Findaway Voices: Society of Authors calls for clearer terms from Spotify

The Society of Authors (SoA) has publicly urged Findaway Voices, a subsidiary of Spotify, to provide a clearer explanation of its revised Terms of Use following significant pushback from the creator community.

Clarification sought on rights and usage

The controversy began after the new terms appeared to grant Findaway Voices extensive rights to utilise creators’ audiobooks for the creation of derivative works without the need for consent or offering compensation, also including a comprehensive waiver of moral rights.

Reacting to the backlash, Spotify amended the contentious terms, aiming to address the creators’ concerns. Despite these efforts, the SoA remains apprehensive. An SoA spokesperson highlighted, “Their Terms of Use still refer to use of the audiobooks for ‘training’ in connection with the ‘promotion’ and ‘marketing’ of the Spotify Service…We urge Spotify to make it explicitly clear in their Terms of Use that no works will be used in the development of any type of generative Artificial Intelligence model or product without creators’ permission.”

Read: Spotify audiobooks: a challenge to the publishing world

The spokesperson also recognised the adjustments made by Spotify, particularly the clarification that the Terms of Use do not permit the use of audiobooks to generate new books, e-books, or audiobooks, or to create machine-generated voices without the creator’s permission. However, they noted that the wording remains overly broad and requires further refinement to unequivocally cover all types of derivative works, including podcasts.

Continued dialogue and future oversight

The issue has also brought to light the SoA’s ongoing concerns about the lack of direct communication between publishers and authors or agents regarding the streaming deals inked with Spotify. In response to the controversy, a Spotify spokesperson stated, “We heard from the author community, swiftly took action and updated the terms the following day…We are committed to supporting authors to find breakout success, and discover new audiences/fans with the varied interest and tastes of our global audience through promotional efforts.”

Read: Spotify audiobooks ‘reshape market’ with huge growth

Following Spotify’s revisions, The Authors Guild in the United States updated its stance. Initially, the Guild had voiced concerns similar to those of the SoA. After Spotify clarified its intentions, stating the language was not meant to infringe on rights or train AI but rather to enhance audiobook discoverability and implement fraud prevention measures, the Guild acknowledged, “We appreciate Spotify’s responsiveness to our concerns and those of the author community…We will continue to review the terms and any future updates to ensure that they do not encroach on authors’ rights, and look forward to continuing a productive dialogue with Spotify.”

This ongoing dialogue between Spotify and the creator community shows the complex balance between technological advancements and the protection of creators’ rights in this growing field.