After a backlash, Spotify has removed a clause that allowed Apple to train machine learning models on some audiobook files.
could steal work from artists like himself. Early this month, he felt his worst fears had been realized.
Some authors and narrators say they were not clearly informed about the clause and feared it may have allowed their work or voices to contribute to Apple’s development of synthetic voices for audiobooks. Apple launched its first books narrated by algorithms. “It was very disheartening,” says Furlong, who has narrated over 300 audiobooks and is one of more than a dozen narrators and authors who told WIRED of their concerns with Findaway’s agreement.
Jane Love, SAG-AFTRA’s national director for audiobooks, confirmed that Apple’s access to files from Findaway had been halted. She says the union is still “working with Findaway toward a solution that recognizes the union’s concerns” such as, “safe storage of the recordings and data, usage limitations, and appropriate compensation.”
After Furlong first learned of Apple’s algorithms being written into Findaway agreements early this month, he contacted Isobel Starling, an author he’d worked with who distributed titles with the company. She was shocked to find a clause titled “Machine Learning” near the bottom of her lengthy agreement with Findaway.
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