Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Creative Act

  • A Way of Being
  • By: Rick Rubin
  • Narrated by: Rick Rubin
  • Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (531 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Creative Act cover art

The Creative Act

By: Rick Rubin
Narrated by: Rick Rubin
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £28.00

Buy Now for £28.00

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

12 Notes cover art
The Steal Like an Artist Audio Trilogy cover art
Find Your Artistic Voice cover art
The War of Art cover art
Creative Quest cover art
Art & Fear cover art
Music Habits cover art
A New Earth cover art
The Secret cover art
The Power of Choice cover art
The Movie of Me to the Movie of We cover art
Do the Work cover art
The Creative Formula cover art
The Mind Is the Map: Awareness Is the Compass, and Emotional Intelligence Is the Key to Living Mindfully from the Heart cover art
The Big Ü cover art
Spirit Paths cover art

Summary

2024 GRAMMY NOMINEE FOR BEST AUDIOBOOK 

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 

SHORTLISTED FOR THE FOYLES NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023  

Many famed music producers are known for a particular sound that has its day and then ages out. Rick Rubin is known for something else: creating a space where artists of all different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer. He has made a practice of helping people transcend their self-imposed expectations in order to reconnect with a state of innocence from which the surprising becomes inevitable.  

Over the years, as he has thought deeply about where creativity comes from and where it doesn't, he has learned that being an artist isn't about your specific output; it's about your relationship to the world. Creativity has a place in everyone's life, and everyone can make that place larger. In fact, there are few more important responsibilities.    

The Creative Act is a beautiful and generous course of study that illuminates the path of the artist as a road we all can follow. It distils the wisdom gleaned from a lifetime's work into a luminous reading experience that puts the power to create moments - and lifetimes - of exhilaration and transcendence within closer reach for all of us.

©2023 Rick Rubin (P)2023 Canongate Books

Critic reviews

"You'll probably read this extraordinary book four times. The first time, you'll gobble it up. The second time, you'll savour it. The third time, you'll take notes in the margins. But the fourth time, the fourth time it will be part of you as you create the work you were ready to ship." (Seth Godin)

What listeners say about The Creative Act

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    445
  • 4 Stars
    54
  • 3 Stars
    17
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    401
  • 4 Stars
    29
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    363
  • 4 Stars
    53
  • 3 Stars
    16
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    8

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Inspiring and a game changer to kick start my book writing!

Rick nails the creative process here for me. He’s made it possible for me to pick up my pen again without the sense of overwhelm but with limitless possibilities to play, create and write in the stream of consciousness and know and trust the tug of direction.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Eye Opener

Very well written with some very interesting views on being a creative, I really do see myself reading this book over and over again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful

listen to it, buy the book first yourself & every creative you know. It is pure beauty for the creative soul.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Inspiring stories

Lovely to listen to. Uplifting, inspirational and motivational. Teaching you to listen out for inspiration, to trust yourself and the process.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great format

Love the format, short lessons to think about. A lot of life lessons that don't necessarily only apply to art.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • CC
  • 21-03-24

Amazing. Essential handbook

Essential for any creative to understand the process, let go, find joy, and make great art.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Inspirational

Packed with amazing revelations for anyone who is or has ever struggled to create not just art but anything

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not just for creatives!

This is a brilliantly written insight into our creative nature. It is a guidebook for creating life as a masterpiece.
Something I will listen to again and again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

my favourite book

this book is pure gold!!! the delivery is excellent and the content is amazing! its a must read!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very useful for artists of all types.

Great viewpoint on art and creativity. This book is worth coming back to for more inspiration and helpful insights into the mind of creative people.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!