Eleven Labs Debuts "Iconic Marketplace" Feat Michael Caine, Judy Garland, Others (elevenlabs.io)

Eleven Labs has launched the "Iconic Marketplace," a licensing platform that offers AI-rendered voices and related intellectual property from historically significant figures — examples cited include Michael Caine and Judy Garland. The marketplace is designed to connect creators with rights holders so they can request and obtain authorized licenses to use these "legendary" voices in entertainment, sports, music, and historical storytelling projects. The announcement positions the offering as a way to legally access and deploy recognizable voice IP rather than relying on unlicensed cloning. For the AI/ML community, this move is significant because it shifts voice synthesis from a largely unregulated, experimental space toward an industry model that pairs generative audio technology with clear rights management. Technically, it implies continued maturation of high-fidelity text-to-speech models capable of capturing iconic timbre and performance, while the marketplace component addresses provenance, permissions, and monetization. The initiative could accelerate professional use cases (dubbing, audiobooks, preservation, creative media) but also raises practical questions about authentication, contract workflows, and ethical safeguards to prevent misuse. Overall, Eleven Labs’ marketplace represents a notable step in normalizing licensed synthetic voice IP and highlights the need for robust tooling and policy around consent, attribution, and responsible deployment.