Apple are trying to make human narrators redundant by introducing AI-voiced audiobooks.
The secretive tech giant has quietly launched a new audiobook catalogue narrated by AI in what appears to be an attempt to disrupt the audiobook market, which boomed by 25 per cent last year alone, bringing in more than $1.5Bn. There are strong indications the global market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
A search of Apple’s Books app for “AI narration” describes titles as being “Narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator”. This would surely be a blow to those who enjoy narration with genuine emotion rather than all the spark of a conversation with Siri.
“The narrator brings a whole new range of art in creating audiobook, and we believe that’s a powerful thing,” says a spokesperson from a major Canadian audiobook producer.
“They’re creating something that is different from the print book, but that adds value as an art form. When you have really great writing and really talented narration, you’re coming up with something special. That’s worth investing in.”
The key word there is “investing”. It takes weeks and thousands of dollars to produce an audiobook with a human voice. Using AI would slash that significantly, making for more money for Apple and less for the world’s voice actors.
The move is seen as a direct shot by Apple at their rival Amazon, who own audiobook market leader Audible.
Making the battle for market dominance even more interesting, Spotify recently announced plans to bring 300,000 audiobook titles to their customers and have said Apple’s process for purchasing audiobooks is “cumbersome” and that it “makes it harder for you to find your next favourite author or book”.
Either way, Apple recently pulled in $78.13bn thanks to their high margin services, including gaming, streaming, music and apps. If their AI-narration initiative takes hold, that will boom even higher. So next time your GPS system tells you to turn right in 100m, imagine it was telling you it was a dark and stormy night instead…
