Lightspeed Ventures-backed audio platform Pocket FM introduced it has partnered with voice-cloning firm ElevenLabs to rapidly convert textual content content material, corresponding to script, into audio sequence utilizing AI.
Pocket FM, which raised $103 million in Collection D funding in March, instructed TechCrunch on the time that it was already experimenting with the flexibility to transform textual content content material into audio utilizing ElevenLabs‘ tech. Now, the India-based firm has expanded the partnership to make the conversion software obtainable to all creators over the subsequent few weeks.
Within the take a look at section, Pocket FM already produced 30,000 hours of audio sequence utilizing ElevenLab’s AI tech. With the brand new roll-out, the startup expects to triple its content material library of over 100,000 hours of audio content material this yr. Pocket FM additionally mentioned that in the course of the experimental section, the AI-powered instruments helped it minimize the price of producing audio by 90%.
Pocket FM’s co-founder and CTO Prateek Dixit instructed TechCrunch over a name that with this partnership, the corporate desires to make it simpler for writers to transform their writings into audio sequence.
“We have over 250,000 writers (including the ones on the company’s Pocket Novel writing plaform) and this partnership decreases the cost of setting up and recording audio for them,” he mentioned.
“Even with a good set up of recording tools and equipment, writers can produce roughly 30 minutes of high-quality audio content per day. With the AI tools, this output can be 10 times more,” he added.
Pocket FM has constructed a software integrating ElevenLabs tech, by means of which it’s providing 50 voices for writers who need to convert their content material. ElevenLabs’ co-founder Mati Staniszewski mentioned that his firm’s software understands the context of the writing and infers feelings by means of the voice routinely.
“Working with Pocket FM, we are deploying our newer models that understand the genre of writing and are emotionality better,” Staniszewski mentioned.
Dixit famous that primarily based on knowledge from customers’ engagement with this sort of content material, the platform additionally plans to recommend voices that work effectively for writers in a specific style.
Pocket FM isn’t the one audio sequence platform experimenting with AI-powered instruments. Google-backed Kuku FM is utilizing GPT-4, Claude, BandLab and even ElevenLabs to assist its writers with completely different phases of creation, together with refining script, producing thumbnails, including sound results and changing textual content into audio.
Kuku FM instructed TechCrunch that it’s also experimenting with utilizing visible technology instruments corresponding to Midjourney and Runway to create advertisements associated to content material.
High quality of content material and affect on artists
The promise of AI-powered instruments is to generate extra content material sooner, however that doesn’t imply the content material is sweet. Pocket FM’s reply to aiding discovery and surfacing high quality content material is making its discovery algorithm refined and experimenting with consumer engagement.
“If a writer publishes an audio series, we surface that content to a select number of users and observe engagement metrics. If these metrics are positive, we further propagate that,” Dixit mentioned.
Using AI might result in faster outcomes and an even bigger content material library for these platforms, however it’s going to additionally scale back the roles of voiceover artists working with them. India’s Affiliation of Voiceover Artists (AVA) has expressed its issues about AI taking up.
“If AI takes over, we are finished. As voice artists, we need to get some regulation in place so that our livelihood is protected,” Amarinder Singh Sodhi, the affiliation’s normal secretary, instructed Indian publication Scroll.
Sodi additionally instructed Scroll about incidents the place voiceover artists had been known as into the studio to document samples to coach AI with out acquiring their consent or informing them.
“On an emotional level, it scares me. By using AI, you are essentially diluting the human experience of storytelling. You lose out on an emotional connection,” Delhi-based voiceover artist Aditya Mattoo instructed TechCrunch.
He added that giving entry to premium voices to individuals who don’t have the style and ability to provide high quality content material will result in the market getting flooded by dangerous content material.
Once we requested in regards to the affect of AI-powered voice technology on Pocket FM, the corporate didn’t instantly reply the query. Nonetheless, Dixit famous that engagement with AI-generated content material in its experiments is “as good as human voiceover production.” Notably, the corporate can be engaged on expertise to include a number of voices in a single audio output.
Each Pocket FM and Kuku FM don’t at present label their content material to point if AI has been used within the creation course of.
