February 2023 News Roundup
This month we pay tribute to audiobook advocates past and present, a current EGOT legend, the use of audiobooks for mental health and a generous donation to the RNIB Talking Books Library. Explore new opportunities in the Spanish and Korean language markets and a futuristic hub for new-age learning in UAE. And the news continues to be flooded with A.I. considerations including the controversy of Apple’s misuse of audibooks for A.I. voice training.
In memoriam for audiobook innovator Marianne Mantell
The Washington Post’s obituary headline describes Marianne as having helped to launch the audiobook industry, and it’s not untrue. Ms. Mantell and her co-founder of Caedmon Records, Barbara Holdridge, were honored in 2001 with the Audio Publishers Association’s Audie Award for Special Achievement. [Source: washingtonpost.com]
What the Audible Founder Learns From Public School Interns
In a Zoom interview, Katz reflected on the last two-and-a-half decades. [Source: time.com]
Audiobooks are the only thing that get me through my bipolar episodes
Flickers of perspective make their way through the sludge of my mind. Reminders of love. Hope. Humanity. [Source: metro.co.uk]
Bloomsbury donates entire audiobook catalogue to Royal National Institute of Blind People
The new collection includes an estimated 600 titles. In future every Bloomsbury audiobook will be added to the RNIB Library. [Source: thebookseller.com]
Viola Davis EGOTs With Grammy Win for Best Audiobook
Viola Davis has achieved the rare and elite EGOT status after winning a Grammy Award for the audiobook of her memoir Finding Me. [Source: variety.com]
BEYOND ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Listeners In Mexico, Spain Lead Surge In Spanish-Language Audiobook Subscriptions
With 454.6 million people speaking Spanish, the prospects are auspicious. [Source: bloomberglinea.com]
Audiobooks attract Korean-language listeners with wide variety of content
According to Welaaa's data, its subscribers listened to audiobooks for an average of 10.2 hours, with George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984 topping the category. [Source: koreatimes.co.kr]
UAE: Sharjah's House of Wisdom to offer unlimited access to audiobooks
With more than half a million traditional and digital knowledge resources, the House of Wisdom aligns with Sharjah’s quest to develop a knowledge-based society. [Source: zawya.com]
Startups & new offerings
Meet Beek, a startup bringing audiobooks to LatAm with big-name backing
Beek opting for a marketplace model has proven to be more lucrative than if it had opted to be a media company. Ultimately, though, it’s more than the money that drives the business. [Source: techcrunch.com]
OVERDRIVE EDUCATION PARTNERS WITH TEACHINGBOOKS FOR INTERACTIVE READING PILOT
This new Sora Extra connects digital books in Sora with TeachingBooks’ vast collection of games, video book trailers, read-along audiobook performances, meet-the-author interviews and more. [Source: news.elearninginside.com]
A.I.
Voice actors lament Apple's misuse of their work for AI training
According to Jane Love, SAG-AFTRA's national director for the audiobook market, the organization is "still working with Findaway toward a solution that recognizes the union's concerns." [Source: techspot.com]
AI voices for audiobooks is a strange new trend
"AI text-to-voice often misses the right emphases, the right note," audiobook reviewer for the Washington Post, Katherine A. Powers, said. "Not always, but enough to feel like there's sand in your salad." [Source: startribune.com]
I tried to guess if Apple audiobooks were narrated by AI or real people.
Overall, it was relatively easy to tell which ones were narrated by an AI voice, but I didn't find the synthesized voices off-putting. [Source: businessinsider.com]
Bookwire offers auto-narrated audiobook production service using Google TTS tech
Bookwire has stated the use of AI-generated voice should not be seen as a replacement for real human voice artists but one that adds to Bookwire’s audiobook production facilities. [Source: goodereader.com]