Spotify goes all-in on robotic audiobook narrators

Spotify is doubling down on its efforts to compete with Amazon Music and Audible within the audiobook market.

Spotify has announced that it’s going to now settle for AI-narrated audiobooks from ElevenLabs, an AI software program firm that permits authors to create digital narrations for his or her work utilizing AI voice expertise. ElevenLabs lets authors narrate their audiobooks in 29 completely different languages and supplies management over the voice and intonation of the AI-generated narration.

This transfer by the music streaming giant will undoubtedly pave the way in which for much more AI-narrated audiobooks on the platform. Spotify stated that is one in every of its most “requested options.” Spotify labels any audiobook on the platform that’s voiced by AI.

“For authors searching for an economical strategy to create high-quality audiobooks, digital voice narration by ElevenLabs is a good choice,” Spotify stated in a press launch. “Considered one of our most requested options, now, authors can distribute their ElevenLabs content material to Spotify and choose different audiobook retailers through Findaway Voices, reaching hundreds of thousands of latest listeners and guide followers.”

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AI-narrated audiobooks aren’t new on Spotify

There are nonetheless considerations about AI-narrated audiobooks

Spotify

This is not the primary time Spotify has dabbled with AI-narrated audiobooks. Over a 12 months in the past, the music streaming big partnered with Google Play Books to supply AI-narrated audiobooks on its platform. This new partnership with ElevenLabs will merely be one other avenue for authors to get their work on the market in an audio format, if they’re okay with their guide being narrated by AI.

The free model of ElevenLabs solely permits a consumer to generate 10 minutes of text-to-speech every month, whereas the Professional plan, which prices $99 a month, lets customers generate as much as 500 minutes (about 8 hours) of AI narration for his or her work. Spotify says it plans to proceed to “discover methods” for authors and publishers to get their audiobooks on Spotify.

Some authors are concerned about AI voice expertise, as they consider it compromises the standard of the audiobook. There are additionally considerations in regards to the results on the livelihood of human narrators. In 2023, Spotify expanded its Premium subscription to supply 15 hours of audiobook listening.

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