RSSIs text-to-speech on Kindle 2 a threat to audiobooks?
By Tim Conneally | Published February 13, 2009, 12:57 PM
Yesterday, the Author's Guild aired complaints about the Kindle 2's new onboard text-to-speech function from predictive text specialists Nuance Communications, warning that the function could eventually cut into the audiobook market.
The group said, "This presents a significant challenge to the publishing industry. Audiobooks surpassed $1 billion in sales in 2007; e-book sales are just a small fraction of that. While the audio quality of the Kindle 2, judging from Amazon's promotional materials, is best described as serviceable, it's far better than the text-to-speech audio of just a few years ago. We expect this software to improve rapidly."
A statement from the group asks authors to be aware of audio functionality clauses in contracts for e-book rights, saying "Publishers certainly could contractually prohibit Amazon from adding audio functionality to its e-books without authorization, and Amazon could comply by adding a software tag that would prohibit its machine from creating an audio version of a book unless Amazon has acquired the appropriate rights. Until this issue is worked out, Amazon may be undermining your audio market as it exploits your e-books."
The Author's Guild, however, does not take into account accessibility issues presented to the vision-impaired. It says in the statement that "even out-loud reading by a machine is fine, of course, if it's from an authorized audio copy." This means the visually handicapped are only allowed to consume literature preordained to be read aloud? That sounds like an issue for human rights advocates.
Furthermore, it is safe to say that no automated voice, no matter how indistinguishable from a human's, will ever replace the famous actors that are often hired to dictate audiobooks. As a ravenous consumer of audiobooks, and easily excited tech geek by trade, I would be the first to abandon the amateur recordings found on librivox.org for a slick automated voice. However, nothing could replace a well-chosen voice actor, like Peter Weller for a reading of Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf, or comedian Steven Fry for the Harry Potter series, or when authors read their own works, adding an additional layer of depth to the text.
Text-to-speech is not a threat, it's an alternate route.
Here is a link to an OP-Ed piece in the NYTimes. I put it out here not as an advocate of one side or the other but to elevate discussion on how we incorporate new technology into our lives and how we might find some middle ground between extreme views. I'll keep my views on the article and the person to myself.
http://www.nytimes.com/2...nion/25blount.html?_r=1
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|"And while were at it I want to complain that not only is text to speech a violation but I think a teacher should pay for every student that she has in a class for reading our stuff out loud. As well as parents should pay extra to read to there children!"
Greedy bas****s..... its the same thing.
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|A few million years ago another type of dinosaur happened to look up from his daily, tiny brained activities and chanced a look at the horizon. There he saw a bright flash of light that frightened him greatly! He whipped out his cell phone to call his lawyer... only to realize that the lawyers hadn't climbed down out of the trees yet. Shortly thereafter the dinosaur and all his friends became extinct. Enjoy.
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|This doesn't make any sense at all. Even if the Kindle 2 was a threat to audiobooks, so what. The VHS format was a threat to video reels, the color TV was a threat to B&W TV, MP3 players are a threat to CD players, and the list goes on and on. The automobile was a threat to manufacturers of horse drawn carriages. This is pointless. New things come along that are "threats" to the older items, for example the Kindle 2 and audiobooks. I hope they do try some sort of lawsuit and the judge laughs in their face for the complete stupidity of this argument. What would happen if this case was to win? There are enough lawsuits out there now. If this case won, it would be a field day for lawyers. Many companies would be suing each other simply because their new product threatened an old product. Development would be stymied because businesses would question what they could sell and not "threaten" some other product.
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|Might as well charge people extra if they want to read to there child while there at it. Boy, these greedy bas****s should charge teachers big bucks since they read to a classroom all the time. I HATE greed.
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|Sounds like they hate blind people.
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|I'm curious how the Author's Guild (TAG) defines "authorized audio copy". Text-to-speech is not a copy, just an alternate presentation of the material. Additionally, MS Reader, Adobe Acrobat, and other software based e-book readers have allowed computer users to have their e-books read via text-to-speech for quite some time now (glad I kept all my original e-books - no ridiculous DRM/greed restrictions). Admittedly the ability has been getting chipped away by TAG's greed (in the name of protecting the authors...puhleeze - any smart author will tell you they'd prefer to have their books read then passed on to friends than try to force every potential reader to buy a copy - book trading is what introduces readers to new authors they might not otherwise know about or buy). What about text-to-speech in Windows, OSX, Linux, etc.? Sounds like TAG wants DRM for TTS to go further than it already has. Yet another group intent on doing whatever it can to stifle innovation in order to protect its outdated, dinosauric, business model.
The audio-book market seems like a relatively narrow niche by my understanding and I don't see how a reader with text-to-speech capability is going to challenge that market. For example, I can't imagine people spending money on this reader so they can set it on the passenger seat in their car and listen to text in a computer voice of an e-book they purchased if an audio-book is already available to be used with the vehicle's stereo system (not to mention the absence of misreads and nonsense words).
"even out-loud reading by a machine is fine, of course, if it's from an authorized audio copy."
Paraphrased: "Vision impaired people are great...so long as we can exploit their disability for some extra profit."
Hmmm...TAG clearly had no concern for those with disabilities when crafting its position...but its willing to use the subject to re-emphasize the profit potential to be gained. Sounds like a plan born out of nothing but pure, desperate, greed.
This smacks of another industry looking for ways to lock their perceived customer base into a single, narrow-minded, one-size-fits-almost-nobody, profit-at-all-expenses option that will only appeal to a small slice of that narrow group that fits within the definition...as opposed to the potentially larger customer base that exists and is being told "you can no has". The economy may be hurting, but moves like this never have anything to do with protecting artists, etc. - it's all about greed. Face it TAG - you were outsmarted and out-innovated in your own business market, and technology is not going to stop moving forward just because you still can't get your VCR to stop flashing 12:00 - you're only fooling yourselves.
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|"This smacks of another industry looking for ways to lock their perceived customer base into a single, narrow-minded, one-size-fits-almost-nobody, profit-at-all-expenses option that will only appeal to a small slice of that narrow group that fits within the definition"
Nonsense.
Methinks thou doest protest too much. But the pathos was quite entertaining.
Now begone and go find that hydrant. It sounds like you have more important business to take care of...
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|LOL!
Hell, the Kindle isn't a threat to ANYTHING, let alone audiobooks!
Yeah, not only is the Kindle about to obsolete printed books, but now it is being positied to supplant CD players! Talk about absolutely absurd hype.
GIve me a break.
In order for it to obsolete something, IT has to be used in significant numbers - something it is is in NO danger of doing!
You could make a better case that audio books have a better chance of replacing printed books than of the Kindle replacing either!
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|Sudden outbreak of common sense detected.
Initiate bans.
*shakes head*
Come on, Tim...you can do better than hyping some pointless gadget virtually no-one uses. What's the global market penetration of this thing? .001%?
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|Speaking of a non-threat. How you doing? [smiles]
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|"How you doing?"
...Quite literally laughing at your inability to construct a grammatically correct sentence - as we will settle for small triumphs - seeing as we have given up all hope of your ever constructing a coherent thought...
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|@sjc001
Is it even possible for you to post in this forum as anything but my personal troll? I honestly do not recall the last time you made a post here that wasn't a reply and insult directed at me.
While i am honored you feel so strongly about me, I worry that your obsession may be unhealthy for one of your low mental acuity. Seek help. You need it.
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|sjc? I know you are trying but when you steal a line from a character from an old TV show (Friends), you should put in quotes as Fox did but keep trying. Have faith Grasshopper.
Everyone have a good day:)
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|PC? Question and I means this in a joking way not a Betanews put down way- Just out of curiosity, how much does your Personal Troll pay and what is the benefit package? Who knows I may want to "supplant" my income one day:)
Everyone have a good day:)
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|I agree with PC_Tool for once :)
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|Honestly, it will not be a threat to audio books for me. I will listen to just about any audio book if the story is compelling enough, but I prefer ones that have been produced really well, usually with more than just a lone narrator. Ones that have utilized a fairly large cast of voice actors in addition to soundtrack music and sound effects are typically my favorite (Big Finish Productions versions of Doctor Who come to mind).
Most of the time I'm content with a single narrator... and even the most monotonous voice in the world can usually express the emotion of the characters far better than any digitized voice ever could.
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|I haven't played with the Kindle 2 yet but if it's text to speech algorithm works like some of the software I have tried in the past it will have a hard time pronouncing some of the less common words properly let alone sounding natural.
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|I don't think it will be a threat to audio books. I for one think I prefer the voice of the actual writer of the bio and the emotion of the person reading the book really comes through, no computer voce could come close to that, in the near future.
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|it is not Stephen Fry but Jim Dale that reads the Harry Potter stories..
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|Jim Dale did the Harry Potter audiobooks in America, but Stephen Fry narrated Harry Potter audiobooks in the UK.
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