MOVIE NEWS – While much of Hollywood is still digging in its heels against AI, Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine have chosen a different tactic: they would rather license their own voices themselves than wake up one day to find them stolen. The idea is controversial but clear enough: better to sign first than watch others cash in on your voice without asking.
At a time when many actors and filmmakers are loudly opposing the use of artificial intelligence in their industry, others are trying to protect themselves in a more pragmatic way by locking down the rights to their likeness and voice in advance. Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine are in the second camp: they have already signed with ElevenLabs so that their iconic voices can be officially reproduced using AI.
If You Can’t Beat Them…
For McConaughey, this is not a sudden move. His relationship with ElevenLabs goes back to 2022, and over time he has even become an investor in the company. Under the new deal, both actors’ voices will be added to the Iconic Voice Marketplace, a platform that allows all kinds of companies to use McConaughey and Caine’s voices in projects and content such as audiobook narration or article readings.
“From our first conversation, I’ve been impressed by how the team at ElevenLabs has taken the magic of core technology and turned it into products that creators, businesses, and storytellers can use every day,” McConaughey said in a statement quoted by Variety. “I launched my newsletter, ‘Lyrics of Livin,’ as a way to share stories and ideas in my own voice for those who want to listen.”
“Now, thanks to ElevenLabs, ‘Lyrics of Livin’ is expanding with a Spanish edition, allowing us to reach and connect with so many more people. To everyone building with voice technology: keep moving forward. You are helping to create a future where we can look up from our screens and connect through something as timeless as humanity itself: our voices.”
McConaughey and Caine are among the latest big names to join ElevenLabs’ roster, alongside artists and actors such as Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland, John Wayne, and Maya Angelou. According to the company, the platform is designed to answer one of the biggest ethical concerns around generative AI content: here, the voices are licensed legally, with the explicit permission of their owners, or their heirs in the case of deceased artists.
Through its marketplace, ElevenLabs connects interested clients directly with the rightsholders of the voice they want to use. Once an agreement is reached, the company’s technology can be used to generate the requested collaboration or license. In theory, that could mean hearing a fresh recording of Hamlet read in Laurence Olivier’s voice. With this move, however, McConaughey and Caine are also putting themselves at odds with much of their own industry, which continues to resist the advance of generative AI.
“For many years, I’ve lent my voice to stories that moved people. Tales of courage, ingenuity, and the human spirit. Now I’m helping others find theirs,” Caine said. “With ElevenLabs, we can preserve and share those voices, not just mine, but everyone’s. Innovation isn’t being used to replace humanity, but to celebrate it.”
Source: Espinof
