Comments on: Dear Roy Blount: Fire your Literary Agent!

By: Robert Nagle

Robert Nagle — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:02:42 +0000

If what Rich says is true, then Kindle TTS becomes a lot more interesting. The EFF brief on the Kindle persuades me that the Kindle is not violating any performance right (although that could be argued against; who knows?) because it is not creating any kind of fixed work. But lack of disclosure by Amazon seems to misrepresent the nature and the scope of the platform. I assume that Amazon provided an all-inclusive "you can't sue us no matter what" clause in the contract. The key quesiton becomes whether this failure to inform changes the nature of the platform itself. I can see both sides of the issue. For example, content should be playable on both Kindle 1 and Kindle 2. On the other hand, why should Amazon be obligated to remove functionality simply because it didn't notify a recent publisher about a feature not yet implemented? At this point the IANAL crowd can only shrug and wave their hands helplessly.

By: Rich Adin

Rich Adin — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:43:30 +0000

@Robert: There is no mention in the Amazon agreements used PRIOR to the release of K2 of text-to-speech capabilities and K1 didn’t have it (I don’t know if the agreements have be modified since the release of K2). Amazon made no disclosure so does that amount to misrepresentation? And what difference does it make when it is clear that audio rights are sold separately and have been sold separately for years? Does this mean that once an author gives Amazon ebook rights Amazon can create an audio version for sale via Audible.com without infringing? That’s really what you are saying.

By: paul

paul — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:01:37 +0000

What a douchebag move. I will never buy any Roy Blount books, and I will encourage my friends to do the same.

By: TheRealBillC

TheRealBillC — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:33:19 +0000

[if it is true that there is significant revenue in selling audio versions of your works, that would be a compelling reason not to make your works available on this platform.] No, it’s not. What Amazon may contend, (and we can’t know until court documents are filed, should it come to that) and I would agree with, is that text to speech is not an audio “recording” in the same sense as when Meryl Streep reads “The Bridges og Madison County” to tape, and then that tape is edited and sold as an audio book. Text to speech merely creates a change in format, Meryl creates a unique work.

By: Robert Nagle

Robert Nagle — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:41:45 +0000

Rich: If Blount didn’t want his content to be sold on Amazon’s ebook platform, he could have taken action to prevent it.

However, if Amazon misrepresented in their agreement with the publisher (and/or author) about the capabilities of the Kindle, then that would be a different matter. I haven’t seen evidence that this has occurred.

By: Fake Authors Guild

Fake Authors Guild — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:40:31 +0000

…and another thing!

I’m sick and tired of people sharing their kindle with a spouse. When you buy an e-book for your Kindle, you damn well better buy one copy PER PERSON in your household who reads it. Little Johnny can read a few sentences, perhaps even a chapter (if it’s a big book), but more than that… PAY UP!

If you disagree with me, you’re clearly in favor of financially ruining mom’n'pop writers. Won’t someone think of the writers?!?

By: Rich Adin

Rich Adin — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:10:07 +0000

Robert, you have it wrong. Blount’s agent did a good job — the agent DIDN’T give away audio rights with the ebook rights. Amazon is the one who says the audio rights are included and is using its 800 lbs to sit on authors and publishers who disagree, but Amazon has yet to produce anything other than its PR department to support its position. It’s like Bezos saying that it is the publishers who insist on DRM when the truth is it is
Amazon through its contract that insists on DRM. The one thing Amazon is truly good at is blame-shifting and getting people to buy its propaganda.

By: Caron

Caron — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:09:07 +0000

All this “Kindle TTS affaire” makes me really sad. It is quite disheartening listening authors talking just the same as megacorps.

Thanks for the really funny turn of the post, by the way.

By: Pete Austin

Pete Austin — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:36:36 +0000

I buy a lot of books. The kind of attitude shown by Roy Blout, and too many authors and publishers like him, is why I’ve switched to buying mostly second-hand books from charity shops.

By: Shelley

Shelley — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:35:05 +0000

I have a book for sale for the Kindle at Amazon. One’s that also available DRM free at O’Reilly. I have no problems with a mechanical reading of the text. I don’t feel cheated. I don’t consider text-to-speech to be equivalent to a true audio book, recorded by a human, and designed specifically for listening pleasure.

I really believe in the eBook market, and am getting really ticked at all the greedy SOBs trying to muck it up.