Hachette backs Amazon's use of Text-to-Speech

Publishers Weekly reports that Hachette backs the use of Text-to-Speech in the ongoing controversy over the Authors Guild insisting on Amazon's disabling that feature, for fear a very mechanical voice that doesn't even pause at end of headings or chapter endings will take revenues from their professional human reader editions (this is so myopic I can hardly believe it).  Hachette's statement protects its own audio book group while supporting use of the text-to-speech with the "vast majority" of its books.

Jim Milliot, who wrote the story July 2 explains that the Hachette Book Group

'issued a statement outlining its position on the text-to-speech question.  Text-to-speech arose as an issue earlier this year when Amazon’s Kindle 2 added the capability; the Authors Guild challenged TTS, saying Amazon was taking an unauthorized audio right.  Groups representing the visually impaired then charged that the Authors Guild was being insensitive to its needs.  Amazon, after first saying it had no plans to kill the function, changed its position and said it would do whatever the rightsholders wanted.

Hachette pretty much follows the Amazon position, saying that unless its authors object, it has no issue with adding TTS for the vast majority of its books. The only exceptions, HBG said, would be for 'books that fall within our audio publishing program or specialized circumstances like memoirs, where the author or character’s voice is an artistic element of the work.  Under such circumstances HBG reserves the right to request that the functionality be disabled.'

...Hachette further noted that TTS  'technology is likely to be a feature on an increasing number of devices in the coming months, and HBG recognizes the value of such functionality to individuals with impaired vision or similar disabilities.' "

Related blog articles
Here's a prior entry on 'Tom' the voice of Kindle 2, reading a personalized script.

Also, the first article here about the Authors Guild and the Kindle 2.

More Background:
1.  Copyright Advisory Network's web article on the Authors Guild Kindle 2 Proclamation...
2.  A detailed summary by Bufo Calvin to the Amazon forums recently.
2.  Small Kindle book ($1) The Disabled Deserve to Read: The Controversy Over the Amazon Kindle's Voice (revised), by Bufo Calvin.

Len Edgerly / Bufo Calvin - recommended books

I recently came across a couple of books that I want to recommend to readers.

A Poet's Progress at Bennington - Vol 1, a mix of commentary on other poets and some of his own original poetry, by Len Edgerly, host of The Kindle Chronicles Friday podcast.

I just recently met the author in connection with his very popular podcast but have listened to his newsy and varied podcast for some time, as it's a great way to keep up with the Kindle scene.  I downloaded the book because I like the way that Len handles the podcast and the quality of his interaction with others during these weekly sessions.

  After being intrigued by the insights in his poetic output and in his thought-filled commentaries, I wrote him about things I remembered as a result of reading his often dream-like rendering of some experiences that had a rather profound impact on him.  I see that Len has written a summary of his book -- how it came about, what it contains, etc.  I highly recommend this rich collection of reflections which costs only $1  !

  I also bought his short book Cold Turkey in Paradise: Twelve Days Off the Internet at Maho Bay" which has an excellent review by Edukindle's William DeLamater, who offers the ultra useful Kindlepedia.
  An account of a grand effort to stay off the Internet while on vacation is something obviously of interest to me and since it was by the Internet-active Edgerly, I downloaded it on the spot and find that it's a very entertaining book.  I overidentified with it.  But then I do the opposite of what he chose to do -- I enjoy my vacations and then enjoy them even more when I can find the Internet at night :-)

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Frequently Asked Kindle Questions by Bufo Calvin, a regular at the Amazon forums who is much appreciated for his thorough answers to, I'd say, constantly-asked Kindle questions, or CAKQ :-).

Bufo, a professional educator, has put his comprehensive answers to all these questions into a book readable on the Kindle and makes an effort to cover the Kindle 1 and 2 as well as the Kindle DX.  Although I'd like to see some indentations in some of the answers to see the subject matter more easily, the answers are quite complete, even covering what he feels or knows are the reasons for some of Amazon's decisions, including policies described in Kindle guidelines such as book and account sharing and current limitations on international purchases.  Any Kindle owner should get a copy of this book, especially when all this comes for only $1.

  Bufo has other Kindle books available, including one with ready-links to free books for the Kindle and advice on navigating some of the sites involved, and another that advocates for customers with disabilities -- explaining the controversy over publisher/author-disabling of obviously computer-voiced text-to-speech (proceeds for this one go to purchasing Kindles for non-profit organizations).

Disabling of Text-to-Speech by Random House has begun

Bruce S. Woodcock has alerted us to a MobileRead Forum notice by KarlB that Random House (Knopf) has begun disabling the Kindle-2 text-to-speech feature, which is computerized speech that has almost no appropriate affect, often mispronounces words, and doesn't pause between paragraphs, headings, or chapters on its Kindle books - and it's unclear whether or not the author gets a choice in this disabling.

 The above link takes you to Bruce's announcement and the forum discussions on this.  While forum members are a small percentage of Kindle owners, they tend to know other Kindle owners and there has been a resulting resistance to Random House's policy, in the form of plans to not buy Random House Kindle books while they are doing this.  They also proposed using the Amazon tagging system to add a "No tts" tag to alert other customers to an author who chose disabling this feature.

The disabling of TTS on a book hurts the disabled most, since most Kindle owners use the computerized voice only for brief periods (while cooking or commuting in the car) and they don't buy the book to 'listen' to it, especially not via a monotone voice.

Does Random House appreciate the fact that the Kindle owner has purchased the book to read?  Do people who buy hardcopy books to read THEN go buy the audiobook ?  Where is their loss on this?  Kindle owners can't share their Kindle books except with someone ON their account, so just what is the problem for Authors Guild and Random House?

There is a Kindle book titled The Disabled Deserve to Read: The Controversy Over the Amazon Kindle's Voice, by Bufo Calvin, for 80 cents.
  The product description says: "The author's proceeds will go towards purchasing Kindles to donate to non-profit organizations."

  From what I remember, the Authors Guild has proposed tests they will put disabled people through to see if they 'qualify' for getting a computerized voice reading to them.  To me, there's something quite dark about that.
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  Related blog article on "Tom," the Kindle-2 voice