Publishers Face Backlash Over AI Rights in Author Contracts: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway
The ongoing case against Meta has highlighted the conversations publishers have and haven’t had with their authors about licensing AI rights.
AI-Generated Audiobooks Gain Momentum with Eleven Labs and Spotify Partnership: Self-Publishing with ALLi Featuring Dan Holloway
On this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Dan Holloway examines major developments in AI-generated audiobooks. Eleven Labs has launched direct audiobook publishing, offering authors new distribution options and competitive royalties. The company has also expanded its speech-to-text services, allowing authors to transcribe and produce audiobooks seamlessly. Meanwhile, OpenAI's video-generation tool Sora is now available in the UK and EU, and Twitch has expanded monetization features, creating new opportunities for authors to engage with audiences.
TikTok and Twitch Expand Monetization; Eleven Labs Launches Speech-to-Text: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway
This week’s news seems to be all about tools that could help authors make more money. We started the week by looking at Eleven Labs’ big move into dealing directly with authors to create AI-generated e-books. Today, we are looking at a couple of other tools that caught my eye over the past week, including TikTok and Twitch, both of which are expanding opportunities for creators to monetize their work.
Eleven Labs Expands AI Audiobook Tools; Spotify Opens to AI Narration: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway
Eleven Labs is the best-known company working on the production of AI-generated voices. And in the past week, they have been busy translating that technology into tools for indie authors to use to create audiobooks.
UK Publishers Push Back on AI Copyright; Academic Libraries Shift to Subscription Model: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway
Fittingly for a Saturday snack, there are several smaller pieces of news I want to round up. Here in the UK, the public consultation on AI copyright has just finished, and the Publishers Association’s Dan Conway has been vocal on what he thinks needs to happen. A quotation in The Times includes fighting talk such as, “The message to government is clear: the great copyright heist cannot go unchallenged…Big Tech needs to pay for the creative and research content they hoover up to train AI.”
Meta Considered Using Pirated Books for AI Training, Kindle Policy Change Sparks Debate: Self-Publishing with ALLi Featuring Dan Holloway
On this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Dan Holloway reports on Meta’s internal discussions about AI training, revealing that the company considered using pirated books to train its language models. Court documents show Meta abandoned licensing talks with publishers after realizing they didn’t have the rights to AI training data. Meanwhile, Kindle’s recent policy change regarding USB book transfers continues to stir debate, and World of Books expands into the US resale market.
World of Books Expands in the US; The StoryGraph Gains Traction as a Goodreads Alternative: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway
Midweek sees a couple of interesting, if low-key, stories. Many readers were expressing concern over Amazon as we ended last week after the change of terms removed Kindle book USB transfers from computer to e-reader. I hope we shed light on the story here, and it does feel that some of the absolute panic I saw on social media may have been a little overstated. But still, as people think of alternatives to the Amazon ecosystem, World of Books is expanding, and other options are emerging.
Meta Copyright Case Keeps Bringing the Reveals: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway
Remember I reported that the Meta copyright case revealed the company stopped negotiating rights licenses for AI training with publishers back in 2023? Well, now the case is giving us even more.
Amazon’s Kindle Changes Spark Backlash as USB Transfer Option Ends: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway
I can’t remember the last time I saw quite so much vexation over Kindle changes in my general social media. From Facebook friends to what feels like my whole YouTube feed, everyone is talking about Amazon’s change to the functionality of Kindle books. People are very unhappy.
Spotify Launches Mental Health Fiction Award; Meta Halted AI Licensing Talks: Self-Publishing with ALLi Featuring Dan Holloway
On this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Dan Holloway explores Spotify’s new $10,000 mental health fiction award, the fallout from the Paris AI Summit, and surprising revelations about Meta’s stalled AI licensing talks with publishers. He also looks at the latest Kindle policy change that limits how readers can back up their e-books, raising concerns about digital ownership.
Meta Paused AI Book Licensing; Publishers Sue Cohere; Paris AI Summit Criticized: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway
Court cases around the use of books and journalism to train AI are back in the news, with AI book licensing emerging as a key issue.
Spotify Launches Mental Health Fiction Award; TikTok Returns to App Stores; Bluesky Expands Tools: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway
Spotify is back in the news, this time for mental health fiction. Rather than focusing on audiobook sales or author tools, the company has launched a new prize for writers: the Spotify x JED Impact Award.