ElevenLabs, the start-up specialized in synthetic audio, has presented Iconic Marketplace, a new platform that allows brands and advertisers to license voices of historical figures and famous people for their content and campaigns. The novelty is not only in the technology, capable of cloning or recreating voices from archival recordings, but in the licensing model with consent and fair compensation, something that has been the cause of strong debate in the industry with the arrival of artificial intelligence.
“I’ve spent a life telling stories. ElevenLabs will help the next generation tell theirs”
The system acts as a bridge between brands and voice rights holders, whether they are living artists or heirs and legal representatives in the case of deceased figures, formalizing agreements that guarantee transparency and respect for performers. In the words of the company itself, the marketplace is limited to a group “cured” of iconic talents and intellectual property owners, with the aim of ensuring authorized, ethical and remunerated use.
Among the 28 names available on the platform are living legends such as Michael Caine, Liza Minelli and Art Garfunkel, as well as historical figures who have been digitally recreated from archival material: from Mark Twain and Amelia Earhart, to Alan Turing and J. Robert Oppenheimer.
Michael Caine, one of the first to explicitly lend his voice to the platform, has stated: “It’s not about replacing voices, it’s about amplifying them and opening doors. I’ve spent a life telling stories. ElevenLabs will help the next generation tell theirs.”
The approach especially points to use in advertisements, audiobooks, podcasts and branded content, in a context in which many companies seek to differentiate their campaigns with a powerful and recognizable sound narrative. The marketplace also marks an attempt to reorder the debate on ethics and voice rights in an environment where AI has facilitated non-consensual imitations of famous people, with legal and reputational risks.
The initial selection of voices includes both pop culture profiles and references from sports, literature or science. Among them:
- Judy Garland, Bettie Page, Burt Reynolds, Laurence Olivier, Richard Feynman, Babe Ruth, Rocky Marciano, Johnny Weissmuller, Jean Harlow, Lana Turner, Mickey Rooney and Rock Hudson.
- Historical figures such as Thomas Edison, Ty Cobb, Jack Dempsey and Shoeless Joe Jackson
- Intellectuals like Maya Angelou, Mark Twain and Alan Turing.
The use of their voices therefore opens a new territory for commercial narrative, which will be able to combine cultural memory with creativity, without giving up the principles of transparency or formal agreements.
More info: Iconic Marketplace
