Full guide
How to publish an audiobook on Spotify: the essentials
Learning how to publish an audiobook on Spotify starts with Spotify for Authors, Spotify's free dashboard for authors and publishers. As of October 2026, its help center says uploading is free, there's no limit on how many audiobooks you upload, distribution is non-exclusive, and you keep full ownership of your audiobook and its rights. Audiobooks uploaded there reach Spotify listeners in 22 countries.
Spotify also accepts audiobooks with digital voice narration, as long as you say so. This guide starts from finished audio, such as chapter files exported from the FullCastBook AI audiobook generator, and covers the specs, the upload, the disclosure and what happens after launch.
Before you upload: files and specs
Spotify's support page asks for MP3, WAV or FLAC audio and a square PNG or JPEG cover, 3,000 by 3,000 pixels recommended. Its metadata and assets guide adds the detail: MP3 at 192 kbps or higher (constant bitrate preferred, 44.1 kHz), one file per chapter, no file over 120 minutes, RMS between -24 and -14 dB, and a noise floor under -60 dB. FullCastBook's MP3 export is 192 kbps constant bitrate, which matches the MP3 bitrate in both Spotify for Authors' and ACX's specs (ACX still doesn't accept AI narration unless authorized), and the ZIP export gives you one MP3 per chapter. Check each file's length and levels before you upload.
Credits are separate files. Opening credits name the title, author and narrator, and closing credits signal the end, for example with "The End". The simplest way is to add both as short chapters at the start and end of your manuscript before you generate. Add a retail sample of up to five minutes with no music, credits or explicit content, or Spotify will cut one from a chapter.
Decide on an ISBN now. Spotify doesn't require one and doesn't assign one, but its guide says a 13-digit audiobook ISBN is needed for distribution to retail partners such as Apple and Google, and that print or eBook ISBNs can't be reused for audio.
How to upload an audiobook to Spotify, step by step
To start a Spotify for Authors audiobook, log in at authors.spotify.com and click + Upload audiobook. Enter the details (title, series, description, contributors, language, territories, categories and keywords), then add the audio files and the price. You must complete your payment profile before you can publish.
After you submit, the title shows briefly in Drafts, may vanish from your catalog while it's processed, and, according to Spotify, becomes available to listeners within three business days. If it's marked Incomplete, look for missing artwork or audio.
Chapter files and metadata
Upload chapters in reading order; you can drag files into place, and Spotify generates chapter names you can edit. The guide suggests naming files like {ISBN}_{track number}.mp3, opening each chapter with a spoken heading, and splitting any chapter over two hours as "Chapter X, continued".
Keep the description under 2,000 characters, unique to this book and free of prices. Contributor fields take names only, and generic names such as "Narrator 1" aren't accepted. Spotify's guide doesn't define a narrator credit for digital voices, so credit honestly and let the disclosure below do the rest.
AI narration disclosure
If the audiobook uses AI voices, select "This audiobook uses digital voice narration" during upload. Spotify adds a short sentence to the description telling listeners, and names Google Play Books, ElevenLabs "and more" among accepted providers. If you later replace the AI version with human narration, untick the box and the sentence is removed.
One trade-off: Spotify doesn't share digitally narrated audiobooks with its referral partner, Voices by INaudio, so its wide-distribution switch won't apply. INaudio accepts AI titles only as packages from Google Play Books, ElevenLabs or Spoken Press, and Audible's ACX requires human narration unless authorized, as covered in does Audible accept AI narration. Kobo Writing Life takes AI-narrated uploads directly.
After launch: pricing and promotion
You set a suggested retail price in US dollars. Under Spotify's distribution terms, last updated May 4, 2026, you earn 50% of that suggested price on à la carte sales, plus a pro-rata share of a pool for subscriber listening. Spotify's guide suggests $15 to $25 for a book of 6 to 10 hours and $25 to $40 above 20 hours.
Once it's live, fill in your author profile, use promo cards and audience insights in Spotify for Authors, and link the Spotify page from your newsletter and website. Still need the audio? The manuscript to audiobook guide goes from draft to chapter files, and the FAQ answers common questions.
