Over 40 percent of Dutch authors earn no revenue from audiobook sales

According to a new survey among 700 members of the Authors’ Guild and the Lira Foundation, about 42 percent of writers and translators receive nothing at all from their publishers for audiobooks offered on commercial platforms, NOS reports.

The news comes about a year after it was revealed that the late poet laureate Lieke Marsman was paid just over 8.5 cents per completed listen after she received Fluster's prize for best audiobook of 2025. Now, authors and translators who do receive payment say the amount is “very low,” which they find shocking, according to NOS.

Apart from the low payments, some authors and translotors report that they often do not know where their work is offered or what it yields.

The Dutch market is estimated at about 50 million euros, with the revenue having grown by a third last year.

The spokesperson for the Authors’ Guild told NOS she does not believe that publishers are squeezing authors but questioned the business model behind the commercial audio platforms. According to the spokesperson, the publishers should be more transparent about the deals they strike with streaming services.

“On a book you buy in a store and keep on your nightstand, the writer earns a fixed percentage of around 2 euros,” explained Martijn David from the publishers’ association. “That is not how it works with streaming services. They pay, for example, according to the number of minutes or hours the book is listened to.”

In January, Fluister, part of DPG Media, told NOS that the fees publishers get are in line with the market, but it would not explain how the payments are counted.