AI Audio Firm Nabs Rights To Voices of Judy Garland, James Dean, Burt Reynolds, and Laurence Olivier
AI audio firm ElevenLabs has acquired the right to use the voices of Judy Garland, James Dean, Burt Reynolds, and Laurence Olivier. Their voices will be used to read books, articles, PDFs, and other text material to mobile users of its new Reader App.
ElevenLabs struck licensing deals with with estates of these legendary Hollywood stars and they envision users “tapping Garland’s legendary pipes to read the original L. Frank Baum novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, or Laurence Olivier to deliver a Sherlock Holmes story.”
The Reader App is designed to adapt “articles, PDF, ePub, newsletters, e-books or any other text on your phone” to become “emotionally rich, context aware voiceover” for listening on the go.
It’s explained that “The audio generated with these voices are designed to be enjoyed for individual streaming use, rather than to create content designed to be shared.”
Liza Minnelli, a daughter of Garland and a rep for her mother’s estate, endorsed the deal in a statement, saying: “It’s exciting to see our mother’s voice available to the countless millions of people who love her.
“Through the spectacular new technology offered by ElevenLabs, our family believes that this will bring new fans to Mama, and be exciting to those who already cherish the unparalleled legacy that Mama gave and continues to give to the world.”
Tina Xavie, chief marketing officer for CMG Worldwide, added: “As someone who has had the privilege of representing iconic figures throughout history for decades, I am incredibly excited about our partnership with ElevenLabs.
“We appreciate their thoughtful approach in working with talent in the right way. We are excited by the new opportunities they are providing our clients and look forward to more to come.”
Dustin Blank, Head of Partnerships at ElevenLabs, said: “Judy Garland, James Dean, Burt Reynolds and Sir Laurence Olivier are some of the most celebrated actors in history. We deeply respect their legacy and are honored to have their voices as part of our platform.
“Adding them to our growing list of narrators marks a major step forward in our mission of making content accessible in any language and voice.”
This is an app that I will most likely never use, but for those of you who would, then you can now enjoy the voices of these iconic actors.
Source: Variety