ElevenLabs’ new AI marketplace lets brands use famous voices for ads

ElevenLabs is launching an online marketplace that allows companies to license AI-replicated voices of famous figures for their content and advertisements. The AI audio startup says its new Iconic Voice Marketplace resolves some of the ethical concerns around using AI-generated celebrity voices by providing brands with the “consent-based, performer-first approach the industry has been calling for.”

It works by connecting companies with whoever owns the rights to a specific voice, with ElevenLabs’ platform serving as a middleman that formalizes the licensing deal and synthesizes the voices. ElevenLabs says the marketplace is only open to a curated list of “verified, iconic talent and IP owners,” to ensure that the voices of notable figures are only generated “with permission, transparency, and fair compensation.”

Some of the AI voices have been achieved using cloning technology, while others have been synthetically replicated by referencing historical or archival audio. I guess it would have been a mouthful to call this a “marketplace for voices of famous people,” given the list includes historical figures like Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, and Alan Turing, and most people wouldn’t recognize what they actually sound like. Michael Caine is one of the few living celebrities to lend his voice to ElevenLabs, and said the company “gives everyone the tools to be heard.”

“It’s not about replacing voices; it’s about amplifying them, opening doors for new storytellers everywhere,” Caine said in a statement on ElevenLabs’ announcement. “I’ve spent a lifetime telling stories. ElevenLabs will help the next generation tell theirs.”

Here’s the full list of all 28 voices that are currently available on the marketplace: