While Apple already sells audiobooks, the latest move is likely to further raise questions over its anti-competitive behaviour. It alleges Apple’s policies have meant that “in addition to consumers being hurt, authors and publishers are also being punished”.Īpple justified the rejection by arguing that the way Spotify offers audiobooks breaches the rules surrounding online purchases and how it communicates with customers. In a newly launched site Time to Play Fair, meant to defend its position, Spotify said Apple’s “cumbersome” process for purchasing audiobooks “makes it harder for you to find your next favourite author or book”. In recent months, Spotify, which announced plans to bring 300,000 audiobook titles to customers, has bitterly clashed with Apple over app store policies after its own app was rejected three times. Human intonation and inflection are notoriously difficult to predict and replicate.įor years, Apple has sold books and audiobooks through its Books app, and the company was rumoured to be interested in developing its own audiobooks service and shifting from a reseller to producer.īut the move represents a direct shot at rival Amazon, with Apple listing what it said were the benefits of its own system compared to Kindle’s Direct Publishing.Īpple and Amazon – which owns audiobook market-leader Audible – had previously indicated they were exploring AI narration technology, but Google had been the most public about its efforts and breakthroughs.Įven before Apple’s entrance, the battle for control of the audiobook market has renewed existing feuds between major players. Still, computer-generated voices have long struggled to hold the attention of listeners for long periods of time, and to overcome the ‘uncanny valley’ effect of synthetic human speech. The lure of AI promises to significantly cut the costs. There is a financial incentive for the writers, both in the upfront payments and the expanded availability of their work.īut producing an audiobook with a human voice can take weeks and can cost publishers thousands of dollars. While there is potential for backlash by professional voice actors, authors themselves are increasingly being asked to narrate their own books. There’s so much value in the narration and the storytelling, ” said Carly Watters. It’s not what customers want to listen to. “Companies see the audiobooks market and that there’s money to be made. That’s worth investing in.”īefore the launch, one Canadian literary agent told the Guardian she did not see the value from both a literary or customer perspective. “When you have really great writing and really talented narration, you’re coming up with something special. They’re creating something that is different from the print book, but that adds value as an art form,” said David Caron, a co-producer at Canada’s largest audiobook publisher. “The narrator brings a whole new range of art in creating audiobook, and we believe that’s a powerful thing. Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the market. Publishers involved in the project were required to sign non-disclosure agreements – common in the technology field – but also reflective of Apple’s notorious pursuit of secrecy.Īpple’s development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant shift in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks. In recent months, Apple approached independent publishers as potential partners, including some in the Canadian market, but not all agreed to participate.Īuthors were told that Apple – which at the time was not named as the company behind the technology – would shoulder the costs of production and writers would receive royalties from sales. On the company’s Books app, searching for “AI narration” reveals the catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as being “narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator”. Industry insiders believe the global market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.Īpple was due to launch the project in mid-November, but delayed it as layoffs at Meta and chaos surrounding Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter cast a dark cloud over the technology sector. Sales last year jumped 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold.
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