Your Next Amazon Audible Book Might Be Narrated by AI
Audible, the Amazon-owned audiobook company, is planning to bring AI into the world of audiobooks. They're recruiting narrators to help train AI to create new audiobook recordings.
Audible has announced that a group of select, US-based audio artists will be invited to join this initiative.
This news has sparked mixed reactions. Some are worried about AI taking away jobs and the risk of voices and likenesses being used without permission to train AI or generate content.
Faster and Cheaper Audiobook Production
According to TechCrunch, Audible’s new program is set to begin this week. In a blog post, Audible explained that this beta program will allow participants to produce high-quality audiobooks more quickly, take on more projects at the same time, and boost their earnings.
Audible also mentioned that later this year, the beta will be expanded to include rights holders. The program is being launched on a small scale to gather feedback before rolling it out further.
Keeping Narrators in Control
Audible reassured narrators that they’ll still have control over which projects they audition for. They’ll also play an important role in the editing process, making sure AI gets pronunciations and pacing right.
Bloomberg News added that Audible will not use AI-generated voices without the narrator’s explicit permission. This means that AI replicas of voices will not be used for audiobooks unless the narrator gives the go-ahead.
Narrators who participate will be paid through a royalty-share model, which will be decided on a per-title basis. Audible clarified that these AI-narrated titles will be clearly marked as such. This royalty-share model is already in place for some narrators, though many are also paid by the hour.
A Growing AI Audiobook Collection
Back in May, Bloomberg News reported that Audible already had over 40,000 audiobooks that used AI in some way. This was part of an effort to help self-published authors in the US have their books narrated by a "virtual voice" owned by Audible.
However, the uptake of this AI service has been slow. Many authors are still hesitant and cautious about using AI for their audiobooks. In fact, a year after the service launched, 96% of self-published books on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform still don’t have audiobook versions.
This new initiative, however, gives narrators the chance to be part of the creative process, keeping ownership of their AI voices. While some see it as a threat to jobs, others view it as an opportunity to make more money while keeping control of their narration work.
