Want to hear The Wizard of Oz Read by Judy Garland or Sherlock Holmes read by Sir Laurence Olivier? ElevenLabs has made AI-generated voice clones of them and other deceased celebrities available on its recently launched Reader App, thanks to a deal with the estates of several artists.
ElevenLabs’ Reader app lets users listen to any digital text, including articles, PDFs, and e-books, read aloud by synthetic voices created using AI. The company’s exclusive library of voices now includes Hollywood legends among its options. Initially, celebrity voices included James Dean, Burt Reynolds, Judy Garland, and Sir Laurence Olivier, built in collaboration with their respective estates.
“It is thrilling to see our mother’s voice available to the countless millions of people who love her,” Liza Minnelli, the daughter of Judy Garland Estate, said in an interview with Garland Estate. rack“With the spectacular new technology that ElevenLabs offers, our family believes it will bring new fans to Mama, and will be exciting for those who already cherish the unparalleled legacy that Mama has given and continues to give to the world,”
The Reader app uses advanced algorithms to ensure that the voiceovers are not only accurate, but also convey the right emotional tone and context. Those interested in hearing the voices can try the ElevenLabs Reader app for free for three months or subscribe to the ElevenLabs platform to gain access to the iOS app. An Android version is coming soon.
If you don’t want any of the familiar voices, the Reader app has many more voices that users can customize to the accent, style, and tone they find best suits the text they want to hear.
Famous sounds
ElevenLabs is pitching its new celebrity voices as a way to use AI to preserve and celebrate cultural heritage. By recreating the voices of these legendary figures, the company claims it is honoring their contributions to the world while also opening the door for new, contemporary audiences to learn more about them.
The celebrity voices are only available for individual streaming via the ElevenLabs Reader App. This means that users can have the celebrity voices perform any narration for their own listening experience, but cannot create content to share with others. This limit is intended to keep the way these voices are used respectful and appropriate.
“Judy Garland, James Dean, Burt Reynolds and Sir Laurence Olivier are some of the most celebrated actors in history. We have great respect for their legacies and are honored to have their voices on our platform,” said Dustin Blank, Head of Partnerships at ElevenLabs. “By adding them to our growing list of storytellers, we are taking a major step forward in our mission to make content accessible in every language and voice.”