r/ACX

Hi, I have been producing an audiobook with a RH who has published audiobooks in the past to Audible, and seems legitimate. However I had received no communication from them other than the original enquiry about my availability. I sent multiple messages, submitted the 15 min checkpoint and kept them up to date on my side of things, asked for their opinions and for any feedback to be met with no response.

I started to get anxious so I sent a message asking if they wanted to continue this collaboration as the lack of interaction and support is making me feel uneasy and they replied the next week with a kind message, assuring me that all is well and they apologise for the situation on their part.

Should I continue on despite feeling unsure or would you pull out from here? This spanned from the end of June until now, and I can’t help but feel like I’m making a mistake. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!!

Hi everyone. I'd like to try something a bit different. There's been a growing discontent for the number of people posting commonly posted subjects: IS THIS A SCAM?!?, Audio/ Voice focused software, Editing services and ACX codes. Oh - and there's also those who, understandably, are seeking feedback on their voiceover/ narration work.

Let's try this. I don't expect it to be a perfect solution but i'm hoping it will alleviate some of the cynicism that's growing within this sub.

If this works, I'm hoping to start this and related threads at the beginning of every month. If you believe there's a better way (not open to banning these posts at this time), please make your suggestions.

thank you, weirdsauce.

Hi everyone. I'm pretty new at this, so I'm wondering what to do. I received and signed a contract to produce a short audiobook, but the rights holder is yet to send the manuscript through. The deadline for the 15 minute check is coming up in the next few days! Do you think they've bailed? If so, what do I do?

I would happily extend the deadline, but I also don't want to nag. I've already sent a bunch of very gentle emails asking for the manuscript or some kind of update...

I'm actually considering buying the ebook and reading from that just so I can say I've fulfilled MY side of the contract, and I know that's crazy. Is that crazy?

I stalked the author online and of course they have no presence. I then stalked the publisher and they have a LOT of books (many of which I remember seeing on the ACX boards over the last weeks) but it's like they've only actually existed since April this year.

I'm thinking it's someone who created and released a BUNCH of AI content and then chucked them on ACX for Royalty Shares, who has now become overwhelmed by bureaucratic backlash. Still, we have a contract. I kind of want to name and shame, but I won't, as this might still be a big ol' mix up!

Thoughts?

Ive got my first audiobook narration contract and plan on utilizing an editor for mastering.

Should I have my editor master the 15 min check in as well as the finished audiobook narration? How would that work?

I certainly would rather send the full edited file to my editor to master, rather than doing both and paying more, but I'd also love the RH to hear what the narration quality with the editors mastering sounds like in the 15 minute check in.

Any advice?

* edit. I do realize I am not the best at explaining things... lol. please see comments below for actual clarification haha*

Hi kids,
I'm an experienced audiobook narrator, with 25 books to my credit. Most of my work has been in Travel, Self-Help, Technology, Health, Business and Finance. I did narrate one Fiction Western book that had a few female characters. For those I basically did sort of a falcetto voice of different pitches and the author was fine with it.

I've been asked to narrate several Sci-Fi novels that have female characters and the author said he's fine with the falcetto thing, but I'm not. I want to do something less phoney sounding. So my question is, to other men who narrate, what do you do?

Interested in hearing your responses. Thanks in advance.

Theojkett

When reading ACX messages, ask yourself these questions:

1. Is the person asking you to move communications off platform before they've stated the terms of their offer? (i.e. vaguely offering you the possibility of opportunities without telling you the actual title of a book listed on ACX or name of an author with any titles listed on ACX)
2. Is the person asking you to complete an action completely unrelated to audiobooks? (i.e. asking you to help them retrieve their inheritance, late husband's estate, etc.)
3. Is the person asking you to spend a portion of a check which your bank has not yet deposited the funds for into your bank account? (i.e. asking you to buy a product from an online shop, put money into an online account, pay for third-party services, etc.)
4. Is the person asking you to communicate via Telegram?

If you have said "yes" to any of these, it's HIGHLY likely a scam. If you have said "yes" to 2 or more, it is absolutely 100% a scam. If you have said "yes" to 3 or more and are still wondering, you need to just cancel your account and pack it in.

I'm an experienced narrator. I've narrated 25 audiobooks so far, most of which have been non-fiction books of Technology, self-help, health, finance, business, AI and Travel. I have done one Fiction Western. This book had a couple of female characters and I simply did a falcetto voice for those characters. The author was okay with it.

I'm just wondering what you male narrators do when you have to voice act a female character. Do you do a falcetto voice or do you have some trick to make your voice sound feminine?

Thanks in advance for your input.
TK

Made my account yesterday and auditioned today for the first time.

Since auditioning for one project I have received over 20 of the scam messages (within 4 hours) that people are posting about here. I knew they happened but I didn’t expect to get this many - is there a way to stop these messages being sent to my email but still have legit ones come through? Or hide my profile from scammers?

I also don’t even understand what the scam is - why is ACX so rife with people trying to get you on their telegram? Seems like such a weird place to try it.

Edit: since this post less than an hour ago I have received 10 more! Gaddamn these telegrams are relentless

I’m fairly new to ACX and only set up a profile recently.

I’m British, but a lot of the books I want to audition for are set in the US or require an American accent.

Performing the accents aren’t a problem, but when it comes to auditioning, would you recommend reading the entire sample including dialogue with an American accent or is it acceptable to audition in my native accent and only use American accents for the dialogue that requires it?

Wasn’t sure what the general rule is on these things.

Hi I'm Hana ! I hope you’re having a great day.

I’m reaching out as a fellow narrator who really respects your work on ACX. I’m working hard to refine my narrations, and I’d be so grateful if you could listen to a quick 1-minute sample of my voice.

Could you give me your honest feedback on my tone, pacing, or audio quality? Any constructive advice on areas I can improve—or whether you think my voice type has potential in this market—would mean the world to me. Thanks so much for your time!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PMaph-6crU00rZ1GqvCGKED23QU8tprg/view?usp=drivesdk

Here's what Gemini is suggesting narrators add...

ADDITIONAL RIDER: PROHIBITION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DIGITAL CLONING

This Rider ("Rider") is attached to and forms part of the contract/production agreement dated ______________ (the "Agreement") by and between ______________________ ("Voice Talent") and ______________________ ("Client" or "Rights Holder") for voiceover narration services regarding the project provisionally titled "______________________" (the "Project"). [1]

In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the terms of the Agreement and this Rider, the terms of this Rider shall govern and control. [1]

1. Explicit Prohibition of AI Training and Machine Learning
Client expressly agrees and covenants that no audio files, recorded data, performance samples, or metadata delivered by Voice Talent under the Agreement (collectively, the "Deliverables") shall be utilized, in whole or in part, for the purpose of training, developing, testing, optimization, or refining any artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, deep learning, neural network, large language model (LLM), or algorithmic voice-generation technologies. [1, 2]

2. Prohibition of Voice Cloning and Synthetic Synthesis
Client is strictly prohibited from using the Deliverables to create a digital clone, synthetic voice replica, voice print, or any computerized simulation of Voice Talent’s voice. Client shall not synthesize, simulate, or modify Voice Talent’s voice or performance to generate new, altered, or derivative spoken-word content, words, phrases, or vocalizations that were not explicitly recorded by Voice Talent during the authorized tracking sessions for this Project. [1, 2, 3, 4]

3. Scope of Authorized Use
The synchronization and distribution rights granted to the Client in the primary Agreement are strictly confined to the human-performed narration delivered by Voice Talent for the specific Project defined herein. No rights of "text-to-speech" (TTS), automated vocal replacement, or unauthorized derivative formatting are granted or implied. Any future use of Voice Talent's voice for updates, revisions, sequels, or separate materials requires a separate, explicitly negotiated written contract. [1, 2, 3]

4. Data Security and Third-Party Scraping Protection
Client agrees to implement reasonable commercial safeguards to protect the Deliverables from unauthorized scraping, downloading, or harvesting by third-party AI platforms. In the event that the Client distributes the Project via digital platforms, Client shall not authorize or license those platforms to exploit the Deliverables for computational text-and-data mining or machine learning model training without Voice Talent’s explicit, independent written consent. [1, 2, 3]

5. Material Breach, Remedies, and Liquidated Damages
Voice Talent retains all ownership rights over the inherent biological characteristics of their voice. Any violation of this Rider by the Client or an authorized third party constitutes an immediate, irreversible material breach of the Agreement. [1]

• Injunctive Relief: Because voice cloning causes irreparable harm to Voice Talent's career and personal identity that cannot be fully remedied by monetary damages alone, Voice Talent shall be entitled to seek immediate injunctive relief to compel the deletion and cessation of the synthetic voice model or training data. [1]
• Liquidated Damages: In addition to injunctive relief, Client agrees to pay Voice Talent a liquidated damages penalty of $________________ per unauthorized usage or per day that a synthetic model trained on Voice Talent's voice remains active, acknowledging that actual damages would be difficult to calculate precisely but represent a severe economic impact on Voice Talent’s professional livelihood.

6. Survival
The obligations, prohibitions, and restrictive covenants outlined in this Rider shall survive the expiration, termination, or completion of the primary Agreement indefinitely. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Anti-AI Voice Rider as of the date written below. [1, 2]

Voice Talent Signature: ______________________ Date: ______________

Client/Rights Holder Signature: ______________________ Date: ______________

Is this too much? Will it scare off prospective RH's? 😕

You've doYou've done the whole track, but there's a mistake, youonly want to overdub that small section. It's called punch in and punch out - which i'm sure you all know. Audacity wants to wipe EVERYTHING to the right of the punch in.

Other programmes let you highlight a section of track or inssert place markers, so when you hit record, it only records that section. I can't be done splitrting the track, creating a new track to record the section and insert it. This really simple feature needs to be added.

Hello, I'm looking for information from experienced narrators regarding how long it realistically takes you to get a book uploaded.

I hired a guy with a smooth voice and clean communication back and forth.

He started posting the chapters about five days ago and he has already posted 16 chapters (roughly 70k words or 6 hours) in this amount of time. I've reviewed about 8 chapters and found some accidental repeated lines and mis-pronunciations.

My question is this a normal pace or a pace that can be done by a human narrator? He said it's very easy to go back through and fix the errors. Just looking for someone with experience narrating to let me know if this pace is natural or you think he could be using AI to do it this fast.

I've been engineering a few books for about 4 months and haven't been auditioning. I submitted a couple auditions and uploaded a couple samples yesterday and RIP my inbox. I am getting messages from so many people who seem to believe I am the perfect fit for every project they have to offer! None via ACX though. I am reporting them all as spam, but what in the world is going on with the platform?!
ACX is a notoriously poorly made web application, but they don't seem to have even basic spam safeguards in place. Is this our new normal?

And there's only vanishing chance of the audiobook making many sales. Ye gods, I probably shouldn't have put it out there in the first place.

Edit: thanks for the responses, folks - lots of good advice. Can confirm that I did list the book as RS only. I've responded to the narrator with positive feedback and I've been up front about the payment situation.

I am an 15 year old wrriter I want to work on an novel so please if anyone has some gigs for me please comment and if someone wants to see my work, then you can ask for it I will send it on your e-mail.

So this is my first time as an author looking for a narrator. I write dark romantasy and was looking for a gravel-y deep voice for the Devil. Everything seemed fine as we conversed. His audition had the exact voice I was looking for. But he's offered to go off ACX because of all the "restrictions." I ignored that.

I think my mistake may have been saying I'm new to this. But I haven't even sent him the contract yet, we were still agreeing to the terms and then he messaged me all his personal banking information. So that.... made me feel a bit weird.

I asked him if he used AI in any of his production, and he told me he didn't really know what AI was. Is he living under a rock?

So at that point, I started looking up his information in his profile. All the books he's listed as working on do not exist. EVERY SINGLE ONE I cannot find anywhere. And his profile picture is a photo stolen off the internet that is frequently used by a lot of people.

This has to be a scam. He also keeps saying "my American...." and no one talks like that unless they're from another country, which it doesn't list him as from somewhere else. He also mentioned he had trouble with other people sending ACH payments to his "American" account.

Is there anyway this is legitimate? Am I missing something? What kind of scam is this? He just takes the fee and runs?