OpenAI just announced that it recently conducted a small-scale preview of a new tool called Voice Engine. This is a voice cloning technology that can mimic any speaker by analyzing a 15-second audio sample. The company says it generates “natural-sounding speech” with “emotive and realistic voices.” The technology is based on the company’s pre-existing text-to-speech API and it has been in the works since 2022. OpenAI has already been using a version of the toolset to power the preset voices available in the current text-to-speech API and the Read Aloud feature. There are a bunch of samples on the company’s official blog and they sound eerily close to the real thing. I encourage you to give them a listen and imagine the possibilities, both good and bad. OpenAI says they see this technology being useful for reading assistance, language translation and helping those who suffer from sudden or degenerative speech conditions. The company brought up a Brown University pilot program that helped a patient with speech impairment issues by creating a Voice Engine clone pulled from audio recorded for a school project. Despite the potential benefits, bad actors would certainly abuse this technology to engage in some serious deepfake tomfoolery, which is already a problem. With this in mind, Voice Engine isn’t quite ready for prime time, as there are serious privacy concerns that must be met before a full rollout. OpenAI acknowledges that this tech has “serious risks, which are... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-03-29 19:03:56 UTC ]
In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle reviews Stephen King’s early non-fiction book about horror In 1999, the prolific author Stephen King had his own dance with death. One afternoon, he was walking on the shoulder of a road near his home in the US state […] The... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2020-02-28 15:00:22 UTC ]
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Beloved stars of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films will voice the first ever audiobook edition of J.K. Rowling's THE TALES OF BEEDLE THE BARD, with proceeds to benefit the Lumos foundation. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-02-27 16:09:37 UTC ]
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J K Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard is being released as an audiobook read by Harry Potter stars. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-26 23:45:48 UTC ]
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A roundup of audiobook short story collections, with a single narrator or a full cast, that give listeners an incredible audiobook experience. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-02-25 11:31:17 UTC ]
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To protect your work and expand its reach, understanding film, TV and audiobook rights is a must. Publishing attorney and Grammy-award-winning audiobook producer Jessica Kaye tells how. The post Film and Audiobook Rights 101 by Jessica Kaye appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest
[ Writer's Digest | 2020-02-21 11:00:57 UTC ]
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Here are six narrators, who, as of this writing, have each recorded less than five audiobooks. This reader can't wait to listen to them again. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-02-17 11:32:05 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. In a story that shifts through time, Ramón de Ocampo is a welcome guide, and his narration is... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-17 09:00:40 UTC ]
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Headline and Dorothy Koomson have launched "Find My Verity", an open casting call designed to bring more black female voices into the world of audiobooks. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-17 06:25:35 UTC ]
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Free agent NFL quarterback and social activist Colin Kaepernick plans to publish a memoir via his own publishing venture and release an audiobook version of the untitled book via an exclusive deal with Audible. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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And here it is: Canadian Book-Buying Habits Haven’t Changed Much in the Last Year. In case you’re still reading, for some reason Forbes is reporting that Canadians (my people) aren’t taking to audiobooks in quite the same way their cousins to the south are. Year-over-year American audiobook... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-11 16:22:32 UTC ]
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Five nominees for the Grammys spoken word award offer vastly different listening experiences. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-01-23 15:00:45 UTC ]
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Jeanine Cummins' book has been lauded by Stephen King and Lauren Groff, but also lambasted as "problematic," "harmful" and "brownfacing." Continue reading at HuffPost
[ HuffPost | 2020-01-21 23:31:13 UTC ]
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Seven publishers had sued the audiobook giant last July, claiming that its audio-to-text service Captions was unauthorisedAfter months of back and forth, Audible has settled in a copyright lawsuit with major publishers over its plan to introduce captions to their recordings, a proposal that the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-01-15 14:00:06 UTC ]
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From bestsellers to textbooks, stolen content is easily found on a 14-year-old hosting service operated by Microsoft’s social network. Mid-level writers are hurt the most. If you want to purchase a copy of The Institute, Stephen King’s latest novel about supernatural kids, you could find it at... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2020-01-15 13:00:52 UTC ]
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Amazon's audiobook company Audible has reached a settlement with a group of seven US publishers in the copyright lawsuit against the firm's Captions programme, according to a letter from Audible's legal team. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-13 21:30:27 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House Audio will publish an audiobook edition of the stage production of Elizabeth Strout’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel My Name is Lucy Barton (Viking) by the show’s star, Hollywood actress Laura Linney. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-10 15:27:10 UTC ]
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"Derry Girls" actor Nicola Coughlan will read the unabridged audiobook of Michelle Gallen’s début novel Big Girl, Small Town. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-08 09:51:32 UTC ]
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When you're looking for an audiobook with a great narrator in addition to a great story, check out these excellent audiobooks narrated by Robin Miles. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-01-07 11:32:32 UTC ]
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Few gifts say I didn’t know what to get you like candles or gift cards. And for about the same price as that throw blanket or wine you were planning to wrap, an audiobook can make you the hero of any gift exchange (and they’re even easier to wrap than books). Choosing books for other […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-12-18 09:48:15 UTC ]
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Megan Dobson has been appointed publisher of independent audiobook producer RBmedia's ChristianAudio brand. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-12-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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