Sir Michael Caine licenses his voice for AI cloning

ElevenLabs, which specialises in using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to ‘clone’ human voices for use in a variety of situations, including marketing, audio books, and translations, has just announced a deal with British ‘National Treasure’ and multi award winning actor Sir Michael Caine to allow the company to feature an AI-generated version of his familiar voice.

At the same time as announcing the deal with Sir Michael Caine, ElevenLabs also revealed that US Oscar-winning film star Matthew McConaughey was an early investor in the company and will now be using its services to provide a Spanish-language translation in a clone of his voice of his newsletter, Lyrics of Livin’.

Sir Michael Caine’s voice will be available on the ElevenReader app and on the company’s newly launched Iconic Marketplace, which ElevenLabs describes as “the performer-first approach the entertainment industry has been calling for.”

Significantly, ElevenLabs also announced a partnership with talent agency and brand licensing company CMG Worldwide (as well as other un-named agencies) “to bring more legendary voices and estates to the Iconic Marketplace.”

In addition to Michael Caine, over 25 other famous people’s voices are available on the Iconic Marketplace, including those of Dr. Maya Angelou, Alan Turing, Liza Minelli, and Art Garfunkel.

The use of AI models to clone the voices and likeness of actors, musicians, sports stars and other famous people, living and dead. has become a major issue which has already led to numerous court cases around the world.

ElevenLabs’ deal with CMG is being positioned by the company as an ethical solution which respects personality rights, as it claims in its statement on the CMG deal: “These partnerships ensure that every collaboration is rooted in respect, consent, and creative authenticity – connecting brands, studios, and storytellers with timeless cultural icons in an ethical, forward-looking way.”

CMG manages personality rights and trade marks for a number of famous individuals or, where the individual is dead, their estates. Its portfolio includes or has at one time included Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Albert Einstein, and Malcolm X. It also provided a valuation of Michael Jackson’s IP as part of a 10-year legal battle between the pop star’s estate and the US Internal Revenue Service following his death, which helped the estate defeat the US tax authorities and avoid a near-$200m fine (as reported in the New York Times).