All the "you just heard" speaking at Magnatune has been replaced with a human being. Gone is the computer "text to speech" program I was using. The result is much more pleasing and intelligible.
I also lowered the voice volume down by 40%, so it's a bit softer than the music. This means that you can comfortable once again listen to magnatune music all day and not feel interrupted or "jarred" by the intrusive computer voice.
I was listening to the magnatune classical station yesterday while reading, and didn't really notice the voice, which was the effect I was trying to achieve.
The voice of Magnatune, by the way, is Shannon Coulter, who just started working with me this week on Magnatune. Shannon has done some voice work for radio in the past, which is why she sounds so good!
This voice now announces "that was track number #, from the album XX by artist name, from magnatune.com". You'll find that on the radio stations, m3u playlists and soon, on the podcasts I'm putting together. I wanted to wait on the podcast launch until I had banished the computer voice.
Hopefully... others feel similarly positive about the new voice!
-john
Yeah, I noticed right away the difference in the voice, and was VERY appreciative. Thanks. :)
Posted by: Topher | December 05, 2005 at 05:46 AM
I think it sounds great. I recently received an iPod shuffle as a gift. I've loaded it up with 128kbps MP3 samples from Magnatune, and these announcements really help.
Posted by: Glenn Tarigan | December 05, 2005 at 10:09 PM
What a voice. Can I marry her? Just in case I find time: Is it legal to use it in a remix?
Posted by: thomas | January 02, 2006 at 07:18 AM
What a voice. Can I marry her? Just in case I find time: Is it legal to use it in a remix?
Absolutely, Shannon's voice is covered by the same creative commons license (by-nc-sa), feel free to remix her!
-john
Posted by: John Buckman | January 02, 2006 at 09:55 AM