Hollywood icons revived as AI narrators in this audiobook app
ElevenLabs, an AI voice cloning start-up, has secured the rights to use the voices of legendary Hollywood actors in its recently launched Reader app. The app now features the voices of Burt Reynolds, James Dean, Judy Garland, and Sir Laurence Olivier. These rights were acquired through exclusive agreements with the estates of these deceased stars. The Reader app is currently only available on iOS and allows users to listen to text narrated by AI voices of the iconic figures.
Exclusive features and reactions to the reader app
The Reader app, free for users, offers narratives for articles, PDFs, and newsletters. The voices of the deceased Hollywood actors are exclusively available on the Reader app and not on ElevenLabs's wider Voice Library platform. Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland's daughter, and representative of her estate expressed excitement about this venture. "It's exciting to see our mother's voice available to the countless millions of people who love her," Minnelli said.
A controversial yet exciting venture
AI technology has been previously used to resurrect actors in media, as seen in films like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and TV series such as The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Despite past controversies like fake phone calls from President Biden, Dustin Blank, ElevenLabs's head of partnerships, assured respect for the legacies of these actors. "Adding them to our growing list of narrators marks a major step forward in our mission," Blank stated.
Industry support for ElevenLabs's approach
Tina Xavie, the chief marketing officer of CMG Worldwide, a company that manages the estates of Hollywood stars, expressed her support for ElevenLabs's approach. She highlighted the new opportunities provided by ElevenLabs to their clients and expressed anticipation for future collaborations. "We are excited by the new opportunities they are providing our clients and look forward to more to come," said Xavie.
