October 12th 2023

It is with sadness that I am announcing the closure of the Audiobook Creators Alliance.  After 4 years of trying to keep the ACA alive on my own, I can no longer justify the cost or time. It has been apparent for some time that there simply is no call for an organisation such as the ACA in the UK. Narrators have voted with their money, time and interest and mostly joined PANA (a US focused organisation for narrators only), and good luck to them. Sadly this means the ACA’s aim to bring narrators/performers together with UK technical staff has been a failure. We had some early successes with fees increases and credits, and I am very proud of what we achieved. During COVID we produced some incredible videos in the ABCs of Audiobooks web series.

I continue to speak with BECTU and others to try to find a voice for the technical side of audiobook production, but I am downhearted by my failure to bring all audiobook creatives together under one banner. The hope was that we could support each other and work together to get better fees, rights, recognition, etc…

So, thanks to those few who stepped in to help in the early days, and to those of you who gave me personal support over the years. Thanks must go to LADBROKE AUDIO who have been the sole financial backers of the ACA.

I hope that in 2024 BECTU, Equity, PANA and other organisations will see the inherent value of supporting the technical people of this industry, and not only the ‘talent’. The encroachment of home studios, AI and platform specs that are destroying the fidelity of our artform, all put increasing pressure on the technical talent. We need to redress the balance, and ensure that when we talk about narrators and author’s rights, we include technical talent in the conversation.

Good luck to everyone, thank you for being members of the ACA, The site will close on the 20th October 2023.

Neil Gardner, Founder