The app displays a notification that in-app purchases and rentals aren't available. Amazon implemented the change in version 8.58 of the Kindle app for Android. Google said it will remove non-compliant apps from the Play Store starting on Wednesday. The billing system isn't used for the sale of physical objects like groceries and clothes or for peer-to-peer payments or gambling that takes place on apps. Google takes a 15% cut of transactions on its Play Store billing system. The company later gave app developers until June 1, 2022, to comply. The Android maker said in 2020 that apps must use the Google Play billing system to charge for "in-app features and services," which include digital content in addition to subscription services, upgraded versions of a free app and cloud services like data storage. The notification went out one day before a deadline set by Google to comply with the policy. The Kindle app for Android displays this message when users click on a link saying, "Why can't I buy on the app?." The change was necessary "to remain in compliance with updated Google Play Store policies," Amazon said in the email. In an email, the company explained people will have to pay for the digital content on a web browser and then access the books through their app's digital library. Only when that changes will AI-narration become a conceivable threat to the status quo – and even then only a threat to the gatekeeper mentality that says only Big Publishers are fit to decide what booklovers may read or listen to.Īs and when AI-narration becomes mainstream consumers will decide if it’s worthwhile.Amazon let customers know on Tuesday they can no longer rent or buy books or pay for Kindle Unlimited subscriptions using the Kindle app.
The single biggest drag on AI-narration development right now is not the technology – that’s already comfortably within acceptable limits, and can only get better – but the platforms themselves, which either discourage or outright disallow AI-narrated content. What it will do is open up audio to authors and publishers to reach new consumers with acceptable, if not superb, narration that will being in revenue from low-profile and backlist titles that would otherwise never make it to the audiobook platforms.
No, AI narration will not put competent real-life narrators out of jobs any time soon, if ever. The Google Play Books AI Narration page carries a quote from respected industry heavyweight and former IPA President Richard Charkin of Mensch Publishing saying “ The technology has supassed my expectations.”Īgain quite what is new here is not clear, but the PW post at least gives me an excuse to bring up AI-narration options once more. If the option has moved from beta to mainstream thats not clear.īut what matters is that, by offering 35+ narative voices in English and Spanish, the Google Play Books AI-narration option means publishers of all sizes have the chance to upload an ebook or epub file and use what, for now, are free tools to tweak an automated narration before publishing on Google Play and, all importantly, exporting the finished file to be sold elsewhere. Per a report in Publishers Weekly yesterday, Google Play has now expanded its AI-narrated audiobook creation option to the US, UK, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Spain.Ĭontinuing internet connectivity means I’ve not been able to follow up with Google Play on this, and it’s not clear just what is new here – the beta option has been available for a good while now – but PW says “another big voice has entered the market”.
0 kommentar(er)
