At least four imprints of Random House (Ballantine, Dell, Del Rey and Spectra) have turned off text to speech in Kindle books that they give away at a zero price. Random House is owned by Bertelsmann AG, the German publishing giant. What is the rationale for soundproofing* these books?
Here are some examples of DRM’d soundproof books that are free to Kindle users who do not have visual impairments.
[*George Kerscher and Jim Fruchterman, “The Soundproof Book: Exploration of Rights Conflict and Access to Commercial EBooks for People with Disabilities,” First Monday, Volume. 7, Number 6 – 3 June 2002.]
Kiss of Midnight (Kindle Edition)
by Lara Adrian (Author)
Kindle Price: $0.00
Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
Publisher: Dell (May 1, 2007)
His Majesty’s Dragon (Kindle Edition)
by Naomi Novik (Author)
Kindle Price: $0.00
Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
Publisher: Ballantine Books (March 28, 2006)
Assassin’s Apprentice (Kindle Edition)
by Robin Hobb (Author)
Kindle Price: $0.00
Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
Publisher: Spectra (November 5, 2002)
Weapons of Choice (Axis of Time, Book 1) (Kindle Edition)
by John Birmingham (Author)
Kindle Price: $0.00
Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
Publisher: Ballantine Books (June 1, 2004)
Elric: The Stealer of Souls (Kindle Edition)
by Michael Moorcock (Author)
Kindle Price: $0.00
Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
Publisher: Ballantine Books (February 19, 2008)
For Love of Mother Not (Kindle Edition)
by Alan Dean Foster (Author)
Kindle Price: $0.00
Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
Publisher: Ballantine Books (March 26, 2002)
Settling Accounts Return Engagement: Book One of the Settling Accounts Trilogy (Kindle Edition)
by Harry Turtledove (Author)
Kindle Price: $0.00
Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
Publisher: Ballantine Books (August 3, 2004)
Red Mars (Kindle Edition)
by Kim Stanley Robinson (Author)
Kindle Price: $0.00
Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
Publisher: Spectra (May 27, 2003)
Magic Kingdom for Sale–Sold! (Kindle Edition)
by Terry Brooks (Author)
Kindle Price: $0.00
Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
Publisher: Del Rey (December 17, 2008)
Blood Engines (Kindle Edition)
by T.A. Pratt (Author)
Kindle Price: $0.00
Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
Publisher: Spectra (September 25, 2007)
For more on soundproof books:
http://www.readingrights.org
https://www.keionline.org/blogs/2009/05/17/sound-proof-books/
https://www.keionline.org/blogs/2009/06/07/kindle2-more-tts-off/