[netsharc]

I wonder how much money was offered. Or even if Jones gets royalty/"performance" fees everytime a movie uses his voice. I imagine old actors would put that licensing agreement in their wills, and their kids and grandkids would get to get to enjoy the earnings.

[omoikane]

Related, Hatsune Miku[1] was built with the voice from Fujita Saki[2], who was apparently offered a choice between either royalties or 50000 yen, and she chose 50000 yen immediately[3].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatsune_Miku

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saki_Fujita

[3] https://getnews.jp/archives/255685

That might have been a poor choice financially for Fujita Saki given that the current estimated number of Hatsune Miku songs is in the hundreds of thousands, but Hatsune Miku not being encumbered by royalties probably contributed to her popularity.

[isthisthingon99]

That's the less interesting part IMO. The more interesting part is what happens when others make the same using public recordings... is this fair use?

[malauxyeux]

Or training an AI using a James Earl Jones impersonator?

Tom Waits and Bette Midler have won lawsuits against companies who used voice impersonators in their ads.

Interesting times.

[nickthegreek]

I wonder if their are stipulations around using the voice in advertisements or the ability to sell the voice to other companies.