AI Horizon

ElevenLabs, the buzzy New York-based company specializing in AI audio tools, is diving headfirst into the world of audiobook publishing. Merely days after inking a deal with Spotify to push audiobooks on its streaming platform, the company is dangling a freebie offer to lure authors away from the Amazon Audible behemoth.

The AI upstart is opening access to its ElevenReader Publishing platform for all, and it will be accessible via the ElevenReader app for Android and iOS devices. The best part about the new publishing platform is its zero-cost approach, and a built-in distribution network targeting a global audience.

As expected, all the narration voices will be provided from the ElevenLabs AI audio models library, which the company claims will offer “realistic, versatile and contextually-aware speech.” Speed is another crucial factor here, as compared to human narration, authors can simply import their text files and the audiobook will be created “in minutes.”

The company says authors will be able to pick from over a thousand AI voice options. Moreover, readers will also be able to pick an audio narration voice of their choice in the ElevenReader app. As expected, the company is targeting independent publishers and authors.

Writers seeking more granular controls over aspects such as narration pacing, multi-speaker tools, and voice customization will have to pay for the Studio suite offered by ElevenLabs.

A big shift for the audiobook industry

As of now, audiobook generation is limited to English, but the company plans to add 31 more languages into the pool. Once an audiobook is published, it will be distributed globally via the company’s reader platform.

Just like Amazon’s Audible platform, ElevenReader will also offer a royalty worth $1.10 per person who spends a minimum of 11 minutes listening to an audiobook. However, the royalty program is currently limited to the US only, as the company is still hashing out the taxation details for overseas markets.

Audiobooks are more popular than ever before. Yet the costs of producing audiobooks means many stories go unheard.

Now any independent author or publisher can upload their book’s text, preview with thousands of voices, and share for distribution on the ElevenReader app — all at… pic.twitter.com/rBO4Dp30VD

— ElevenReader (@elevenreader) February 25, 2025

Akin to streaming music and video platforms such as Spotify and YouTube, authors will be able to check out detailed engagement metrics and analytics with the ElevenReader Publishing platform.

Another notable element is the absence of any exclusivity clause, which is a divisive element for authors who onboard the Amazon Audible platform. “Your work remains yours. There are no exclusivity restrictions by joining our program,” ElevenLabs notes.

However, rival platforms may not be particularly enthusiastic about AI-narrated audiobooks. “Please note that many other audiobook platforms like Audible, Apple Books, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble may not accept AI-narrated audiobooks,” ElevenLabs warns.

For now, ElevenReader Publishing is completely free for authors to publish their audiobooks, and so is the ElevenReader app for smartphone users.

Of course, it’s an AI platform that is offering tools which threaten real human jobs of voice actors, and every other professional involved in the business of producing audiobooks. ElevenLabs, on its end, says it paid over a million dollars last year to voice actors in compensation.