Google Play Auto-Narration Audiobooks for Self Publishing | Episode 250

The Heidi Thorne Show

The audiobook market is still on an upward trajectory, with another year of double digit gains. But the audiobook industry is in somewhat of a practical and existential crisis with Google Play now offering self publishing of audiobooks using text-to-speech (TTS) robot voices.

Let’s talk about what auto-narration is, how it will impact audiobooks, and what that means for authors who are self publishing audiobooks. P.S. Did you know that AI narration was used in the Top Gun 2 sequel movie? You'll want to hear about this!

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/ovC-0yhL6BQ

Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):

0:17 Growth and challenges for the future of audiobooks

0:56 What are Google Play auto-narration audiobooks?

3:42 The LOL problem

4:34 ISBN and GGKEY numbers for Google Play auto-narration audiobooks

4:59 Exciting and scary future for robot auto-narrating of audiobooks

6:00 How the Top Gun 2 movie used AI narration

7:11 How to connect with Heidi

Udemy course: How to Self Publish an Audio Book https://www.udemy.com/course/how-to-self-publish-an-audio-book/?referralCode=75A2310A555CB12AFE4C

You can also listen to The Heidi Thorne Show on your favorite podcast apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Amazon TuneIn Radio. This is Episode 250.