Digital File Types Accepted by Google for Sale on Google Play
Google currently supports mp3, wav (with PCM encoding), formats with AAC encoding (such as m4a), and flac. Google accepts 128 kbps or higher, and prefers lossless files if applicable. Additionally, Google prefers constant bitrate (CBR). Where possible, Google recommends that you start and end your audio files with silence. More details are available here.
"List Price" Explained
The "List Price" allows publishers to recommend a price for an audiobook on Google Play. The list price is only a recommended price and may not be the final sale price of the audiobook on Google Play.
Reporting for Purchases of Books on Google Play
Google will make reports on the sales of audiobooks on Google Play available via our Partner Center. These reports will show sale transaction dates, list price at time of sale, revenue share, and ISBN (or similar unique identifier).
Refund Policy
Except as expressly set out in these policies or as required by applicable law, all sales of audiobooks are final, and no returns, replacements or refunds will be permitted. In South Korea, Google will accept refund requests for purchase cancellations that are made within 7 days of sale, as long as the customer has not started listening to the audiobook.
Google will grant a refund request for a purchase at any time if an audiobook on Google Play does not perform as stated, but the determination of whether an audiobook on Google Play performs as stated will be in Google's sole discretion. Google may also consider factors other than the performance of the audiobook on Google Play, such as whether an error was made during the sale and whether the refund request appears to be abusive. When a refund is granted, the sale transaction will be reversed—the user's access to the audiobook on Google Play will be discontinued, the user's money will be recredited, and your account will be debited. (Users may, in some cases, retain limited access to a refunded audiobook on Google Play if they have already downloaded a copy.)
Content Policies
Audiobooks that you sell on Google Play must comply with the applicable Publisher Content Policies for Books on Google Play. For audiobooks containing sexually suggestive content that has no artistic, educational or political purpose (where permitted under local law), you must: i) mark them as mature in your metadata, ii) limit the preview to 0%, and iii) charge a minimum of $1 USD or the local equivalent for these audiobooks.
Buyer Currency
Google may permit you to list Specified Prices for your audiobooks on Google Play, and a user to purchase your audiobooks on Google Play, in a currency different from that of your designated bank account ("User Currency Purchase Transaction"). For any User Currency Purchase Transaction, you will be paid using Google Payments by wire transfer in US dollars or in the currency of your designated bank account, as determined by Google from time to time, based on an exchange rate that will be applied to the purchase amount (denominated in buyer currency) at the time the transaction is submitted. For example, you may price your audiobooks on Google Play in euros (EUR) for a Belgian user and, if your bank account is located in the United States, Google will pay you in US dollars (USD). The exchange rate will be determined by a financial institution utilized by Google to calculate exchange rates, and may be adjusted based on market conditions without notice. If a User Currency Purchase Transaction is subsequently subject to refund, reversal, chargeback or other adjustment, Google will apply the same exchange rate and currency that applied to the original User Currency Purchase Transaction in calculating the refund, reversal, chargeback or other adjustment. Google reserves the right to impose fees on this currency conversion.
Buyers view prices for audiobooks on Google Play in their local currency, USD, or EUR, at the discretion of the Google Play Store in that country. If you can't provide prices in the purchase currency, you may choose to enable currency conversion in the Payment Center of your account. This will allow Google to automatically convert prices provided by you in a base currency into other currencies. (This feature is not available in all accounts.) If you already publish ebooks on Google Play and have enabled currency conversion for ebooks, it will automatically be enabled for your audiobooks, too. More details are available here.
Client Services Agreement
If you are acting as a distributor for audiobooks published by another company, you must enter into a Client Services Agreement with Google. The Client Services Agreement allows you provide Digital Files and to implement settings for the Partner Program and for Google Play for each publisher you represent. Each publisher will also need to have an agreement directly with Google. You can find more information about how to become a Client Service Provider here.