Not just Judy Garland, but James Dean, Laurence Olivier and Burt Reynolds too. And, in time, no doubt many more too.
As you have probably guessed, this is all possible thanks to the wonders of AI - and some savvy licensing deals struck by ElevenLabs, which says it has agreed deals with various estates to use their audio likenesses in a new app.
This isn't just a little niche business idea. ElevenLabs develops AI technology specifically to mimic people’s voices and is already valued at over $1 billion. The company was founded by two London-based Polish entrepreneurs: Mati Staniszewski and former Google engineer Piotr Dabkowski.
The late actors will lend their voices to ElevenLabs’ Reader App, where users will be able to pick celebrities to read their favourite novels - a product it's calling 'Iconic Voices'. Certainly, Liza Minnelli - a representative of the Garland Estate and Ms Garland’s daughter - is happy with the idea, saying: “It’s exciting to see our mother’s voice available to the countless millions of people who love her. Our family believes that this will bring new fans to Mama.”
Dustin Blank, of ElevenLabs, said: “Judy Garland, James Dean, Burt Reynolds and Sir Laurence Olivier are some of the most celebrated actors in history. We deeply respect their legacy and are honoured to have their voices as part of our platform.”
The deal is the latest example of celebrities’ estates using technology to find new ways of generating money.