13151: SPECIAL: Kindle and AI: Your Thoughts? (And Some Of Mine)
Hey there, hero!
If you haven’t seen the announcement from Amazon that they are going to give Kindle authors the option to have the audiobook versions of their titles read by synthetic voices, well…it’s happened:
https://www.kdpcommunity.com/s/article/Invite-Only-KDP-Beta-for-Audiobooks
And there’s really nothing we can do to stop it. But…
…there are some very big positives that you and I, as voice talent, need to remember about art and writers and voice artists and money and more.
I also want to know what you have to say, once you’ve watched this episode and read the short announcement at the link above, in the comments below.
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Raw transcript:
Raw transcript:
so I want to talk to you today about the
announcement that Amazon made about
Kindle and AI voice production of Kindle
books and what it means for our future
and I want to share with you some things
that maybe you’re not considering if
it’s got yall riled up let’s do that in
this episode of the vo Heroes
podcast as I record this uh yesterday
Amazon made an announcement in the
Kindle uh group of Kindle authors that
they’re going to start
offering uh AI synthetic voice versions
of Audi books uh it’s going to be in
beta for a while and then it’s going to
be rolled out to everybody so Kindle
authors will have the ability to have
their books turned into audio books read
for them by a computer
and
obviously this is causing some real
anxiety within the narrator community
and I just want to share some things
with you that I think we should keep in
mind as we approach this first of all
this was inevitable it’s not something
you can stop all of the righteous
indignation that you feel I completely
understand I want to make sure you
understand it makes no difference
whatsoever Amazon is not going to stop
the process they’re not going to sit
there and go oh yeah you’re right we
really should favor human narrators uh
they’re going to be offering a 40
royalty share to authors who choose to
do this but despite the fact that it’s
inevitable there are some things to
remember about this that work in our
favor number
one uh it’s not as good and won’t be for
a long time as human voices and so the
writers that often consider their titles
I would think more often than not
certainly the vast preponderance of the
time as a creation of their life’s work
their baby I mean when I train you as an
audiobook narrator I hope I instill in
you the
notion that if you’re doing an audiobook
narration for a rights holder you’re
working with their their their most
precious possession in many cases the
book that they worked on for months or
years or decades you know they don’t
tend to look at these things as
throwaways some do some just like put
out book after book after book and don’t
really care about it it’s an assembly
line for them they may likely be the
people the people that will take
advantage of this
um but there are going to be people who
like I’m not going to have a computer
read my book my book the Redemption you
know just picking a title at random this
is this is like art I’m not going to do
this so just know that that’s the case
and I’m going to circle back to this uh
in the in the third point that I’m going
to make
um
second uh the the idea that artificial
intelligence and synthetic
voices uh we can be protected against by
a union or by a movement of artists you
know I just don’t want you to like lose
sight of the fact that that’s not going
to be effective it’s just not um there
is going to be guard rails up around
people that already have contracts with
unions and the people that uh have a
company policy of not using synthetic
voices but this is not going to be
something that a law is going to protect
us from or that regulation is going to
protect us
from and the flip side of all that is
that voiceover Talent can license their
voice and potentially do a little
jiujitsu on this and take advantage of
it we’re going to talk about more about
that in successive
podcast
episodes but the third point I want to
make and this is the big point is this
is nothing new in the world of VoiceOver
the world of ivr has had the option to
use synthetic voices since the
80s and they’re still hiring human
beings to do ivr work when the budget
warrants it when the brand warrants it
and I think you’re going to see that
there’s going to end up being a uh a
sort of a stratification of the projects
uh people that can’t afford a live voice
can’t afford a human being uh are going
to gravitate towards this but the
opposite is also true the brands that
matter the big Publishers the big
producers the authors that care so much
about their work they are going to stick
with human narrators they want to be
able to say proudly that their work was
narrated by a human being and that’s
going to be the case for a long long
time and so what that means is there’s
never been a better time than the
present to pay
attention to the quality of your
work do what you can to up your game if
you have frustration about your ability
to do the work if you are challenged by
the technology find somebody who can
help you uh if it’s not me then find
somebody find any number of really
well-known well-respected audiobook
coaches audiobook production coaches you
know I’m happy to help but there are
plenty of options in in the world for
you to do and practice what you’re doing
practice how you’re doing it practice
your business skills as well how do you
treat and work with deal with rights
holders
right so I know this is crushing for
some people it’s like the apocalypse is
coming I don’t think so I don’t think
it’s that bad and I think that if
history has taught us anything in other
categories of Voice work yeah there’s
going to be that option
ongoing but the human option is always
going to be the superior
choice and remember that long form
narration just to wrap this up long form
narration is the hardest to replicate
with synthetic voices because of
carrying a tune across a story arc or
understanding when something is
sarcastic or even like I’m doing I’m
narrating a book right now about
technology even saying a URL you
know a synthetic voice is likely going
to treat each one of the individual
letters of
https colon SL SL blah blah blah they’re
not going to have the Rhythm that a
human being has they’re not and that’s
just one of hundreds of examples of
things that are going to be a challenge
for a long time for synthetic voices but
rest assured that if you stay on top of
your game and if you understand how the
business Works you’re going to be just
fine
and again I know you’re probably
thinking to yourself what do you know
David you yeah you you have some success
you’re you’re like you know you’re
established blah blah blah you’re you’re
next you’re
next I’d love to know what you think
please go to vooh heroes.com where this
episode if you’re not watching it
already on vooh heroes.com
go there put your your comments in the
in the comments area tell me what you
think about this tell me where you think
things are going tell me if you think
what I’ve shared with you here is of any
comfort to you if you think I know what
I’m talking about or you think I’m full
of crap just let me know be be
respectful but let me know in the
comments below because this is important
it’s important that we have uh an
understanding as much as we can of what
the future holds hit the like button if
you like what your hearing or if you
just like that I’m bringing this to you
uh you can subscribe to the channel you
can also hit the notification Bell and
be notified when uh new episodes come
out you can do that any time you like
I’m David H Lawrence the 17th I thank
you so much for watching and for
listening and I will see you in the next
episode of the vo Heroes
podcast
(from YouTube)
Hey David:
Thanks for posting this. I tend to agree with you. Will some authors simply click a button and produce their audiobook? Sure. But I believe a majority will understand that only a human voice can provide a *human connection* between their work and the listener. As you alluded to, it’ll be a long time before a computer understands nuanced prose, if ever, much less delivers a performance that makes a human *feel* something.
Cheers!
The one thing no AI will ever be able to do is react to the emotion and nuance of phrase that exists in all prose. How often, as narrators, do we hear ourselves commit an improper inflection or interpretation, and do an immediate retake to fix it? No AI can do that, and we hear the results all the time. Every now and then, in any AI narration, you hear something that immediately reveals the inhuman (and sometimes inhumane!) nature of the narration. Some is a lot better than others, with only a few of these every now and then; and some is really bad–causing cringey reactions almost constantly. While the market may become more competitive among the remaining humans, I think there will always be a market that demands real narrators.
Thanks for posting this special episode, David. Your perspective is invaluable. So appreciated.
Inevitable, yes. Demoralizing, yes. Debilitating, no.
We all knew this was coming. We should be grateful that Amazon is jumping into this with both feet, before the technology is ready. One would hope that by doing this it will further put off listeners who crave intimacy and humanity in their entertainment.
It also brings up one of my big concerns in the production of audiobook: Collaboration. Narrator/producers have been dancing on the head of this pin for ever. I have always felt that the tendency has been to be somewhat curmudgeonly. Perhaps this technology will force us to leverage our humanity.
Certainly it will allow us to call out the inhumanity in dealing with a machine—there are no adjustments, no nuances, no collaboration with a machine.
I do not know yet how corrections and pickups will be done, if at all. Perhaps after doing one book, many RHs will throw up their hands in frustration. I believe that most of the books that will be read by machines will be ones we wouldn’t do, anyway.
Thank you, David for your perspective on this.
I do think that only humans understand the nuances, emotions and infinite interpretations of the written word. I know many authors and playwrights and I know they prefer human actors to bring their stories to life. An AI can never know how it feels to be affected by music or the smell of a flower, holding a baby, or a fond caress. Human actors know this and authors know this; and as long as their are human stories to be told, humans will want humans to tell them.
David – your thoughts were really good to hear and encouraging as I prepare to email my new project’s Right’s Holder. Relationships and connection are 2 things AI won’t be able to surpass we humans at!
My ongoing challenges with VO are not helped by this new development, but I appreciate you always trying to put things in perspective. Thanks David.
Amen! I predict an audiobook world with lots of low-grade content narrated by synthetic voices…
… alongside the more impactful stories, with heart, intention, and love put into them, proudly marketed as “narrated by a human”—and audiences happily flocking their way.
In a world where it’s so easy and inexpensive to hire a machine, individuals and businesses that “choose human” will be perceived as operating at a higher level—a cut above the competition.
This makes sense David. I’m sticking around.
David,
You have allayed my fears. When I read the link you posted, I thought that rights holders might jump for the 40% and not have to share with a narrator. I feel better after listening to your podcast. Thank you.
Mare
Hi David,
I must have started to read this and stopped and started a few times. At first, it was upsetting. But more upsetting I think because when announced, the strike was not over and on the verge of going into what seemed to be the final talks.
After listening to your podcast, it was very comforting in that, even when I write something and re-write there is that protection mode that kicks in as to if I am even going to share this or want to share it for perhaps I only know how the cadence should go. Therefore, I am sure some other authors are feeling the same way, and some I’m sure don’t want a robot voicing their work.
Inevitable, of course, even when I got this new MacBook Air, it asked if I want the audio turned on. I had it turned on so it can tell me how to navigate, (coming from the PC land) I thought it would be good to try it. Yes, I shut it off and found it annoying, but interesting. When you mentioned some IVR being AI for years, and how some are not that good, it’s helpful to know some companies prefer humans. I know that many times they can not recognize my voice in voice recognition. (or my many voices)
Thank you for your video helped me to understand more and feel better about the technical advancements. I am interested in learning more about the business in licensing and estates and researching public domain.
I do wish they waited until the strike was settled before making the announcement, but they may have already been waiting with a pre-planned date.
Thank you so much again for helping us to navigate through this new world.
It is very much appreciated.