Last updated 9/26/23

 

As I wrote in 2021, taking steps to remove the human voice and replace it with a synthesized one destroys the art form.

I certainly do not want or intend to participate in any attempt to create artificial voices meant to replace human narrators.

However, I unknowingly may have done that very thing by choosing to distribute audiobooks through FindawayVoices.com. Today, I took action to revoke Findaway’s license to Apple to use my audiobooks for machine learning.

In recent days, people on Facebook have shared this clause in Schedule D of the rights holder’s Distribution Agreement from FindawayVoices.com:

Machine Learning
Rights Holder grants Apple a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable right and license to use Digital Audio Products files for machine learning training and models, provided that in no event shall any Rights Holder Digital Audio Products or portion thereof be provided to any third party or end-user in contravention of this Digital Distribution Agreement (e.g. making Rights Holder content available for free to end-users without express written consent). Rights Holder may revoke this right and license by sending Notice to Findaway as outlined in Section 11.

Section 11 states:

11. NOTICES
All notices required under this Agreement shall be sent by email to support@findawayvoices.com.

I’m a rights holder on Findaway. I sent the email below to FindawayVoices as my Notice. Feel free to use it as a template, though in retrospect, I’d change the subject to be Revoke license for Apple machine learning. I also should have added that my revocation applies to any future similar license with another company. Not surprisingly, the auto-reply message stated they are “experiencing higher than average email volume.”

Subject: Revoke use of Apple machine learning

Hello. I am disgusted to learn that Findaway at some point added language to Schedule D of the Distribution Agreement which allows Apple to use my audio for machine learning.

Per Item 11 of the Agreement, I revoke that right and license forever for all of my audiobooks.

Please send confirmation of this request, as well as confirmation from Apple that my files will not be used in this manner.

Looking at my copies of past Distribution Agreements, I see that this clause has been in place since at least March 2020.

It’s unfortunate that Findaway’s lawyers banked on the fact that most people would not see or understand this treacherous clause in the Agreement.

For a company that proudly proclaims “We Love Narrators” on the home page of FindawayVoices.com, this clause makes it seem that the company loves big money more.

In addition to the royalty break-down listed in the Agreement, Findaway should be transparent about the amount of money that Apple is paying for the right to use your clients’ audio to create synthetic voices that could take the jobs of the narrators Findaway “loves”.

Thank you for your attention and immediate action.

 

Update 1:

After receiving numerous questions and comments from other narrators, I’ve edited this post to clarify that the “Machine Learning” language only appears in the rights holder’s Distribution Agreement.

I’ve narrated and self-produced a number of books that I distributed through Findaway as the rights holder. I couldn’t find a link to the current Distribution Agreement on the web. It’s contained in my Rights Holder Dashboard.

Narrators sign away our interest in the recording at the point we contracted with a rights holder. You should ensure that your contract specifically states that your voice may not be used without your permission for machine learning or any other purpose not explicitly stated in the contract.

You can send the email to Findaway. However, I imagine they would tell you to contact the rights holder(s) of books you’ve narrated to revoke their sub-license to Apple.

I would argue that the RH doesn’t have the right to sub-license MY VOICE to Apple or anyone for machine learning or anything else. Unfortunately, this particular horse at Findaway has been out of the barn for a while.

Update 2: 

The Findaway Voices Distribution Agreement doesn’t reference other Findaway/Spotify divisions. In fact, Spotify is only mentioned one time — in the table showing the royalty rates from each site.

FindawayVoices updates this Agreement when they add or drop distribution channels/partners, so I hadn’t been looking closely at each change. I don’t remember seeing emails from Findaway that itemized each difference. I seem to recall being forced to re-sign the Distribution Agreement before I could see my FV Dashboard.

Schedule D “Digital Audio Product Program Policies” talks about the types of programs they accept and starts with these 2 paragraphs:

Rights Holder acknowledges and agrees to adhere to Digital Audio Product Program Policies. Findaway may change the Digital Audio Product Program Policies at its discretion from time to time with notice to the Rights Holder.

Our content policies play an important role in ensuring a positive experience for both our users and publishing partners. Please join us in this effort by respecting these guidelines. We may make exceptions to these policies based on artistic, educational, historical, documentary, or scientific considerations, or where there are other substantial benefits to the public.

The paragraph about the sub-license to Apple for Machine Learning was strangely added at the end of Schedule D, right after paragraphs about prohibitions on Hate Speech and permissible and non-permissible Sexually Explicit content.

Actually, from a lawyer’s perspective, that’s probably a perfect hiding spot.

 

Update 3 added 9/26/23:

I wrote in a comment below on 2/13/23

As a result of the publicity over the clause in the Findaway Distribution Agreement, reps from SAG/AFTRA met with Findaway and Apple. Both companies agreed to halt the use of any and all files for machine learning, retroactive to the beginning of the practice.

In this 2/14/23 WIRED story, Jane Love, SAG/AFTRA’s national director for audiobooks, “confirmed that Apple’s access to files from Findaway had been halted.”