ElevenLabs, an innovative company in the field of voice AI, has announced a major breakthrough: Writers can now publish AI-generated audiobooks through their reader apps. The move marks a further expansion of the company in the field of audio content creation, after ElevenLabs has partnered with global music streaming giant Spotify to launch an audiobook service for AI narratives.
ElevenLabs has recently successfully raised $180 million in funding, a huge financing that has provided strong support for its technology research and development and market expansion. Since last year, the company has invited some writers to participate in testing its publishing program, which is now officially open to all writers. ElevenLabs aims to compete with traditional audiobook platforms such as Audible by providing affordable and easy-to-use audiobook creation tools that significantly reduce production costs. Audible has been criticized by some writers for its lower royalty payments, and ElevenLabs' entry has undoubtedly brought new options to the market.
Image source: ElevenLabs
ElevenLabs' audiobooks will be available to users through their own apps, and the author will receive a corresponding fee when the user interacts with the content. Currently, listeners will receive approximately $1.10 for every 11 minutes or more listening. During the testing phase, the average listening time per user reached 19 minutes, showing strong interest in this new form. While the service was originally intended for American writers and English books only, ElevenLabs has plans to expand its global reach to audiobooks in 32 languages.
In addition, ElevenLabs plans to create a marketplace for writers to sell content, with its paid plans ranging from $11 to $330 per month, which is more affordable than traditional studio booking and voice actor fees. ElevenLabs has provided technical support for text-to-audio for other audio platforms, and is committed to becoming a platform integrating publishing and distribution, carrying more independent content. This strategy is highly consistent with the company's CEO's vision to expand consumer experience, heralding ElevenLabs' continued innovation and leadership in the audio content field.