AI audiobooks go direct with 60% royalties

Plus: The Peak Playbook 2025 - 5 lessons to win BFCM

Author

Rafe Houston
September 11, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

Bestseller Brief

Here's what's happening this week in the world of books and media eCommerce:
- AI audiobooks go direct with 60% royalties.
- Shoppers prefer online, but stores still convert.
- Self-publishing margins climb, indie catalogs expand.

Peak isn’t won with a last-minute conversion push. Fospha data proves that the strongest brands plan full-funnel, measure what platforms miss, forecast into channels with headroom, and track daily performance with confidence.

The Peak Playbook 2025 distills five lessons from Fospha data, including how Footasylum unlocked +32% blended revenue YoY last BFCM, so you can enter Peak ready to win.
Swipe through for the highlights.

📌WEEKLY MUST-KNOWS

ElevenLabs launched direct sales on its ElevenReader platform with a 60% royalty on net sales for AI-generated audiobooks and no exclusivity. This resets audiobook economics and opens a direct channel that could fragment distribution while accelerating backlist conversion to audio. Indie authors, small presses and larger publishers evaluating AI narration are directly affected.

PUBLISHING & RETAIL STRATEGY
Self-Publishing Gains Ground in 2025

With traditional publishers accepting only a fraction of submissions, self-publishing is becoming a mainstream path for authors seeking both creative control and stronger margins. Platforms like Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, and Shopify-integrated print-on-demand services now give writers direct access to readers while retaining rights and higher royalties.

For retailers, this shift signals a growing catalog of independent titles, often supported by entrepreneurial marketing strategies that drive direct-to-consumer sales. The opportunity lies in recognizing self-published works as a fast-expanding segment shaping the economics and discoverability of book retail.

Business.com reports 59% of consumers prefer shopping online, yet the majority of U.S. retail sales still occur in stores with eCommerce at 16.4% as of Q4 2024. The split reinforces an omnichannel approach that pairs digital discovery and social commerce with in-person service, returns and events.

⚡QUICK READS

Fall Cookbooks Drive Q4 Gifting: Forbes' fall cookbook slate from marquee chefs is ripe for preorder bundles, influencer features and cookware cross-sells ahead of holiday peaks.(More)

Cinema Book Launches Gain Steam: Newtonville Books' theater-based launch with Hank Phillippi Ryan and Lisa Gardner shows experiential formats that boost signings, local PR and conversion.(More)

ClickZ is a ClickZ Media publication in the DTC eCommerce division