Text to speech - freely distributable output - English with non-native accent

[lpetrich]

I'm looking for a text-to-speech app for MacOS X that produces output that can be used in freely-distributable non-commercial projects that will be distributed online. Here is the problem with Apple's text-to-speech voices. From Apple's recent OSX licenses (Apple - Legal - Software):

Voices. Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, you may use the system voices included
in the Apple Software (“System Voices”) (i) while running the Apple Software and (ii) to create your own
original content and projects for your personal, non-commercial use. No other use of the System Voices
is permitted by this License, including but not limited to the use, reproduction, display, performance,
recording, publishing or redistribution of any of the System Voices in a profit, non-profit, public sharing
or commercial context.

Meaning that Apple does not seem to allow such a use of its text-to-speech voices.

I want a text-to-speech app that has an English voice with a non-native accent. The Indian-English voice of several TTS voice collections, like Apple's, is the sort of voice that I want, though I'd be willing to use other non-native accents. The collections that I've found have only female Indian-English voices, but that is no problem for me.

 

[lpetrich]

I wish to clarify my previous post. I wish to create soundfiles using text-to-speech software and distribute them online. Here are the uses that I'm thinking of:

• In my webpages
• In online video like at YouTube
• In game-data files, replacing previous soundfiles

All of them would be free of charge and freely available.

A problem here is that this runs afoul of "broadcast rights", because file delivery over the Internet likely counts as a broadcast.

 

[simonsi]

A problem here is that this runs afoul of "broadcast rights", because file delivery over the Internet likely counts as a broadcast.

That would depend on the copyright owner of the text you are converting to voice, not on what software you use, that would be an additional complication.

 

[lpetrich]

(Broadcast rights...)

That would depend on the copyright owner of the text you are converting to voice, not on what software you use, that would be an additional complication.

For one of my text-to-speech conversions, I was planning on a short quote, about 127 characters long. While it can be justified as fair use in text form, I concede that a "dramatic reading" of it with a text-to-speech voice may not qualify as fair use. It's a short quote from a work that its author presented as nonfiction but that is usually considered fiction.

But the other ones in my plans are my creations.

I note the broadcast-rights problem because some voices' personal-use terms of use do not include broadcast rights for their speech output.