Echo Point's Stance on AI Narration

                                                                                                                                                                                         Despite what our rural roots and no-frills attitude might suggest, an embrace of technology is central to Echo Point’s business. Whether it’s the damaged books we retail on behalf of our publisher partners, the out-of-print titles we help breathe new life into, or the audiobooks we publish, we’ve found success through utilizing digital tools in this analog publishing industry we deeply love. It’s our passion for that analog—for books and original content—which forms our mission.

Book publishing stands at a watershed moment with the advent of artificial intelligence and large language models. In the realm of audiobooks, an array of companies are debuting Text-to-Speech software programs to provide synthetic, non-human narration. While this technology holds tremendous promise in a variety of applications, it doesn’t align with our values as a publisher.

Authors trust us to treat their work with meticulous care at every step of the process – from narrator selection and script adaptation to editing and supplementary material creation, our specialized approach is what has made us successful. In selecting a narrator, we look for someone who has an authentic connection to the material, and experience narrating books in the same genre. Our narrators are genuine collaborators in helping us navigate the challenges of adapting often complex texts for the audio format. The creativity, diligence, and experience of the narrators with whom we work is a major contributor to the consistently high quality of the audiobooks we publish. At Echo Point, we’re committed to providing every work entrusted to us with the customized, human attention it deserves.