How AI could revolutionize the audiobook market

Artificial intelligence (AI) could revolutionize the audiobook market within a few years. The Swedish Storytel already launched a new feature called “Voice Switcher” a little over a year ago.

Currently available only in English and Swedish, it allows you to choose three alternative voices to that of the main narrator, generated by AI, including one cloned from the voice of Swedish actor Stefan Sauk, known for having played in the movie Millennium.

A book read by Michelle Obama in French

Voice cloning, in particular, could make it possible to increase the number of audiobooks. But also to imagine, in the near future, listening to a book narrated by Nicole Kidman, Tom Hanks or Michelle Obama in French or Japanese.

Or even read by a long-dead Hollywood star. The American company ElevenLabs, a leader in this field, has already negotiated the right to clone the voices of Judy Garland, James Dean and Burt Reynolds with their rights holders.

Editors quite reserved

The president of the audiobook commission of the National Publishing Union (SNE) Laure Saget nevertheless has doubts about the potential of AI in audiobooks. In any case in French. “I’ve listened to things in English that are amazing. Less in French »she notes.

“We are all very attached to the work we do with the actors, to the power of their interpretation”she also underlines, specifying that the SNE is also “thinking” to the creation of a label for “distinguish audiobooks truly recorded by actors”.