Amazon sorta capitulates, will let publishers decide text-to-speech availability
By Ross Miller 
posted February 27th 2009 7:48PM
posted February 27th 2009 7:48PM
Statement from Amazon.com Regarding Kindle 2's Experimental Text-to-Speech Feature
SEATTLE, Feb 27, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Kindle 2's experimental text-to-speech feature is legal: no copy is made, no derivative work is created, and no performance is being given. Furthermore, we ourselves are a major participant in the professionally narrated audiobooks business through our subsidiaries Audible and Brilliance. We believe text-to-speech will introduce new customers to the convenience of listening to books and thereby grow the professionally narrated audiobooks business.
Nevertheless, we strongly believe many rightsholders will be more comfortable with the text-to-speech feature if they are in the driver's seat.
Therefore, we are modifying our systems so that rightsholders can decide on a title by title basis whether they want text-to-speech enabled or disabled for any particular title. We have already begun to work on the technical changes required to give authors and publishers that choice. With this new level of control, publishers and authors will be able to decide for themselves whether it is in their commercial interests to leave text-to-speech enabled. We believe many will decide that it is.
Customers tell us that with Kindle, they read more, and buy more books. We are passionate about bringing the benefits of modern technology to long-form reading.
maybe they'll have a special clause for "special needs" people. Maybe we just flash our handi card and get free TTS.
Amazon needs to worry about false advertising now as the device doesn't have TTS as a feature but it's an "Paid Option".
that's a $50 off
wimps.
Aww, sad to see Amazon back down. Fight the good fight! This is an argument worth discussing.
I really thought that Amazon had bigger balls than this. I really hope that most publishers will allow the text to speech feature. to the two people that talked about buying the Kindle 2 specifically because of learning disabilities, my heart goes out to you. With this new feature the blind community, including myself were hoping that eventually the text to speech on the kindle would make the device fully accessible to people with little or no vision. I worry that won't happen now. I wish everything wasn't all about money.
Lame. Show some balls, Amazon.
Dammit Amazon, we needed a court decision to make it clear that a computer reading a book out loud on-the-fly is no more a copyright violation than recording a CD to cassette tape for personal use. I am sick and tired of copyright owners thinking they have the right to dictate HOW their work is to be consumed after we have bought a copy.
To Mr. Aiken and all the publishers and authors who back this bullshit posturing: I invite you all to kiss my ass.
Greed is good.
Greed is right.
Greed works.
Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.
Greed, in all of its forms -- greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge -- has marked the upward surge of mankind.
And greed -- you mark my words -- will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA.
I really hope Amazon gives them the finger when the guild starts asking them to sell TTS enabled versions at a premium price.
But they won't. Amazon is the big winner in all of this. They get even more exposure for the Kindle, they get to start tacking on $2 (or more) to enable TTS, and they let the Author's Guild be the doucebags that made it a 'necessity'
Dear guild,
With consumer-friendly tactics like you have used, aren't you afraid that bitter people will
1) Use utorrent or a similar program to download torrents full of thousands of ebooks,
2) Use Adobe Reader, save as text to save any .pdf ebooks as text;
3) Use Text Wrangler to fix any text wrap issues (may need to learn a little Grep from the helpfile);
4) Use Stanza to load the text file and then export as an .azw file (stanza can load any .lit, txt, html, and some pdf files natively), and
5) Copy the .azw file to the kindle, and
6) Listen to the text to speech that way?
Can you imagine if Gutenberg had to keep everyone from reading the books aloud if the authors didn't want it?
This is unbelievable? Exactly what is fair use of a book or text in general?
Do nannies reading books to children violate the rights of authors?
Although at first I thought this was a terrible idea, it's actually better than the alternative. If they had a universal license fee that would get tacked onto our books (eg. $1.50 every book for TTS features) we would have no option but to pay it. The way I see it, the publishers and the stupid guild should duke it out and if they decide that the licencees should be paid certain audiobook royalties for TTS...they should give it to them out of the ridiculous price that we're already charged for audiobooks! They sell us an e-book at $10-15 that should really probably cost about $5...so they can pay, say $2 a book for the audiobook co's w/o raising our prices or taking away the functionality
Still debating, but the fact is that this is essentially an audiobook. It reads to you...i get it, but it does not of audio license. I am not sure if this could essentially kill the audiobook market per se, but there currently not enough room for both...
Gutless. Simply gutless.
Not that I'm an audiobook buyer anyway, but this affirms my decision not to buy any until further notice. I'm a writer (a newspaper reporter), but Writers Guild members can starve for all I care.
I Cant wait in 10 years to see how amazing a ebook reader will be!
This is all about greed, seeing people get more out of there purchased ebooks regardless if they had to move a finger they still want more money.
there is a solution, authors should look towards ebooks as a god send, due to low overhead costs, which if managed right then the authors should get more money, as distributers, cover artists, etc shouldnt get part of that pie.
authors guild are technologically ignorant just as the music industry was
i just got my kindle2 today- and suddenly i realized why apple is rumored to be working on a kindle-killer (aka gigantic ipod touch) because kindle2 has a UI from 1989, and sluggish as hell moving from screen to screen. the TTS is weaksauce anyway and I won't use it, but for principle if I will skip any book i see from a publisher playing f'king games with TTS.
keep crippling features, amazon, and the pwnage will be that much more severe when apple shows you how an e-reader is done.
Reading an eBook on an iPod of any size would make my eyes bleed. I also doubt you'd be able to make it through a book without a handful of recharges. Something tells me you'll change your tune after using it for a little while - if not, I'll gladly take it off your hands. :-)
I have been reading ebooks for years on another platform and have a libraay of over 600 books some of which do not allow TTS. It has always been the publisher/authors choice to allow this feature this is not new, Nor is the Kindle intorducing a feature that was not available before for books. I will not purchase one of these readers until I can transfer all of my cuurrently owned books to their device. This is yet another Beta - VHS issue. Manufactures attitude is "Buy my device but you can only read my platform content and MAYBE I might add PDF Format support." What is the issue with these manufacturers that they will not allow formats that had no previous "dedicated" reader device. What is wrong with allowing customers to read books that are in MSreader, Mobi or PDF on these devices?
I'm still going to have my PC read me ebooks out of spite.
Even though chances are I would never have bought the kindle in this economy I was still interested in it, the post today killed it. Amazon's crippling the software just to appease the author's guild is exactly the thing I was afraid of.
With all our books on a kindle what would happen if some book got banned I tell you what they would update the device just to delete it, or what about going to another country well simply force the books to be region blocked
No telling what amazon can do with the product, and frankly that's disturbing
Yeah. This sort of sets a precedent for Amazon's regard for end-user rights, and which side of any argument they'll end up on. Clearly, if the publisher or regional government have an issue and squawk loud enough, Amazon feels no remorse in cutting out features or details in the books on the Kindle. Your collection might be truncated if you wander into the wrong county in the south, where certain books are banned or frowned upon.
And as for publishers: THIS is the kind of thing that drives your customers to acts of theft and piracy. If you want a loyal customer base, I'd suggest not being such dicks all the time. I used to sell books for a living, and I know; The publishing industry is a pack of jackals who care less about literature and more about finding ways to charge more for the written (or spoken) word. Well, guess what, guys? You are going to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, and if it's not done legitimately (the Kindle) then it will be done by the hackers, pirates, and thieves who will render your business model obsolete. Apple knew this with iTunes, and the music publishing industry doubted them. Now look at the way the majority of music is sold and played a decade later.
The guilds and publishers are pissing away an opportunity here.
Oh well. Their loss.
Maybe Amazon will continue the legal battle in the courts, but this is just a capitulation to keep the book publishers happy. I suspect they did this because one or more big publishers was about to pull all of their content. I also hope that the TTS is going to be an opt-out option instead of an opt-in, so by default, TTS would be enabled unless the publisher changes it.
Jeez... And just as I was about to purchase a Kindle.
Now, I think I'll spend that money on a netbook instead. The Kindle was pricey, but that TTS feature was actually a major selling point for me. Now, without that being fully enabled, I think I'll get a cheap netbook and wait for the Sony reader to drop in price or show up at a decent used price.
Amazon, this was a stupid move. Seriously, it really did cost you a sale in my case.
Hmm... I wonder if Amazon could have use something like the Americans with Disabilities Act to fight this. Should publishers get an extra kick-back just because a third party helped someone else read a book they've already been paid for?
Also, keep in mind that text to speeching an actual book versus listen to an audio book serve some very different purposes. For example, can you easily specify an audio book to only read a particular sentence within a particular paragraph on a particular page? And, how do audio books compensate for visual aids like photos or diagrams?
Being disabled myself, this is like a kick in the teeth on the part of both Amazon and the authors' guild.
There are already exemptions to copyright for mechanical conversions for the disabled, but they only apply those that are actually disabled.
Eh...this fight will be easier to win if someday Kindle actually sells a ton of books...then amazon can threaten to cut publishers off and not the other way around if they don't give TTS.
For now though it'd be a death knell if the publishers pulled the titles.
Emboldened by Amazon's concession, maybe the Author's Guild will now go after the rest of humanity for having the audacity of using text-to-speech since the first written word.
That is the biggest bunch of bull$&*# I've heard in a long time. If I want to use TTS to read out the words that I've purchased the rights to, that's my #$#^$@ right! No kindle for me.
Are there any third party book readers that have TTS and aren't bending over for the Authors Guild? If so, how do they compare to Kindle?
The title is factually incorrect: Amazon's statement clearly states that rightsholders will decide. Authors tend retain rights much further down into the midlist than musicians do. If Amazon goes so far as to leave TTS enabled by default, most authors won't bother to request disabling. That's a big "if", though.
People who buy a book rarely purchase the audio version. People who purchase an audio book rarely buy the print edition. The Kindle would in fact introduce the idea of an audio book (albeit one read by a robot) to many of us that NEVER buy audio books. The Kindle would only increase the market for audio books, not diminish it.
So here's what I sent to Amazon's Kindle 2 feedback email box:
I applauded the inclusion of text-to-speech for all titles on the new Kindle 2 and now read with frustration that you are now in essence removing the feature (what publisher is going to not opt-out???)
I'm writing to request an opt-out for disabled users so their Kindle 2's can ignore the opt-out from the publishers. I believe this feature would best be implemented as a simple on/off option in the settings page: Disabled Access Mode On/Off.
This simple switch could then be used to enable other disability access features in addition to opting out of the text-to-speech publisher opt-out. For example: the six font sizes offered could be re-based to start with the current font size 5 and work up to add four new ludicrously large fonts. An inverted mode in which the page is drawn black and the text in white could be offered in settings. As well as the ability to scale the fonts for the UI itself to larger fonts. And even better; text-to-speech for the UI itself including a talking dictionary.
The re-setting of the offered font sizes would I believe offset any fears the publishers would have that the non-disabled would exploit the text-to-speech opt-out in addition to providing access to more legally blind individuals than the platform currently supports.
Countless lives would be positively affected by these changes.
What are you smoking exactly?
Fine. I wont buy it now. Stupid is-- as stupid does...
SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL
It doesn't matter if Amazon does this or not, some hacker is going to figure out a workaround for the device and have it posted on every possible file sharing site to keep it out there for the masses. I can already see someone filing a lawsuit over this since it was suppose to be a feature of the device, and now it's being taken away and left in the hands of the book makers, which you can bet are going to charge you or shut the feature off.
I've would have never dreamed a one dimensional gadget such as the Kindle would cause such a fuss. Seriously, if I feel the need to read a book electronically, my laptop does the job just fine. I swear everyday there is at least one Kindle story here, I just don't get it.
As for the actual story itself... I don't think the writer's guild has a case here. The text to speech feature does not constitute a recording of the literature. Plus I think it's much ado about nothing. if I really wanted to listen to someone read a book, it would damn sure be a human, not a computer.
I've would have never dreamed a one dimensional gadget such as the Kindle would cause such a fuss. Seriously, if I feel the need to read a book electronically, my laptop does the job just fine. I swear everyday there is at least one Kindle story here, I just don't get it.
As for the actual story itself... I don't think the writer's guild has a case here. The text to speech feature does not constitute a recording of the literature. Plus I think it's much ado about nothing. if I really wanted to listen to someone read a book, it would damn sure be a human, not a computer.
I think we re looking at this incorrectly. A feature which had an impact on at least my buying decision is now to be take away from us. How much will Amazon refund for this diminished product? That's how the law suit will work.
Can you say BAIT and SWITCH! :-(
PS....CLASS-ACTION GUARANTEED!
Well, I'm glad I read this. I was ready to order the Kindle 2 for my daughter who is having vision problems we hope will clear up, but may not (brain injury). Now that I know that the text to speech option may not exist for some books (at their option), I will not bother. By the way, this change up smacks of false advertising. I guess I'll figure out a way to download a text to speech program to my palm pilot for her. Very bad decision, Amazon.