HarperCollins Publishers has joined forces with ElevenLabs, a pioneering leader in AI voice technology to produce audiobooks for its foreign language business, The Bookseller reported. With this collaboration, HarperCollins is looking to diversify its audiobook catalog using ElevenLabs’s cutting-edge text-to-speech tool.
This innovative approach will help reduce the cost and operational challenges associated with traditional audiobook production, besides also allowing for expanding the reach of HarperCollins’s catalog. With ElevenLabs’s state-of-the-art technology, HarperCollins aims to expand its audiobook offerings, particularly in non-English markets, thereby driving growth and accessibility for listeners worldwide.
Mati Staniszewski, CEO of ElevenLabs, expressed his enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, “We’re thrilled to collaborate with HarperCollins. Our technology makes it possible for more books in their incredible catalog of works to become audiobooks. Now, every author can see their work come to life in audio, and readers can be offered more choice, dissolving the linguistic barriers of content.”
HarperCollins however stated they remain committed to producing more audiobooks in the future using real human voice actors. The publisher also stated this will remain integral to their audiobook creation strategy in spite of entering into an arrangement with ElevenLabs. Rather, the use of AI-based text-to-speech technology is aimed at complementing existing methods that would be largely used for producing audiobooks for backlist series books in non-English markets.
The Londo-based ElevenLabs has been co-founded by former Google machine learning engineer Piotr Dąbkowski and ex-Palantir deployment strategist Mateusz (“Mati”) Staniszewski. The company has made a name for itself for its AI-driven speech synthesis technology. Their cutting-edge tools, including the “Projects” tool designed for publishers, facilitate the efficient creation of audiobooks with contextually-aware synthetic or custom voices, ensuring a seamless listening experience for audiences worldwide.
The collaboration between HarperCollins and ElevenLabs represents a significant step forward in the audiobook industry, harnessing the power of AI to enhance accessibility, diversity, and innovation in storytelling. As technology continues to evolve, this partnership sets a precedent for future collaborations aimed at expanding the boundaries of literary engagement.
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