Pocket FM using AI to turn scripts into audio content
Pocket FM, a prominent audio-streaming platform in India, has partnered with ElevenLabs, an American AI start-up specializing in text-to-speech technology. The deal aims to streamline the process of transforming written scripts into audio content. While earlier scriptwriters had to collaborate with voiceover artists and editors in order to create content for Pocket FM, now, they can convert their scripts into audio with a single click. There's also an option to choose their preferred voice and background music.
Pocket FM's journey and global reach
Founded in 2018 by entrepreneurs Rohan Nayak, Nishanth KS, and Prateek Dixit, Pocket FM has grown significantly. The platform offers over 100,000 hours of content condensed into bite-sized episodes from over 2,000 audio shows. These shows cover a variety of genres including romance, thriller, and horror. As of June 26 this year, the app has been downloaded over 189 million times globally and is accessible in 20 countries.
AI integration in Pocket FM's operations
Pocket FM has a history of integrating AI into its operations to enhance audio quality, provide personalized recommendations to listeners, and also predict potential blockbusters. "AI voice cloning is a natural next step to better efficiency and cost savings," Nayak shared with Rest of World. He also revealed that during a six-month trial period with ElevenLabs, Pocket FM used AI cloning to produce an additional 5,000 shows before officially announcing the partnership.
Voice cloning concerns surrounding partnership
The partnership between Pocket FM and ElevenLabs has sparked controversy among some voice artists and digital technology experts in India. They suspect that Pocket FM may have secretly used their voice samples to train AI models. Veteran voice artist Surjan Singh warned that "AI replica is a real threat for voice actors." Another artist, Manohar Rao, expressed concern that his samples submitted for a competition might have been used without his consent.
Pocket FM and ElevenLabs deny allegations of unauthorized voice usage
In response to the controversy, Pocket FM denied any unauthorized use of voice samples. "It's [ElevenLabs'ss] voices that they train on their proprietary data. It's nothing to do with us effectively right now," Nayak clarified. Sam Sklar, head of growth at ElevenLabs, confirmed that Pocket FM did not offer any voice samples for this project. He stated that the samples used were from ElevenLabs'ss own voice library, which comprises thousands of community-submitted voices suitable for text-to-speech conversion in 29 languages.
Partnership expected to boost content creation and market expansion
Despite the ongoing controversy, industry insiders believe that the partnership between Pocket FM and ElevenLabs will expedite the conversion of scripts into high-quality audio programs. Harsha Kumar, partner at venture capital firm Lightspeed Ventures, told Rest of World that "this will help writers start their monetization faster and also help Pocket FM to scale up faster in newer markets." This suggests a positive outlook for both companies as they navigate through these challenges.
