Tag: audiobooks

Short-Changed? Spotify’s Push Into Audiobooks Sparks Money-Woe Concerns Among Authors
Technology

Short-Changed? Spotify’s Push Into Audiobooks Sparks Money-Woe Concerns Among Authors

[ad_1] Spotify Technology SA's big leap into audiobooks is facing a backlash from US authors who fear they'll be short-changed by the streaming giant. Spotify began offering complimentary audiobooks to millions of customers in October as part of their monthly subscriptions. All of the so-called Big Five publishers signed on, with Penguin Random House LLC saying it was “excited” to place titles on the service. But not everyone in the book industry is thrilled, including Bradley Tusk, a New York-based venture capitalist, author and bookstore owner whose political advocacy firm Tusk Strategies is rallying authors who worry that the shift to streaming will make it even more difficult to earn a living.  “I've seen this movie enough times,” Tusk said in an interview. “If, at the beginning of ...
Spotify offers 15 hours of audiobooks to UK, Australia premium subscribers
Technology

Spotify offers 15 hours of audiobooks to UK, Australia premium subscribers

[ad_1] Spotify Technology SA is giving its premium subscribers in the UK and Australia 15 free hours of audiobook listening per month in a broader push into that market.The offering, which Bloomberg News previously reported was in the works, starts on Tuesday. US-based subscribers will receive the free hours this winter. More than 150,000 titles will be included from five big book publishers. Users can purchase 10 additional hours for $11 a month in the US, or £10 in the UK. For members on family plans, only the main account holder will receive the included hours. Free users will only be able to purchase individual audiobook titles a la carte. Spotify's main audiobooks competitor, Amazon.com Inc.'s Audible, offers one bestseller or new release per month, in addition to a selection of ad...
Forget Siri, Apple’s new AI Audiobooks sound EXACTLY like a human voice
Technology

Forget Siri, Apple’s new AI Audiobooks sound EXACTLY like a human voice

[ad_1] Apple is riding the AI wave and has brought a new feature where it offers audiobooks to users that have been narrated with the help of artificial intelligence. And unlike Siri, they sound just like humans. Those of you who own an iPhone must be accustomed to the robotic yet somewhat human-like voice of Siri. Apple's personal assistant for iOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS devices is powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing models. However, it is quite a narrow usage of artificial intelligence as it never really gets smarter or improves over time and only does the things asked of it. However, Apple has introduced a brand new feature to its devices where it is finally moving to the deep end of AI. The Apple Books app now has AI narrators, meaning you can...