A machine learning clause in the Apple terms of service with Findaway Voices has been giving authors and narrators cause for concern. The clause reads in part that the rights holder grants Apple a nonexclusive right and license to use audiobooks for machine learning training and models. Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware has written a focused article about the contract language, noting it appears this language was part of the agreement as far back as 2019. New Shelves suggests a template you can use when emailing Findaway Voices to revoke authorization for machine learning at Apple, but this may ultimately mean not selling the audiobook through Apple at all.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
