Audible has announced that it is going to recruit narrators to train up AI to generate new audiobook recordings.
The Amazon-owned business said that it will be inviting a select group of US-based audio artists to take part.
The news has received a mix response as concerns rise about AI taking away jobs and about how creators can keep their assets – their voices and faces – from being used to train AI or generate content without their consent.
Adding Audiobooks Quickly and Cheaply
The program is going to kick off this week, writes TechCrunch. In a blog post laying out the plans, Audible explains: “This beta offering will empower participants to expand their production capabilities for high-quality audiobooks, generate new business by taking on more projects simultaneously and increase their earning potential.”
Audible adds that the beta will be opened up to rights holders later this year. It adds: “The scope of this beta is intentionally limited ensuring we can gather valuable feedback.”
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Narrrators ‘Maintaining Control’
It is also quick to emphasize that participants will “continue to maintain control of the projects they want to audition for” and will also be heavily involved in the editing process including checking on “pronunciations and pacing”.
Bloomberg News adds that “Audible will not use the replicas unless the narrator explicitly provides permission”. This means a voice replica cannot be used to make an audiobook without the narrator giving their approval.
For the narrators who choose to get involved, payments will be made using a Royalty-share model and on a title-by-title basis, explains Audible. This titles will also be marked as using AI. The Royalty-share model is already in use for narrators though some are also paid on an hourly rate.
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Adding to a Growing AI library
Bloomberg News reported in May that Audible already has more than 40,000 audiobooks that had been created using AI at some level. This followed a drive to allow self-published authors based in the US to have their books narrated by a “virtual voice”. These voices were synthetic and owned by Audible.
But uptake of this service has been low. Audible admitted to the news service that authors remain both nervous and skeptical. Around 96% of self-published, written titles on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing service still do not have audiobook companions a year after the service was made available.
However, this new deal brings narrators into the creative process and gives them ownership over their AI voices. Creators are fighting to protect their assets against unscrupulous companies mining for training data without their permission. This move by Audible is being viewed suspiciously by many as potentially eating into jobs; but for some, it’s a chance to make more money with their narration skills and maintain creative control.
