Spotify will clone voices using artificial intelligence to translate podcasts in real time

Spotify announced that it is testing a new feature based on artificial intelligence (AI) to translate podcasts in real-time with the voice of the original content creator. The resource allows episodes to be translated from English to Spanish. Over the next few weeks, the platform flow It hopes to expand the tool’s support for French and German translations.

Under the name “Voice Translation”, the function has the ability to do this Imitating voices Podcasters To automatically create foreign language versions of your software. The operation of the resource is supported by Whisper, a voice recognition system developed by OpenAI that is able to transcribe spoken input in English and translate it into other languages.

More detailed reports show that OpenAI technology is also behind Spotify’s new feature’s ability to loop audio. In recent days, the Sam Altman-led company launched a tool that can create “a human-like voice from text and a few seconds of audio samples.”

“By matching a creator’s voice, Transliteration gives listeners around the world the ability to discover and be inspired by new creators,” said Ziad Sultan, Vice President of Personalization at Spotify. Podcast In a more authentic way than ever before.”

In the first phase of testing, Spotify partnered with a group of… Podcasters Selected to translate your content from English to Spanish. Among those selected for the initial stage are content creators such as Dax Shepard, Monica Badman, Lex Friedman, Bill Simmons And Stephen Bartlett. The service plans to expand the range with inclusions Rewatchable to Ringing And the upcoming Trevor Noah show.

Spotify wants profitable podcasts

In recent years, the music platform co-founded by Daniel Ek has devoted a significant amount of resources to promoting its proposal Podcasts. With investments estimated at $1 billion, the business unit was able to improve its revenues by 20% during the first quarter of this year.

Spotify expects even greater growth in the coming months. The launch of this type of functionality seeks to make the segment profitable, at a time when the service faces new competitors such as TikTok Music.

Training new podcasters is also part of the strategy. Last May, as a result of a collaboration with the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the platform taught a course on this topic.

Consulting firm PwC estimates that Mexico’s podcast market revenue will reach $29 million this year. According to a study by Spotify, this type of content in the country has seen a 33% growth since 2020, outpacing other markets in the region, such as Argentina and Colombia.