tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post1588573402578664464..comments2023-07-03T07:26:04.780-04:00Comments on The Rejecter: Audio Books and Audio RightsThe Rejecterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09087643296072075641noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-87792557014247371742010-11-07T08:21:29.071-05:002010-11-07T08:21:29.071-05:00As a (currently) former audiobook producer, I thou...As a (currently) former audiobook producer, I thought I'd add to your excellent explanation that the holder of the rights (usually the print publisher, to whom of course the author need not sell the audiobook rights) sometimes also sells a "restricted license" to audiobook production houses which produce them for the use of the "print handicapped", usually via library borrowing or a special purchase arrangement. This means not only those who are vision impaired in some way but also those with a physical disability or illness which prevents them from grasping a book, holding it for long periods or holding it still for long enough to read (such as the tremors that comes with Parkinson's.) In this way, books which are unlikely to be considered commercially viable as audiobooks are converted for those who could not access them any other way. <br /><br />In Australia, Vision Australia Foundation (where I began my career and whose commercial arm is called Louis Braille Audio) have a wonderful service which allows those eligible to join the Audiobook library to receive audiobooks made under such restricted licenses via post. Thanks to a long standing agreement with Australia Post, the postage both to and from the library member is free.Daniellehttp://www.narrativedisorder.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-42862465016869964602010-11-05T13:34:54.884-04:002010-11-05T13:34:54.884-04:00As an older writer with limited computer expertise...As an older writer with limited computer expertise, I am intrigued by the possibilities of Kindle, not only because of the ease of reading new books without having to store them on my over-flowing bookcase, but also because I hear that my unpublished fourth novel can be self-published as a Kindle offering. Un-fortunately, I do not have the vocabulary to understand what Amazon is trying to get me to do to accomplish this. And, I wonder if it is true that publishers/agents scan these self-published novels for promising prospects? Is this kind of publishing worth the effort (and the cost of hiring a teenage computer wizz) in terms of getting an agent?Johttp://breakoutnovelarace.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-80115333093441982332010-11-01T05:39:59.023-04:002010-11-01T05:39:59.023-04:00Why do publisher buy audio rights if they find it ...Why do publisher buy audio rights if they find it too expensive to actually have one produced? Wouldn't it be better to not buy the rights and leave it to someone who actually wants to create it, so they can also drive more people to buy the paper version?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-13734958223043048372010-10-28T04:31:26.054-04:002010-10-28T04:31:26.054-04:00First - the Kindle does not belong to Amazon, it b...First - the Kindle does not belong to Amazon, it belongs to person who bought it.<br /><br />Second, the publisher is not the only person with the right to copy a book. I can photocopy a book I own a paper copy of, put the book in a safe place, and read the copy if I wish. I can scan a book I own, OCR the images, and create my own ebook. I can read the book aloud for my child, record the results, and allow that child to hear my own home-made audiobook when I'm not home. None of these acts breaks copyright unless I distribute the results. It's just like copying a CD into a MP3 player, or a cassette tape. The music industry has often tried to stop this happening (they'd rather sell you two copies), and the courts have fairly consistently slapped them down.<br /><br />What copy right gives you is the right to distribute a work, not copy it, it's a misnomer. So the argument in this case is whether Amazon is distributing a different copy, or allowing you to make it yourself.<br /><br />The loser in all this are the blind, or those with really bad eyesight. In fact, in some jurisdictions (mostly in Europe I think) it is illegal to deliberately disable such devices, so I'm waiting for the first lawsuits against publishers from there.Stephennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-47611410365072668422010-10-27T17:48:35.746-04:002010-10-27T17:48:35.746-04:00I haven't looked into the legal precedent, her...I haven't looked into the legal precedent, here's why I think it might not infringe on audio book rights or other copyrights:<br /><br />There is no permanent reproduction. Text-to-speech is a transient interpretative device like one of those reading machines that magnifies the size of the text on a screen.<br /><br />It alters the transmission of the written word, but there is no recording or performance, simply a computer-aided interpretation of the written text that vanishes the moment its expressed.<br /><br />So, there is no "copy." It really is rather like a technological variation on having someone read to you.<br /><br />That said, it might violate public performance rights or other deals that are made with companies that produce audio books for the visually impaired. I've not seen those contracts or any court documents.<br /><br />But it's not cut and dried, I don't think.C. N. Nevetshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00375714948653196993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-11457659454202138072010-10-27T17:35:03.049-04:002010-10-27T17:35:03.049-04:00How doesn't it violate copyright? I'm not ...How doesn't it violate copyright? I'm not trying to argue a point; I actually just want to know. The publisher is the one with the right to copy and print the book. It just gives booksellers the books themselves and the booksellers get a cut when a copy is sold. Text-to-speech implies production on the bookseller's end, because the Kindle, which belongs to Amazon, is producing.The Rejecterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09087643296072075641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-23435074038791352652010-10-27T16:42:55.838-04:002010-10-27T16:42:55.838-04:00It was the Kindle, but text-to-speech conversion p...It was the Kindle, but text-to-speech conversion pretty definitely does NOT infringe copyrights at all. However, the publishers certainly didn't like it, and they have a lot of leverage with Amazon, so the feature was changed. I believe now it's set up so publishers can choose whether or not to allow any given text to be converted to computer speech.Mileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05001642328882209505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-54037055009272715742010-10-27T16:25:30.441-04:002010-10-27T16:25:30.441-04:00Thank you! Very helpful indeed, and sorry about n...Thank you! Very helpful indeed, and sorry about not proofing my email to you well enough.<br /><br />Best wishesGabrielle D'Ayrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08837474500105920893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-33917743354936882562010-10-27T16:04:53.629-04:002010-10-27T16:04:53.629-04:00For the record text-to-speech violates audio book ...For the record text-to-speech violates audio book rights in the same way that having a friend read the book out loud to you does, that is to say not all. There's no act of distribution of content.jmnlmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09008923879867238015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-63934850710276735972010-10-27T15:26:48.640-04:002010-10-27T15:26:48.640-04:00It was the 2nd generation Kindle, and my understan...It was the 2nd generation Kindle, and my understanding is that Amazon didn't entirely disable the feature, but that they left it up to the publishers of copyright holders to enable the feature for given content.<br /><br />Of course, I can't imagine text-to-speech coming close to replacing a good George Guidall reading. <br /><br />But copyright isn't about quality, it's about property, so... *shrug*C. N. Nevetshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00375714948653196993noreply@blogger.com