure
- Your call; we recommend disclosing
The DIY playbook
Prefer to do it yourself? Here's how.
- 1
Go direct where royalties are highest.
Upload straight to Google Play Books (52%), Kobo Writing Life (45%), and Spotify for Authors. Each takes about fifteen minutes and accepts AI narration with a metadata flag.
- 2
Use one aggregator for everything else.
Author's Republic gets you Apple Books, Everand, Storytel, and the library systems in a single upload, flagged as digital voice narration. It keeps 20% of net on those channels; your direct stores are untouched.
- 3
Sell direct to your readers.
BookFunnel or Shopify on your own site at 90%+ margin, and your mailing list hears the book first. Your Lex commercial license already covers it.
- 4
Disclose the narration everywhere.
Every platform that accepts AI narration asks for the flag, and listeners reward honesty. Hiding it is the only way to actually get in trouble.
Affordable AI. Studio listen. Wide shelves.
Hear the first chapter free. Or skip ahead and publish.