Audible to Create AI Voice Replicas of Select Audiobook Narrators

Audible to Start Generating AI Voice Replicas of Select Audiobook Narrators

Amazon.com Inc.'s Audible will begin inviting a select group of US-based audiobook narrators to train artificial intelligence on their voices, the clones of which can then be used to make audiobook recordings. The effort, which kicks off next week, is designed to add more audiobooks to the service, quickly and cheaply -- and to welcome traditional narrators into the evolving world of audiobook automation which, to date, many have regarded warily. Last year, Audible began offering US-based, self-published authors who make their books available on the Kindle Store the option of having their works narrated by a generic "virtual voice." The initiative has been popular. As of May, more than 40,000 books in Audible were marked as having made use of the technology.

Audible Invites Audiobook Narrators to Create AI Voice Replicas

Audible is looking to boost its audiobook library with the help of AI. The Amazon-owned company is inviting a "small group of narrators" to create replicas of their voices using AI-generated speech technology. Those voices would then be made available on its Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), where authors can pick them to "read" their books. "Audible continues to hear from members of our creator community who are interested in using emerging technologies to make more audio content available to listeners," says a post on the ACX blog. "There is a vast catalog of books that does not yet exist in audio." The post says it's taking "measured steps to test new technologies [that balance] the interests of authors, narrators, publishers, and listeners." To start, it will invite US-based narrators to create AI versions of their voices. "Participants will submit a sample voice recording, which ACX will turn into a high-quality replica of the participant's own voice," Amazon says. If an author picks their voice, they can reject the offer or, if accepted, review it before it goes online. Compensation will be on a title-by-title basis. Content generated using AI voice replicas will get a disclaimer in the Audible product description. Invitations will go out this week, though people can also email [email protected] if they want to participate. Rights holders will get access to the AI voices later this year. "The scope of this beta is intentionally limited ensuring we can gather valuable feedback," the blog says. That feedback may include pushback from those who make a living by lending their (real-time) voices to audiobook creation. When Amazon allowed Kindle Direct Publishing authors to create an audiobook version of their ebook using AI last year, one ACX narrator said on Reddit that AI use is "a bit scary on the long-haul for narrators." The fact that ACX had not embraced AI narration at the time was "greatly appreciated given how much harm it can bring to dedicated hard-working human narrators," the narrator added. "I don't think AI should be used to generate any creative endeavor," another person said. "I'm fine with it as a tool such as grammar checking or things like that, but if it is making the content and actively taking away creative roles from people, it needs to be removed." Other argued the shift to AI is inevitable. "People adapt. They said this about the printing press." Actors who are part of SAG-AFTRA have a similar option when it comes to how their voices are used in ads. The union struck a deal with AI startup Narrativ that allows actors to license their voice replicas to digital advertisers and control how they're used.

Audible to begin generating AI voice replicas of select audiobook narrators

As of May, more than 40,000 books in Audible were marked as having made use of the technology. | Source: Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc.'s Audible will begin inviting a select group of US-based audiobook narrators to train artificial intelligence on their voices, the clones of which can then be used to make audiobook recordings. The effort, which kicks off this week, is designed to add more audiobooks to the service, quickly and cheaply -- and to welcome traditional narrators into the evolving world of audiobook automation which, to date, many have regarded warily.

Amazon is allowing Audible narrators to clone themselves with AI

Amazon will begin inviting a small group of Audible narrators to train AI-generated voice clones of themselves this week, with the aim of speeding up audiobook production for the platform. The US-only beta test was announced on Audible's creator marketplace, and will be extended to rights holders like authors, agents, and publishers "later this year" according to Amazon. "There is a vast catalog of books that does not yet exist in audio and as we explore ways to bring more books to life on Audible, we're committed to thoughtfully balancing the interests of authors, narrators, publishers, and listeners," Amazon said in its announcement. Participants in the beta will submit a voice recording to train their AI replica, and will retain control over the projects they wish to audition for across both live performances and AI-generated recordings.

Amazon has decided that the next book you listen to on Audible will not be narrated by a person - Softonic

In the near future, we will have books narrated by AI-generated voices Amazon continues to invest in generative artificial intelligence. This past Monday, Jeff Bezos announced that the company will use this technology to "generate" narrators for audiobooks. Today, hundreds of programs and models capable of generating voices with great detail are easily found. Big companies like Amazon also want to use this to their advantage, as in the case of Audible. A post within their official blog confirms this. For Amazon, this represents a great opportunity to "bring more books to life on Audible." Thus, this week, they have invited a small group of narrators to participate in the beta version, which is currently exclusive to the United States. According to the statement, this will allow these professionals to "create and monetize replicas of their own voices using artificial intelligence-generated voice technology." And how does it work? To begin with, beta participants can create a replica of their voice entirely for free. To do this, they will first have to send a sample recording to ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange). This recording will then be used to create their artificial replica. However, this does not mean that authors can use any voice they want. In the end, the narrators will be the ones who decide which projects to lend their voice to, whether it's live or generated by AI. In addition, the narrators can use the ACX production tools to review the entire process and edit any details, such as pronunciation errors, rhythm, etc.

Audible recruits voice actors to train audiobook-generating AI | TechCrunch

Audible, Amazon's audiobook business, on Monday announced that it'll use AI trained on professional narrators' voices to generate new audiobook recordings. A select, U.S.-based cohort of audiobook narrators will be invited to train AI on their voices starting this week, Audible said. The trained AI will be used to make recordings, and narrators will have the chance to approve their synthetic voice for specific works as well as edit the pronunciation and pacing. Audible says narrators who participate in the program will be compensated for any audiobooks created using their AI voices on a title-by-title, royalty-sharing basis.