Rights guide
Audiobook rights in plain language
Audiobook rights are the right to turn a book into a recording and to copy, sell or broadcast that recording. In US law, a sound recording is one of the listed forms of a "derivative work", and preparing derivative works, reproducing a work and distributing copies are exclusive rights of the copyright owner (17 U.S.C. §§ 101 and 106). Most countries work the same way in outline.
So is it legal to make an audiobook? Yes, when you hold the audiobook rights, when the text is in the public domain where you publish, or when the rights holder says yes. This page is general information, not legal advice: for a contract question or a dispute, talk to a lawyer in your country.
Who owns audiobook rights: author, publisher or both
The author starts out owning everything, including audio. A publishing contract then licenses some of it away. The Authors Guild's model trade book contract recommends that authors try to keep audio rights and sell them separately, notes that publishers are increasingly demanding them, and suggests that unused audio rights revert to the author after a term, ideally one or two years after publication.
AI narration has entered contracts too. The Guild's model clauses say a publisher shall not have the work narrated by AI or another non-human narrator without the author's prior written consent. If you signed with a publisher, the audio rights may sit with them even though the book is yours.
Your own book: check the audio clause before you produce
Self-published with no rights deals? You hold the audiobook rights and can produce, sell or give away an audio edition, AI-narrated or not. Traditionally published or agented? Read the grant of rights for words like "audio", "audiobook" or "sound recording", and check whether a reversion clause has returned unused rights to you. If the publisher holds audio and hasn't used it, ask in writing whether they'd license it back.
Public domain: what's free to record, and what isn't
On January 1, 2026, works published in 1930 entered the US public domain, according to Duke's Center for the Study of the Public Domain, so in the US anything published before 1931 is free to record. The UK counts 70 years from the author's death instead (gov.uk), as do many other countries, which makes some books free in one country and protected in another.
What isn't free: a modern translation, a new introduction, notes and illustrations carry their own copyright. Record the original text, or a translation that is itself public domain. Stores add their own rules: Google Play Books no longer accepts public domain material except from select partners, and Voices by INaudio doesn't accept it at all. The public domain audiobook maker walks through sources and casting.
Someone else's book: permission, licences and personal listening
Can I make an audiobook of someone else's book? To share or sell it, only with a licence from whoever holds the audio rights, usually the publisher. Owning a copy of the book doesn't include audio rights. Do you need permission to record an audiobook you'll keep private? That's less clear: the US Copyright Office says courts evaluate fair use "on a case-by-case basis", and there's no formula.
Some countries have narrower, clearer exceptions. The UK lets a disabled person, or someone acting for them, make an accessible copy of a work they lawfully have, for their personal use (Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, section 31A). FullCastBook works only with DRM-free files and never removes copy protection.
Fanfiction and podfic etiquette
AO3's Terms of Service FAQ says podfics and translations of someone else's work "can be posted only if you have permission from the copyright owner". A blanket permission statement on the author's profile counts if you meet its conditions; no reply means no permission, and deleted, orphaned or anonymous works still belong to their creators. Tell the author up front that the voices are AI. More in fanfiction to audiobook.
YouTube and podcasts: why uploads get taken down
Are audiobooks on YouTube legal? Your own book, a public domain text or a licensed one, yes. Anything else risks a takedown: YouTube removes content when a valid copyright request arrives, the channel gets a strike, and channels with three strikes in 90 days are subject to termination. Its monetization rules also exclude content that only features readings of material you didn't create. See how to make an audiobook on YouTube.
A short permission request you can send
Keep it specific and get the answer in writing. For example: "Hi [name], I'd love to make an audio version of [title] with AI voices, a narrator plus a voice for each character. I'd post it free on [where], credit you with a link to the original, and take it down whenever you ask. Would that be OK? If your publisher holds the audio rights, could you point me to the right person?"
Change "post it free" honestly if you plan to sell, and say how you'd share income. Once you have a yes, production is the easy part: upload the text to the AI audiobook generator, cast the voices and export.
