Kindle Unlimited payout pool tops $5 billion this month
October payouts alone are set to run around $66 million, Mark Williams noted, as YouTube separately moves toward audiobooks.
Kindle Unlimited's payout pot is set to surpass $5 billion after October payouts, Mark Williams noted, with this month's payout alone expected to be around $66 million, according to the ALLi Self-Publishing Advice Center. A November 2022 Amazon piece, marking KDP Select's December 2011 launch, had put total payouts at $2.2 billion at that point, meaning the past four years have brought in well over double the payout total of the program's first eleven years.
Separately, YouTube has announced it is looking to enter the audiobook market, according to the outlet. The report notes there are already many audiobooks on the platform, and that Jane Friedman has commented that some indie authors have reported significant ad revenue from having their books on the site. The outlet also notes YouTube is known in literary circles for the prevalence of narrations of books of what it called questionable provenance.
Sit with that doubling for a second: $2.2 billion took KDP Select its first eleven years, and the next four years more than doubled it. That's not a fad curve, that's a mature income stream, and if you're not in Kindle Unlimited you should know exactly why not. Meanwhile YouTube circling audiobooks is worth a watch, not a leap — some indie authors have reported solid ad revenue there already, but the platform is also known for narrations of questionable provenance, so read any opportunity there carefully before you post a thing.
From the Coral Wire edition of Sun, Oct 25 2026 · Coral Index 38/100 (Headwinds)