Spoken Realms
Spoken Realms is a privately-held audiobook and podcast production company, founded in 2017 in Easthampton, MA, that connects indie authors and small presses with a vetted marketplace of 300+ narrators and offers in-house SAG-AFTRA production plus distribution services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersEasthampton, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Spoken Realms does
Spoken Realms is a privately-held audiobook and podcast production and distribution company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Easthampton, Massachusetts. The company operates a hybrid marketplace-plus-studio model that connects independent authors and small presses with a vetted network of professional narrators, proofers, engineers, and directors, while also providing in-house audiobook production staffed by SAG-AFTRA union actors. Its core platform components are an in-house production workflow, a "Find Your Narrator" marketplace featuring more than 300 pre-approved storytellers across Australian, British, Irish, North American, Scottish, and South Asian accent regions, and ancillary services covering multi-voice / full-cast audio production, public-domain audiobook production, and audiobook distribution to retail channels. The company publicly markets itself as an alternative to ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange), the dominant indie audiobook platform.
The business model is professional-services and marketplace facilitation rather than subscription SaaS. Authors contact narrators directly through the platform, negotiate terms bilaterally — Royalty Share, Per Finished Hour, or a combination — and the narrator takes the project through Spoken Realms' production and distribution system. Spoken Realms does not appear to charge a disclosed platform fee, subscription, or fixed take rate in the available material; revenue mechanics center on production coordination, engineering, and distribution services. Beyond commissioned audiobooks, the company produces original podcast IP including "Yet Another Dating App" (YADA) and "Serving the Story," and maintains a catalog of public-domain audiobook titles such as Walden, Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, The Great Gatsby, and works by H.G. Wells and Mark Twain.
Customer acquisition runs on organic channels — X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and content marketing through the company website — with no paid acquisition, sales team, or enterprise pipeline disclosed. No funding rounds, investors, revenue figures, headcount, ownership structure, or named management team are disclosed in the available source material, which represents a material information gap for any investor or acquirer diligence. The company appears to operate globally given its narrator-accent coverage and distribution claims, but no operating geographies or employee locations beyond Easthampton are explicitly listed.
Spoken Realms firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Spoken Realms
- Legal name
- Spoken Realms
- Website
- https://spokenrealms.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Spoken Realms is a privately-held audiobook and podcast production company, founded in 2017 in Easthampton, MA, that connects indie authors and small presses with a vetted marketplace of 300+ narrators and offers in-house SAG-AFTRA production plus distribution services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Spoken Realms industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Audiobook Production Services
- NAICS
- Sound Recording Industries (5122), Other Sound Recording Industries (512290), Sound Recording Studios (51224)
- SIC
- Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Audiobook Production & Studios (Narration, Recording, Editing, Mastering) (MPAJAIAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Audiobook Self-Publishing & Production Services (Narration, Studio, ACX-style) (MPAJAJAJ), Audio Production & Podcasting (BPAFAIAE)
Keywords
Where Spoken Realms is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Easthampton
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Spoken Realms business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Audiobook Production Services: Spoken Realms facilitates audiobook production connecting authors with narrators. Revenue appears to come from production coordination, engineering, and distribution services. Authors and narrators negotiate Royalty Share, Per Finished Hour rate, or combination arrangements.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Spoken Realms product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Spoken Realms operates an audiobook and podcast production platform that connects indie authors and small presses directly with a vetted network of professional narrators, proofers, engineers, and directors. The company provides in-house audiobook production using SAG-AFTRA actors, multi-voiced and full-cast audio productions, original podcast production, and audiobook distribution services. Authors negotiate flexible arrangements with narrators — Royalty Share, Per Finished Hour, or a combination — and the narrator runs production through Spoken Realms' system for distribution.
Product overview
Spoken Realms is an audiobook and podcast production company offering a platform connecting indie authors and small presses with professional narrators for audiobook and podcast production. The core offerings include Original Podcast Production, In-House Audiobook Production with SAG-AFTRA actors, and a Find Your Narrator(s) marketplace featuring over 300 vetted narrators. Additional services include Multi-Voiced Audio productions (dual, duet, full cast), Distribution Options, and Public Domain Audiobook titles. The company positions itself as an ACX Alternative, providing flexible arrangements including Royalty Share, Per Finished Hour rates, or combinations thereof, with no additional costs beyond the author-narrator agreement.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- YADA: A podcast series about a small tech startup releasing an AI-powered dating app.
- Serving the Story
Products and services
- Original Podcast Production
- In-House Audiobook Production
- Find Your Audiobook Narrator(s)
- Multi-Voiced Audio (Dual, Duet, Full Cast)
- Distribution Options
- Public Domain Audiobooks
Companies that use Spoken Realms
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Spoken Realms technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Spoken Realms partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- SAG-AFTRAcoreSpoken Realms works exclusively with talented, professional actors who are members of SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) for all in-house narration work. SAG-AFTRA is a labor union representing actors, broadcasters, and other media professionals.
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Spoken Realms competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Penguin Random House Audio: Major publisher audiobook division producing high-volume, A-list-narrator audiobooks for trade distribution. Competes for top author projects and retail shelf space rather than indie self-publishers.
- Tantor Audio: Long-running audiobook publisher producing across genres for retail and library markets. Comparable production services with broader commercial reach than Spoken Realms.
- Recorded Books: Established audiobook publisher and producer distributing across library, retail, and digital channels. Adjacent competitor with broader catalog and institutional distribution.
- Audible Studios: Amazon-owned audiobook producer and distributor with proprietary studios, celebrity narration, and the dominant retail storefront. Competes at scale across all audiobook production tiers.
Emerging players
- Voices.com: Online marketplace for voice-over talent across audiobooks, commercials, and corporate narration. Comparable two-sided narrator marketplace model with broader use cases than audiobook-specific.
Direct peers
- ListenUp Audiobooks: Audiobook production house serving indie authors with casting, narration, and distribution services. Directly comparable service offering and target customer to Spoken Realms.
- Findaway Voices: Indie audiobook production and distribution platform offering narrator matching, royalty share, and broad retail distribution. Now owned by Spotify, it competes head-to-head with Spoken Realms' marketplace-plus-distribution model.
- Podium Audio: Audiobook production company focused on indie and mid-list authors, producing narrated audiobooks for sale through retail and library channels. Comparable business model of producing audiobooks on behalf of independent authors.
- ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange): Audible/Amazon-owned marketplace that connects indie authors with narrators for royalty-share and per-finished-hour audiobook production. Most direct competitor; Spoken Realms explicitly positions itself as an "ACX Alternative."
- Brick Shop Audio: Audiobook narrator-owned production company offering indie author production services with experienced narrators. Overlaps with Spoken Realms' vetted-narrator marketplace approach.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Spoken Realms social profiles
Digital presenceSpoken Realms financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Spoken Realms leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Spoken Realms funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Spoken Realms M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Spoken Realms
What does Spoken Realms do?
Spoken Realms operates an audiobook and podcast production platform that connects indie authors and small presses directly with a vetted network of professional narrators, proofers, engineers, and directors. The company provides in-house audiobook production using SAG-AFTRA actors, multi-voiced and full-cast audio productions, original podcast production, and audiobook distribution services. Authors negotiate flexible arrangements with narrators — Royalty Share, Per Finished Hour, or a combination — and the narrator runs production through Spoken Realms' system for distribution.
Is Spoken Realms a public or private company?
Spoken Realms is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Spoken Realms founded?
Spoken Realms was founded in 2017.
Where is Spoken Realms based?
Spoken Realms is headquartered in Easthampton, United States, in the North America region.
How does Spoken Realms make money?
One revenue line is on record: audiobook Production Services.
Who are Spoken Realms's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Penguin Random House Audio, Tantor Audio, Recorded Books and Audible Studios. Voices.com is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are ListenUp Audiobooks, Findaway Voices, Podium Audio, ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange) and Brick Shop Audio.
Does Spoken Realms have an API?
No public API is recorded for Spoken Realms.
What industry is Spoken Realms in?
Spoken Realms's product category is Audiobook Production Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAIAB, Audiobook Production & Studios (Narration, Recording, Editing, Mastering), with a secondary code of MPAJAJAJ, Audiobook Self-Publishing & Production Services (Narration, Studio, ACX-style). Its NAICS code is 5122 and its SIC code is 2731.