When we think about what makes an audiobook memorable, it\u2019s always the most human moments: a catch in the throat when tears are near, or words spoken through a real smile.<\/p>\n
A Melbourne actor and audiobook narrator, Annabelle Tudor, says it\u2019s the instinct we have as storytellers that makes narration such a primal, and precious, skill. \u201cThe voice betrays how we\u2019re feeling really easily,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
But as an art form it may be under threat.<\/p>\n
In May the Amazon-owned audiobook provider Audible announced it would allow authors and publishers to choose from more than 100 voices created by artificial intelligence to narrate audiobooks<\/a> in English, Spanish, French and Italian, with AI translation of audiobooks expected to be available later in the year \u2013 news that was met with criticism and curiosity across the publishing industry.<\/p>\n In Australia, where there are fewer audiobook companies and where emerging actors like Tudor rely on the work to supplement their incomes, there is growing concern about job losses, transparency and quality.<\/p>\n While Tudor, who has narrated 48 books, isn\u2019t convinced that AI can do what she does just yet, she is worried that the poor quality may turn people away from the medium.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve narrated really raunchy sex scenes \u2013 AI doesn\u2019t know what an orgasm sounds like,\u201d she says. \u201cBirth scenes as well \u2013 I\u2019d love to know how they plan on getting around that.\u201d<\/p>\n Audiobook giant Audible says it wants to use AI to complement, not replace, human narration. Photograph: M4OS Photos\/AlamyThe audiobook boom<\/p>\n According to a 2024 report by NielsenIQ Bookdata, more than half of Australian audiobook consumers increased their listening over the past five years. Internationally there was a 13%<\/a> increase in US audiobook sales between 2023 and 2024; in the UK audiobook revenue shot up to a new high of \u00a3268m, a 31% increase on 2023, the Publishers Association said<\/a>.<\/p>\n As demand for audio content grows, companies are looking for faster \u2013 and cheaper \u2013 ways to make it. In January 2023 Apple launched a new audiobook catalogue of audiobooks narrated by AI<\/a>. Later that year Amazon announced<\/a> that self-published, US-based authors with works on Kindle could turn their ebooks into audiobooks using AI \u201cvirtual voice\u201d technology<\/a> \u2013 and there are now tens of thousands of these computer-generated audiobooks available through Audible.<\/p>\n And in February this year, as part of a more general shift towards audiobooks, Spotify said<\/a> it would be accepting AI audiobooks to \u201clower the barrier to entry\u201d for authors hoping to find more readers.<\/p>\n Audible says its aims are similar: to complement, not replace, human narration, allowing more authors and more titles to reach bigger audiences. In the US Audible is also testing a voice replica for audiobook narrators<\/a>, to create dupes of their own voices that will \u201cempower participants to expand their production capabilities for high-quality audiobooks\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2023 and 2024, Audible Studios hired more [human] narrators than ever before,\u201d an Audible spokesperson told the Guardian. \u201cWe continue to hear from creators who want to make their work available in audio, reaching new audiences across languages.\u201d<\/p>\n But robot narrators will always be cheaper than humans \u2013 and people in the voice acting and book industries fear a move to AI could pose a threat to workers.<\/p>\n Volume or quality?<\/p>\n Dorje Swallow\u2019s career as a narrator took off after he began voicing novels by the Australian bestselling crime author Chris Hammer \u2013 and the actor has now narrated about 70 audiobooks. Swallow believes AI narration is a tool created by people who \u201cdon\u2019t understand the value, technique and skills\u201d required to produce quality audiobooks.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve done the hard yards and then some to get where we are, and to think you can just press a button and you\u2019re going to get something of similar, or good enough quality, is kind of laughable,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Simon Kennedy, the president of the Australian Association of Voice Actors, says there has always been a battle over how much a narrator deserves to be paid in Australia. For every finished hour of an audiobook, a narrator might spend double or triple that time recording it \u2013 and that doesn\u2019t include an initial read to understand the book and its characters.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cMy personal opinion is that [introducing AI narrators] is going for volume over quality \u2013 and it\u2019s looking to cheapen the process,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Kennedy founded the Australian Association of Voice Actors in 2024 in response to the threat being posed by AI. In a submission to a parliamentary committee last year the organisation said 5,000 Australian voice acting jobs<\/a> were at risk.<\/p>\n He was hardly surprised about Audible\u2019s announcement but says he thinks it\u2019s a \u201cpretty dumb move\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAn audiobook narrator has such a special and intimate relationship with the listener that to try and do anything that is less connective is a foolish move,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n As for the opportunity to clone their own voices, he says voice actors should have the right to engage \u2013 but they shouldn\u2019t expect \u201cany near the same pay rate, and they risk turning their unique timbre \u2013 their vocal brand \u2013 into a mass-produced robot voice that listeners get sick of listening to pretty quickly.\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIf an emotionless narration at a consistent volume is all you need for \u2018high-quality\u2019, then sure,\u201d he says. \u201cBut if engaging, gripping, edge-of-your-seat storytelling is your version of high-quality, then don\u2019t hold your breath for AI to give you that.\u201d<\/p>\n Another major concern is Australia\u2019s lack of AI regulation. While the EU has its own AI Act<\/a>, and China<\/a> and Spain<\/a> have labelling laws for AI-generated content, Australia is falling behind.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are no laws to prevent data scraping or non-consenting cloning of voices, or of creating deepfakes of people,\u201d Kennedy says. \u201cThere are also no labelling laws or laws to mandate watermarking of AI-generated content and its origins; no laws to mandate transparency of training data; and no laws to dictate the appropriate use of AI-generated deepfakes, voice clones or text.\u201d<\/p>\n Author Hannah Kent fears the use of AI will \u2018cheapen things in a creative sense\u2019. Photograph: Carrie Jones\/The Guardian<\/p>\n