Audible Partners With Publishers to Expand AI-Narrated Audiobook Catalog
Audible teams up with select publishers to convert print and e-books into AI-narrated audiobooks using over 100 synthetic voices. The move aims to rapidly grow its catalog to compete with Spotify and Apple in the booming audio market.
Audible partners with select publishers to transform print and e-books into AI-narrated audiobooks. The Amazon-owned service offers more than 100 AI-generated voices in English, French, Spanish, and Italian to help publishers quickly produce audio content. This strategy allows Audible to rapidly expand its catalog as it competes with Apple and Spotify in the growing audiobook market.
In addition to AI narration, Audible plans to launch a beta version of AI translation later this year. This feature provides text-to-text and speech-to-speech translation from English to Spanish, French, Italian, and German. Publishers have the option to hire professional linguists to review these translations and ensure their accuracy.
The expansion builds on Amazon's previous AI audio efforts, which already result in over 50,000 titles labeled as "Virtual Voice" on the platform. Despite widespread adoption among self-published authors who lack traditional recording resources, the technology sparks ongoing debate. Critics worry that AI recordings compromise audiobook quality, a concern that persists as competitors like Spotify also adopt similar AI narration tools.