Greenlight Audio — Short tutorials

"Explore audiobooks from Greenlight. Create a free account to listen to the first chapter of any audiobook. For authors, audiobook production is part of Greenlight Studio, by application."

Before you start

• The site is www.greenlight-audio.com. The top bar links to "Listen" (the catalogue), "Narrators", "For authors" and "News", with a "Sign in" button on the right.
• You can browse the catalogue without an account. A free account listens to the first chapter of any audiobook (and the next one too, when the first is short). Members hear every chapter of every audiobook. Sign-in is with Google only.
• The membership is Greenlight Unlimited: $5.99 a month or $49.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial for new members, once per person. It also opens every book on Greenlight Publishing. There is no free plan. The pricing page also lists the Greenlight Film plans (Film Reader $49 a month and Film Producer $349 a month, each including Unlimited; Film Buyer by arrangement) and, for creators, Greenlight Studio (Studio $199 a month, Studio Pro $499 a month), by application. See T15.
• The player sits at the bottom of every page and keeps playing while you move around the site.
• Each title identifies its narrator. The narrators are digital voices; the voice library groups them by tier (Premium, Standard) and marks retired catalogue voices as Archive.
• For authors: audiobook production with digital voices, self-publishing an audiobook you recorded yourself, and translation are part of Greenlight Studio, a membership from Greenlight Production, by application (T21, T22).
• Sister sites: greenlight.film (film) and greenlight-publishing.com (books). One account works across all three.

T1Get your bearings on the home page

1. The headline reads "Every story sounds like something." Under it are two buttons: "Listen to the catalogue" (goes to /catalogue) and "For authors" (goes to /for-authors).
2. Below the buttons, a strip of four numbers appears: "Audiobooks", "Narrator voices", "Hours of audio" and "Genres". All four are read live from the catalogue.
3. Scroll to "What we do": "Listening", "Production" and "Distribution". Production is part of Greenlight Studio, by application.
4. "How it works" shows four steps for authors: "Apply", "Send", "Narrate", "Publish". "Apply to Greenlight Studio" opens the application; "How production works" goes to /produce.
5. At the very bottom, "New audiobooks, in your inbox." has an email box. This is the same newsletter as /newsletter.

T2Browse and filter the catalogue

1. The header reads "Catalogue — Explore audiobooks, find a story and view its listening options." with live totals: "Audiobooks", "Listening hours" and "Genres".
2. "Editor's Picks" shows the three highest-rated titles. It hides as soon as you search or pick a genre.
3. Use the two icons at top right ("Grid view", "List view") to switch layouts.
4. The "Sort:" row offers "Discover", "Newest", "Top Rated", "Longest" and "A→Z". "Discover" is a random order that changes on reload.
5. The "Voice:" row filters by "All", "Premium", "Standard" or "Automated". When new titles exist, a green "NEW" toggle appears under "Show:" with a count; the badge lasts 30 days.
6. The genre chips start with "All genres". Click any genre to narrow the grid.
7. Sixty titles show at a time. Click "Load more"; the caption reads "Showing 60 of 417".
8. Filters are written into the page address, so a filtered view can be shared or bookmarked.

T3Search for a title, author, genre or label

1. The search box is in the sticky bar under the header. Its placeholder reads "Search title, author, genre or label...".
2. Type any part of a title, author name, narrator name, genre or label. Matching is not case-sensitive and updates as you type.
3. A "label" is a themed grouping such as a playlist theme. If you arrive from a label chip on a book page, the active label appears above the voice filter as an orange pill with an "×"; click it to clear that label (its tooltip reads "Clear label filter").
4. Search and the genre chips combine: pick a genre first, then type to narrow further.
5. The "Editor's Picks" row disappears while a search is active so results start at the top.

T4Hear a sample

1. Samples play from each audiobook's own page, not from the grid: the public catalogue list carries no audio. Click a cover or title to open the book page.
2. With a free account, press "Listen to a sample" under the cover (T6). The mini player opens along the bottom of the page and starts playing.
3. A play button on a grid card (tooltip "Listen to a sample", or a green "Sample" tag in list view) appears only where the card itself carries audio; its tooltip changes to "Pause sample" while it plays.
4. Only one thing plays at a time; starting another track replaces the first.

T5Read an audiobook's page

1. The breadcrumb reads "Catalogue / [Genre] / [Title]". On the right, two arrows labelled "Newer" and "Older" step through the catalogue in date order.
2. The square cover sits on the left. Under it is the main button, which depends on your situation: signed out, "Create a free account" (with "Create a free account to listen to the first chapter of any audiobook."); with a free account, "Listen to a sample"; as a member, "Listen now" or "Resume chapter N". Members also see "✓ Every chapter is yours to hear". Where the book is on Greenlight Publishing, "Read the ePub" sits below.
3. On the right: the genre pill, the title, an italic subtitle if there is one, "Written by [author]", and a row with running time, chapter count and language.
4. Two cards follow: "Written by" and "Narrated by". The narrator card shows the voice tier, for example "Premium Voice · [voice name]". Clicking either card searches the catalogue for that name.
5. Further down: a "Share" bar, a stats strip, optional "Labels" chips, the "Synopsis" with a "Read more" toggle, the chapter list, and "You might also enjoy".

T6Listen to the first chapter with a free account

1. Sign in (T7). Under the cover, click "Listen to a sample". The sample is the audio of the first real chapter, plus the next one when the first is short. The box beneath reads "Your free account includes the first chapter of this audiobook. Members hear every chapter." with "Become a member →".
2. On desktop, an embedded player also appears beside the description, headed "Sample · First chapter" and "Narrated by [narrator]". Its orange button plays and pauses; the small buttons skip "Back 15 seconds" and "Forward 30 seconds"; the speed button cycles 0.75× to 2×; a volume slider and "Mute" sit at the right.
3. Click the progress bar to jump. With the bar focused, the left and right arrow keys move five seconds; Home and End jump to the start or end.
4. In the chapter list, "Play the sample" plays the sample chapters. Other chapters are locked: clicking one shows "This chapter is for members. Your free account includes the first chapter of this audiobook." with "Become a member".

T7Sign in with Google

1. Click "Sign in" in the top bar, or any "Create a free account" button. The sign-in card carries the Greenlight name and one button.
2. Click "Sign in with Google". This is the only sign-in method; there is no password form. Signing in for the first time creates your free account.
3. Approve the Google prompt. You return to the page you came from; if you came straight to /signin, you land on your dashboard (/dashboard).
4. Once signed in, the "Sign in" button becomes your avatar. Click it for a menu: "Dashboard", "Listening playlists", "Submit audiobook", "Audiobook production", "Subscription & plans", "Newsletter", links to the sister sites, and "Sign out". Admins also see "Admin".
5. Press Escape or click elsewhere to close the menu.

T8Listen to every chapter as a member

1. Become a member on the pricing page (T15). There are no monthly credits and nothing to unlock: a membership plays every chapter of every audiobook.
2. On any book page the main button reads "Listen now", or "Resume chapter N" if you have started. "✓ Every chapter is yours to hear" sits beneath it.
3. "Play all" above the chapter list loads the whole book; click any chapter to start there.
4. A free account hears the sample chapters only (T6); the other chapters ask you to "Become a member".

T9Use the player

1. The mini player shows the cover, title and narrator. Click the title to open the book page.
2. Controls: "Back 15 seconds", the orange "Play"/"Pause" button, and "Forward 30 seconds". With a whole book loaded, "Previous chapter" and "Next chapter" appear on wider screens, with a counter such as "3/12".
3. The thin orange line along the top is the progress bar. Click it to jump; with it focused, use the arrow keys (5 seconds), Home and End.
4. The speed button shows "1×" and cycles through 0.75×, 1×, 1.25×, 1.5× and 2×.
5. On phones, tap "Expand player" for the full-screen sheet with a scrubber, "Chapter 3 of 12" and a "Speed" row. "Collapse player" or Escape closes it.
6. Chapters play on automatically. "Previous chapter" restarts the current one if you are more than three seconds in.
7. Lock-screen and headset buttons drive the same player. "Close player" (the ×) stops playback and saves your place.

T10Resume where you left off

1. While you listen, your position is saved in this browser every five seconds. Signed-in listeners also have their chapter and position saved to their account every fifteen seconds, and immediately on pause, close or chapter change.
2. Open the book page again. If you are past chapter one or more than ten seconds in, a member's main button reads "Resume chapter N". Click it to continue from your saved position.
3. In the chapter list, finished chapters show a green tick, and the current chapter shows a small progress bar and the tag "In progress".
4. On your dashboard, "Recent listening" shows your most recent titles with their saved chapter progress. Click a cover to return to it.
5. Saved positions within ten seconds of the end are ignored, so a finished chapter replays from the start.

T11Share an audiobook

1. Below the narrator card, find the row labelled "Share".
2. The buttons are "Share on X", "Share on Facebook", "Share on WhatsApp", "Share on Telegram", "Share on LinkedIn", "Share on Reddit", "Share by email" and "Copy link".
3. "Copy link" changes to "Copied!" for a moment and puts the book's address on your clipboard.
4. The shared text reads: Listen to "[Title]" on Greenlight Audio. Links unfurl with the cover, title and author.
5. Book pages are indexed by search engines, except unlisted titles, which open from the link but are hidden from search.

T12Meet the narrators

1. The header reads "Narrators" with a line such as "N voices across N languages. Explore the voices, browse their titles and hear the available samples." Every narrator here is a digital voice.
2. A strip shows "Voices", "Books narrated", "Hours of audio" and "Languages".
3. "Voice tiers" offers three clickable cards: "Premium", "Standard" and "Archive", marked "retired" ("Earlier catalogue narration. This tier is retired."). Each is a tier of digital voices. Click a card to filter the roster to that tier; click again to clear.
4. "Most prolific narrator" features the top Premium voice. Below it, search "Search narrators by name..." and sort by "Most books", "Most hours" or "A→Z". "Filter by language" chips follow.
5. Each roster card shows the name, tier, hours and titles (or "Newly cast" for a voice without a book yet), languages and up to two genres. Click a card for the narrator's page (T14).

T13Audition voices in the Voice Library

1. Scroll past the roster to "Voice Library". The heading reads "Premium Voices" by default.
2. Under "Category", choose "Premium Voices", "Standard Voices" or "Automated Narration". The intro line changes, for example "N standard narration voices. Choose a voice to hear a sample." or "N automated narration voices. Cost-effective, consistent…".
3. Narrow with "Tier" (when more than one exists), "Gender" ("Male", "Female", "Non-binary") and "Language".
4. Each card shows the voice name, badges such as "FEATURED", "LOW COST" or "STANDARD", a one-line description, gender, accent, age, a "best for" line and language tags.
5. Click a card to play its sample; click again to stop. Starting a voice sample pauses the main player so two streams never overlap.
6. Studio members can note a voice name to discuss for their production (T21).

T14Read a narrator's page

1. The breadcrumb reads "Narrators / [Name]". A portrait fills the left column; when no photo exists you see the narrator's initials instead.
2. "Audiography stats" lists "Books", "Total hours" and "Languages".
3. The right column shows the name, language tags, a bio when one exists, and chips for voice type and accent.
4. A summary line reads "[Name] has narrated N audiobooks for Greenlight Audio, totalling N hours of finished audio across N languages."
5. "Audiography" lists "Books narrated by [First name]" as covers with running time and genre. Click any cover to open the book.

T15Choose a membership

1. The page is headed "Plans and pricing": "Greenlight Unlimited for listening and reading, Film plans for the industry, and Studio plans by application." It has three sections: "Read & listen", "Industry access" and "Studio, by application". There is no free plan.
2. "Read & listen" holds Greenlight Unlimited. Choose "Monthly" ($5.99) or "Yearly" ($49.99, which shows how much less it is than twelve monthly payments). It lists "Full access to every audiobook on Greenlight Audio", "Full access to every book on Greenlight Publishing", listening and reading on the web and in the Greenlight app for iPhone and iPad, and your place saved to your account.
3. Signed out, the card says "7-day free trial for new members" and the button reads "Sign in to subscribe". Signed in and new to Greenlight, it reads "Your first 7 days are free" and "Start your free trial"; otherwise "Subscribe for $5.99 a month" (or the yearly price). The small print explains the card, the trial and billing; checkout runs on Stripe.
4. Not ready to join? The line under the card, "Create a free account to listen to the first chapter of any audiobook", signs you in instead.
5. "Industry access" lists "Film Reader" ($49 a month) and "Film Producer" ($349 a month), each including Greenlight Unlimited and billed by Greenlight Film, and "Film Buyer" by arrangement ("Contact us"). "Studio, by application" lists "Studio" ($199 a month or $1,990 a year) and "Studio Pro" ($499 a month or $4,990 a year), with "Apply for Studio" and "Apply for Studio Pro"; there is no checkout.
6. As a member, the Unlimited card shows your membership and how it is billed, with a button to open billing settings.

T16Manage your account

1. The dashboard greets you with "Find your next listen, return to a recent title, or manage your account." Four tiles follow: "Recent titles", "Playlists", "Your plan" and "Newsletter"; each jumps to its section.
2. "Recent listening" shows the titles you have started (T10). With none, it reads "Start your listening shelf" with a "Browse catalogue" button.
3. "Your playlists" is next (T17).
4. "Subscription & billing" shows your membership: its name, price and how it is billed. A free account sees what Greenlight Unlimited covers, with "Start your free trial" (when the trial applies) or "Join Unlimited". Members see "Manage membership" (or "Manage your plan" for a Film or Studio plan), which opens Stripe's billing settings: "Update your card, see invoices or cancel in billing settings." A membership bought in the iPhone or iPad app is managed in your Apple ID settings.
5. "Newsletter topics" lets you tick "New audiobooks", "Books" and "Film projects". Subscribers see "Subscribed as [email] — toggle topics to update your preferences." and "Unsubscribe from all →", which asks "Unsubscribe from the greenlight newsletter?".
6. "Profile" lists "Name", "Email" and "Member since", with a "Sign out" button.

T17Create a listening playlist

1. Open the avatar menu and click "Listening playlists", or scroll to "Your playlists" on your dashboard.
2. Type a name (up to 80 characters) in the box labelled "New playlist name…" and click "New playlist". The button reads "Creating…" while it saves.
3. The playlist appears as a card with its name and "0 audiobooks".
4. With no playlists, the section reads "No playlists yet — name one above to start collecting audiobooks."

T18Subscribe to the newsletter

1. The page heading reads "Stay in the loop." with "One email per release, no fluff, unsubscribe any time."
2. Under "Topics", tick any of "Audiobooks", "Books" and "Film projects". "Audiobooks" is ticked by default. At least one topic must stay ticked or the button is disabled.
3. Type your address in the box ("you@example.com") and click "Subscribe". It reads "Subscribing..." meanwhile.
4. You then see "Almost there." and "Check [email] and click the confirmation link to start receiving updates for your selected topics." Nothing is sent until you confirm.
5. Subscribing again with the same address merges your topics and resends the confirmation if you never confirmed.
6. Signed-in members can also manage topics on their dashboard (T16).

T19Unsubscribe from the newsletter

1. Open the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any Greenlight email. It carries your address and a signed token, and the page works only through that link.
2. The page shows "Unsubscribing [email]…" and then "Unsubscribed." with "[email] has been removed."
3. To come back, click "Re-subscribe", which goes to /newsletter.
4. Signed-in members can instead use "Unsubscribe from all →" on their dashboard.

T20Read the news

1. The page reads "News — New audiobooks, distribution updates and news from Greenlight Audio." A "Subscribe RSS" button links to /feed.xml.
2. Search with "Search articles..." and filter by "All", "Announcement", "Industry", "Product" or "Guide"; each chip shows a count.
3. "Pinned" articles appear first in a wide card. Other articles appear two per row with category, date and author.
4. The sidebar lists "Recent" articles and a compact newsletter box ("One email per release.").
5. Open an article. It shows tags, the title, "By [author]" and the date, then the body. At the end, a "Share" row offers "Share on Twitter", "Share on LinkedIn" and "Copy link". "Back to News" returns to the list.

T21Learn how audiobook production works

1. The page is headed "Audiobook production": production is part of Greenlight Studio, by application. Studio members send a manuscript, and it is narrated with digital voices, mastered and published on Greenlight Audio.
2. "What Greenlight Studio covers on Greenlight Audio" lists "Digital narration", "Your own recording", "Translation" and "Distribution".
3. Under "Greenlight Studio, by application": Studio and Studio Pro are memberships from Greenlight Production; you apply first, and there is no checkout. "Apply to Greenlight Studio" opens the application at greenlight-production.com, and "See membership prices" opens the Studio section of the pricing page (T15).
4. Already a Studio member? "Submit an audiobook from your account" opens your submissions (T22).
5. "Before you apply" answers who Greenlight Studio is for, who narrates (digital voices, listed on the Narrators page, or your own recording) and what it costs.
6. The For authors page (/for-authors, in the top bar) gathers the same doors: "Apply to Greenlight Studio", "Audiobook production", "Distribution", "Submit an audiobook" and "Listener memberships".

T22Check whether you can self-publish

1. Open the avatar menu and click "Submit audiobook". The page reads "Your submissions" under "Self-publishing".
2. The intro explains: "Submit a self-narrated audiobook (or pre-recorded chapters) and a publisher will review, assign an audio ISBN, and put it in the catalogue. Greenlight Studio members can submit one audiobook per calendar month."
3. Studio and Studio Pro members see "+ Start a new submission" and a counter such as "0/1 submissions this month".
4. Everyone else sees "Apply for Greenlight Studio →" and a box headed "Self-publishing is part of Greenlight Studio": "Self-publishing an audiobook is part of Greenlight Studio, by application. Greenlight Unlimited covers listening and reading only.", with "Apply on greenlight-production.com →".
5. Past submissions are listed with a status pill: "Draft", "Submitted", "Your review", "In admin queue", "Admin review", "Approved", "Published" or "Declined". Click a row for detail (T24).
6. "How it works" at the foot ends: "Your audiobook lives on greenlight-audio.com under your pen name."

T23Upload a self-narrated audiobook

1. The page reads "New audiobook — Upload your chapters as MP3, M4A, or WAV files. Each chapter as a separate file — order them after upload."
2. Fill "Title" (required), "Subtitle", "Pen name" (required), "Narrator name" ("Leave blank if same as author"), "Genre", "Back-cover blurb" (required; the counter reads "N / min 50 chars") and "About you".
3. Under "Cover art" ("Optional · 5 MB max · square works best"), click "Upload cover image".
4. Under "Chapter audio files" ("MP3 / M4A / WAV — 200 MB per file · 30 min total minimum"), click "Upload chapter files" and select several at once. Use "↑", "↓" and "×" to reorder or remove rows. OGG and AAC are accepted too.
5. At 30 minutes total, "Submit audiobook" becomes active. It steps through "Creating submission…", "Saving chapter list…", "Linking cover…" and "Submitting…", then shows "Submission received" and opens the status page.

T24Follow your submission through review

1. The page shows your cover, title, "by [pen name]", genre, chapter count and length, then a status card with a hint.
2. Straight after submitting, the status is "Your review": "Listen back to your chapters and approve to send to the publisher queue." An "Audit" box reports "Structural checks passed…" and that automated content audit "is not yet enabled".
3. Under "Chapters", each file has a small audio control. Listen through, then in "Your next step" click "Approve for publishing →". The status becomes "In admin queue" ("Awaiting publisher.").
4. A publisher then claims it ("Admin review"), reserves an audio ISBN and publishes it ("Published — Live on greenlight-audio.com."). Your narrator page appears once an admin verifies the name.
5. If declined, the status reads "Declined" with a "Reason" box.
6. "Withdraw this submission" asks "Permanently remove this submission? This deletes the uploaded audio." Confirm with "Withdraw". Unavailable once published.

T25See where our audiobooks are listed

1. The heading reads "Where our audiobooks are listed." Greenlight audiobooks are published on Greenlight Audio and distributed on Spotify. Other stores decide title by title what they accept, so the page promises no store, territory or date; when a title is listed somewhere new, its page links there.
2. "Live on Spotify" is a real shelf: "Not a promise — a shelf. N Greenlight audiobooks are live on Spotify right now. Tap any cover to listen." Sort by "Title", "Author" or "Newest"; click "Show all N" to expand. Each cover opens Spotify.
3. "How distribution works" sets out three steps: "Files and details", "Submission" and "Listing".
4. At the foot: "Distribution is part of Greenlight Studio." "Apply to Greenlight Studio" opens the application; "Ask about an existing audiobook" goes to /contact.

T26Contact Greenlight Audio

1. The page reads "Contact — For questions about listening, Greenlight Studio and audiobook production, distribution, or the press."
2. Fill "Name", "Email", choose a "Subject" ("General question", "Greenlight Studio and production", "Distribution question" or "Press / media") and write your "Message" (at least 10 characters).
3. Click "Send message" ("Sending…" while it goes). You see "Message received." and "We reply by email, to the address you gave."
4. Below the form: "Greenlight Studio" links to the application at greenlight-production.com; "Production questions" lists produce@greenlight-audio.com and "General" hello@greenlight-audio.com.

T27Learn about Greenlight Audio

1. The About page sets out what Greenlight Audio is: its mission, the live catalogue counts, how listeners and authors use the site, its principles, where titles can be heard, and the sister companies.
2. "Sister companies" links greenlight.film and greenlight-publishing.com.
3. For plans the page points to Pricing (T15); for production, to For authors and Production (T21); for where titles are live, to Distribution (T25).

T28Connect an assistant to the catalogue

1. The page reads "Connect your assistant to the Greenlight Audio catalogue." The server name is "greenlight" and the endpoint is shown with a "Copy" button ("Copied!" after clicking).
2. "What you can do with audiobooks": browse and search (Free tier), chapter lists and durations (Starter), streamable chapter audio (Growth).
3. "Connect your host" gives instructions for Claude Code, claude.ai ("Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector"), ChatGPT and VS Code / Cursor.
4. "Authentication & tiers": sign in with your Greenlight account through OAuth, or create an API key at greenlight.film/api-docs. The table lists rate limits: Free "10 req/hour", Starter "100 req/hour", Growth "1,000 req/hour", Enterprise "10,000 req/hour".
5. "Example: from prompt to playback" walks through "Find a French-language Greenlight audiobook and queue up chapter one."
6. "Full API & tool reference" and plans live on greenlight.film.

Glossary

• Free account — signing in with Google, at no cost. It is not a plan: it hears the sample of every audiobook.
• Sample — the audio of an audiobook's first real chapter, plus the next one when the first is short. Where that chapter has no audio yet, a shorter clip labelled "Sample" plays instead.
• Member — anyone with Greenlight Unlimited, a Film plan or a Greenlight Studio membership. Members hear every chapter; there are no monthly credits.
• Greenlight Unlimited — the listening and reading membership: $5.99 a month or $49.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial for new members, once per person. It covers this site and Greenlight Publishing.
• Film Reader / Film Producer / Film Buyer — the Greenlight Film plans, as this site's pricing page names them; each includes Greenlight Unlimited.
• Greenlight Studio — the creator memberships, Studio and Studio Pro, from Greenlight Production, by application: audiobook production with digital voices, self-publishing and translation.
• Premium / Standard / Archive — tiers of digital voices on books and in the Voice Library. Archive marks retired catalogue voices.
• Label — a themed grouping chip on a book page that filters the catalogue.
• NEW — badge on titles published within the last 30 days.
• Newer / Older — the arrows on a book page; they follow publication date.
• Submission — a self-narrated audiobook sent through /account/submit. Statuses: Draft, Submitted, Your review, In admin queue, Admin review, Approved, Published, Declined.
• Pen name — the author name printed on a self-published title.
• ISBN — the identifier a publisher assigns before a submission goes live.
• MCP — Model Context Protocol; the way connected assistants read the catalogue.
• Double opt-in — newsletter sign-ups send nothing until you click the confirmation email.

Coverage