Your comment shows you know nothing about copyright, writing, or the audiobook industry. Distribution sites like Findaway Voices, and ACX take huge cuts of the royalties. Sales may increase, but rights holders are getting less and less for each sale. Voice actors are paid for the work they do, the narration, and they do not give a producer the right to their voice. Apple's rights grab was shady as fuck, and they know it, which is why use for machine learning was halted as soon as the voice actors union stepped in.

This has NOTHING to do with 'Fair Use'. That doesn't apply in this instance. Findaway Voices made their clause auto-opt in gave Apple a third-party license to Apple to use audiobooks they had no rights to, to train their AI, And please take the 'for exposure' analogy and stick it in the deep dark hole where it belongs. No creative can pay rent on 'exposure'. My energy company won't take 'exposure' to pay my bills.

There is so much misinformation in this thread. As an audiobook producer who deals with Findaway Voices these are the facts: 1. Findaway snuck a third-party license clause into page 16 of their 18 page distribution contract. It concerned giving our audiobooks to Apple for 'Machine Learning' . Findaway update their contract 2-3 times a year and if your audiobooks are already distributed through the site you don't get asked to look at the new contract and agree again. The clause was auto-opt in. So to the assholes saying 'Duh you should have read the contract'. Screw you! We didn't know about the change. They never emailed account holders to say what the clause was or meant. 2. We all use Findaway Voices for DISTRIBUTION ONLY. That is their remit. They don't have the right to permit a third-party to use our work for Ai Training.This is NOT about 'Fair Use' Fair use does not apply here. 3. Rights holders do not have the rights of a narrators voice, therefore, cannot give Apple permission to use the narrators voice to train. 4. No, rights holders don't get their cut. Royalty amounts are getting smaller even though sales of audiobooks are increasing. The distribution platforms are making huge profits while Rights Holders are hanging on by a thread. 5. Traditional publisher have a different contract with Findaway Voices. Therefore, the shady clause for machine learning use is ONLY targeting Independent producers. Findaway and Apple know they're on legally shaky ground with this and hoped that Indies wouldn't fight back. What they didn't consider was that the SAG-AFTRA union would get involved on behalf of voice actors. This is why they've put a halt on giving Apple access to new audiobooks for 'machine learning' usage This is a shady rights grab by Apple, enabled by Spotify/Findaway Voices. Spotify is currently in a fight with Apple and accusing them of 'Anti Competitive behaviour'. They're so pissed about the seeming 'unfairness' of doing business with Apple that they spent a lot of money on setting up a website whinging at Apple that it was 'Time to Play Fair'. The irony is stunning. You couldn't make this shit up! https://www.timetoplayfair.com...