Actors Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine have signed separate deals with an AI company to create licensed synthetic versions of their voices for authorised commercial use.
The Oscar winners agreed these deals, which were confirmed by the New York based company, ElevenLabs, where they also launched their new "Iconic Voice Marketplace", which will let brands and creators request licensed use of celebrity and historical voices for adverts, narration, as well as audio work.
ElevenLabs have said that this market place was designed to “set a new standard for responsible use of voice technology” ensuring that “the people behind the voices are always in control”. They said it was created in order to make sure that any cloned or recreated voices were used with the explicit consent of the people, or estates that own them.
The company has said that it was set up to solve a “key ethical challenge in AI-driven media creation by enabling the ethical sourcing and licensing of some of the world’s most recognisable voices”.
They have also said that participation will be limited to a selected list of “verified, iconic talent and IP owners, a measure it says ensures that voices are generated “with permission, transparency, and fair compensation”.
This deal will see that Michael Caine's voice become available through the company's ElevenReader app, which will convert the text into speech and through the marketplace for approved clients.
According to Caine, the company's announcement that the partnership was set up to "preserve and share voices".
“For years, I’ve lent my voice to stories that moved people – tales of courage, of wit, of the human spirit. Now, I’m helping others find theirs. With ElevenLabs, we can preserve and share voices – not just mine, but anyone’s", Caine said.
Elsewhere, Matthew McConaughey has said that the company has been investing in them for years, and has entered into an agreement to produce a Spanish speaking audio edition for his newsletter, Lyrics of Livin, using the company's technology.
“I’m proud to share that I’ve been an investor in ElevenLabs for several years now. It’s been amazing to see the growth from those early days to where the company, and the technology, is now", McConaughey said. "What’s remained constant is the extraordinary storytelling capabilities and creative potential that ElevenLabs unlocks – something that stood out to me from the start and that speaks to me as a professional storyteller".
It was also announced that this marketplace will also feature the voices of late actors Rock Hudson, Judy Garland, John Wayne, as well as live performances of Liza Minnelli and Art Garfunkel. It will also include famous names from history, such as Babe Ruth, Mark Twain, Amelia Earhart, J Robert Oppenheimer, Alan Turning anjd Maya Angelou.
The marketplace will operate as a two way platform, connecting interested companies with each voice's rights holder. When both sides agree on how the voice will be used, the technology of ElevenLabs will synthesis and finalise the licensed version.
The available AI voices have been produced using voice-cloning technology, with others being synthetically reconstructed from historical or archival recordings.
This approach will combine contemporary talent with historically significant voices for creative, educational and commercial commitments.
