Spotify launches more AI-narrated audiobooks in partnership with ElevenLabs

Spotify has officially rolled out more artificial intelligence (AI)-narrated audiobooks to its platforms in collaboration with ElevenLabs on Thursday. 

The Swedish music giant has revealed that it will start accepting audiobooks recorded using ElevenLabs’ AI voice software, and stated: “It recognises the potential of digital voice-narration to grow and expand the audiobook market.”

AI-recorded audiobooks are allowed on Spotify, albeit with numerous limitations. Spotify’s audiobook distribution platform, Findaway Voices, only supports digitally recorded audiobooks from “specific partners.”

ElevenLabs is considered to be an acclaimed AI voice provider on the market; however, this could lead to an increase in voiced audiobooks on Spotify’s platform.   

Authors can utilise ElevenLabs to narrate their audiobooks in almost 32 languages, with a broad range of synthetic videos to select from. The free variant of the software only offers 10 minutes of text-to-voice each month. 

It is important to note, there are multiple premium tiers available, broadening the limitation, but users are required to have at least the $99 monthly Pro subscription to create 55 minutes of narration. 

While explaining the release of audiobooks narrated by AI, Spotify stated: “It firmly believes in the power of human narration,” the platform believes that digital voices can make audiobook production more affordable for smaller authors and simplify to create audiobooks of older titles that would otherwise be ignored.

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