ElevenLabs Launches AI Voice Marketplace for Brands
Key Points
- ElevenLabs launches a marketplace for licensing AI‑replicated famous voices.
- Platform uses a consent‑based, performer‑first licensing model.
- Access limited to a curated list of verified iconic talent and IP owners.
- Voices created via cloning technology or synthetic reconstruction from archives.
- Initial catalog features twenty‑eight voices, including historical and living figures.
- Michael Caine endorses the service, highlighting its tool‑for‑storytelling focus.
- Marketplace aims to address ethical concerns and simplify brand licensing.
ElevenLabs has introduced an online marketplace that lets companies license AI‑generated replicas of famous voices for advertising and other content. The platform connects brands with the owners of iconic vocal talent, offering a consent‑based, performer‑first licensing model. Voices are created using cloning technology or synthetic reconstruction from archival recordings, and the initial catalog features 28 verified figures ranging from historical icons like Mark Twain to living celebrities such as Michael Caine.
Marketplace Overview
ElevenLabs is rolling out an online marketplace designed to enable brands to license artificial‑intelligence‑replicated voices of well‑known figures for use in advertisements and other media. The service acts as an intermediary, linking companies with the rights holders of each voice and handling both the licensing agreement and the synthesis of the requested vocal content.
Ethical and Consent‑Based Approach
The company emphasizes a "consent‑based, performer‑first" framework, positioning the marketplace as a solution to ethical concerns surrounding AI‑generated celebrity voices. Access to the platform is limited to a curated list of "verified, iconic talent and IP owners," ensuring that any voice generation occurs with explicit permission, transparency, and fair compensation for the talent involved.
Technology Behind the Voices
ElevenLabs employs two primary methods to create the vocal reproductions. Some voices are produced through cloning technology that directly captures the nuances of the original speaker. Other voices are synthetically replicated by referencing historical or archival audio recordings, allowing the recreation of sounds from figures who are no longer alive.
Voice Catalog
The initial offering includes twenty‑eight distinct voices. The roster features historical personalities such as Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, Alan Turing, and Amelia Earhart, alongside entertainment legends like Michael Caine, Liza Minnelli, Art Garfunkel, Judy Garland, John Wayne, and Maya Angelou. Sports icons such as Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Jim Thorpe are also represented.
Michael Caine, one of the few living celebrities participating, praised the platform, stating that ElevenLabs "gives everyone the tools to be heard" and emphasizing that the service is "not about replacing voices; it’s about amplifying them, opening doors for new storytellers everywhere."
Implications for Brands
By providing a structured, legally compliant pathway to use high‑profile vocal identities, the marketplace aims to simplify the process for marketers while respecting the rights and legacies of the original talent. Companies can now incorporate iconic sounds into their campaigns without navigating complex, ad‑hoc licensing negotiations.