Selling your voice and appearance to AI services: how much you can earn and what are the risks

While you are scrolling through TikTok, the most popular blogger on this social network, Khaby Lame, is passively earning hundreds of millions of dollars from his digital double. At the same time, an AI voice copy can bring in money even if you are not a celebrity.How and where can you sell a digital copy of your voice? And what risks should you consider?Earn almost a billion dollars on a digital imageThe world's most popular TikTok blogger, Khaby Lame, concluded a deal with investment company Rich Sparkle Holdings. She will now lead Lame's TikTok Shop, managing its live sales, partnerships, physical products, and future licensing.The most interesting thing is that the deal, which is estimated at $975 million, involves the creation of a digital double of Khaby Lame using artificial intelligence. The blogger gave permission to use his face, voice, and behavioral patterns to generate synthetic content.Read also"I thought it was my real photo". AI "undressed" Ukrainian women on social network X: how to protect yourselfLamé's videos are almost entirely wordless, based on his comic reactions and facial expressions. Thanks to this, he has fans in different countries. The celebrity's AI avatar will publish content in different languages in different time zones, allowing him to constantly interact with fans and markets around the world.Khaby Lame was born in Senegal and raised in Italy. He started making short videos in March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The guy became popular for his silent videos where he makes fun of difficult life hacks and life situations.Today, his TikTok account is followed by more than 160 million users, and his videos on this social network have garnered more than 2.6 billion likes. And all of Lame's platforms, including Instagram, have 360 million subscribers.At the time of the deal, the economy of digital content creators was already estimated at $250 billion, and it continues to grow. The American investment company Goldman Sachs predicted estimates that by 2027, the figure could almost double to $480 billion. And last year's Future of the Creator Economy Report by royalty-free music hosting company Epidemic Sound testifies: 91% of creators use AI when creating content.Most authors still make money mainly from brand integrations and advertising. At the same time, Habi Lame's deal demonstrates that selling a blogger's audience and intellectual property as a single asset is more profitable.How to monetize your voice: popular AI servicesElevenLabsUsers of ElevenLabs can upload a clone of their voice to a public library and earn money from each use of their voice by other users.How to do it step by step:register an account and subscribe to the Creator Plan (at the time of writing, it costs approximately $22 per month). The plan gives you access to the Professional Voice Clone feature;use the functionality to record high-quality audio – at least 30 minutes of broadcasting. The longer the recording (for example, you can record 1-3 hours), the better the quality of the model, and thus the more likely it is to be used;confirm that it is your voice with a short video test.If you successfully complete all the stages, the voice will be uploaded to the library. When the creators make audio with it, you as the author will receive a reward for every 1,000 characters of text read by the voice. The basic rate is approximately $0.03 per 1,000 characters, and for voices marked HQ (high quality), it can reach up to $0.2 per 1,000 characters.This means that a long text, such as a 10-minute script, can bring in tens of cents per use. The more projects with your voice (these can be videos, podcasts, or audiobooks), the more passive income you have.For example, users of the Reddit online forum share that they earned $100-320 per month if there was a stable demand for their voice models. A blogger on the Medium platform says that she earned $960 for three months.Read alsoMoney for videos and shares. How Facebook monetization works and how much you can earnPayments are made weekly via the Stripe payment system as soon as your balance exceeds the minimum amount (usually $10). Important: Stripe is not available in Ukraine. ElevenLabs does not offer alternative systems (PayPal, Wise, etc.).Ukrainians can receive money if they have a bank account or a legal entity in a country that officially supports Stripe (EU countries, including Poland, the UK, the US, Canada, etc.).RespeecherThis is a Ukrainian startup that specializes in voice cloning and speech synthesis. Netflix, HBO, Paramount, and Lucasfilm, among others, cooperate with the company. Customers pay for voice-overs of videos, trailers, and dubbing with voices of different ages, genders, and tones, as well as their integration into chatbots and AI assistants.The startup does not operate as an open platform but is looking for so-called "voice donors" for its marketplace. Respeecher offers cooperation with native speakers of French, German, Spanish, and Japanese aged 18 to 90. We are talking about people who can speak or read these languages emotionally.If potential speakers are under the age of majority, parental consent is required. Donors must be based in Ukraine, with priority given to Kyiv, but the team is ready to work with people from other cities.How to apply:write to the address si@respeecher.com by attaching a one-minute sample of your voice to the letter, indicating your city of residence and contact information;you can visit the Respeecher studio in Kyiv, where a moderator will consult you and a sound engineer will evaluate the quality of the recording;undergo a voice recording session: it lasts 2-2.5 hours. The team will provide a script;you will receive a one-time cash compensation at the end of the session.This remuneration is guaranteed, but Respeecher may also consider regular payments to professional donors under license agreements and individual rates. The condition is a unique voice and market demand for it.All audio is moderated to prevent abuse. DOU and Forbes, citing the press service of Respeecher, wrote that actors receive 25% royalties for permission to use their voices in the catalog. However, only a one-time payment model is publicly known.As a result, Respeecher selects actors' voices according to clear criteria, offers them cooperation, and considers additional terms and payments. At the same time, ElevenLabs relies on the number of times the voice and characters of the spoken text are used. Therefore, Respeecher is not suitable for quick monetization, while ElevenLabs is a service where you can earn money immediately without any experience in voice acting.AI double: how safe it is and what you need to knowMonetizing one's voice or face can be risky, as most platforms offer vague terms of cooperation, warns Bogdan Shcherbakov, founder of Madstone, a Ukrainian company that helps businesses implement AI. This means that despite the formal preservation of property rights, a person may unknowingly give up full control over their data.In theory, services cannot use voice or face without consent. However, users give this consent by signing the Terms of Service during registration without reading the document carefully.The expert listed the main "red flags" of deals with AI platforms:validity period – the words "perpetual" or "until termination of the platform" indicate a perpetual license to your voice or face. It is necessary so that you can take back the rights to the image;sublicensing – in other words, whether the service can transfer your data to third parties or companies. If this is the case, fragments of your appearance or voice may appear in other people's avatars, third-party advertising, etc;compensation – Shcherbakov believes that a one-time payment is a losing option. Royalties should be provided for the benefit;the right to delete – after deactivating your account, the use of your content must stop; otherwise, it is a problem.you should make sure that your data will not be used to train and improve general AI models;avoid vague wording such as "[use] to improve the service" or "for marketing purposes", as this can be interpreted as anything.Does the law protect against illegal use of an imageIn the European Union, several tools are available to protect against the illegal use of your AI copy:The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives people the opportunity to request deletion of their data (the so-called "right to be forgotten") and limit the automated processing of their voice and face. However, the GDPR does not automatically void commercial agreements where a person has signed a transfer of rights to use an image, emphasizes Bogdan Shcherbakov.The EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) introduces specific requirements for high-risk AI systems, including those that process biometric data.The Digital Services Act strengthens the responsibility of online platforms for illegal content and provides mechanisms for its removal."But many AI platforms are created and registered in the United States. It's expensive to sue internationally, and the process will take years, even if the truth is on your side," Shcherbakov warns.Ukrainian legislation is not keeping up with technology, the expert believes. Formally, a person's image is protected by Article 308 of the Civil Code, which states that photos or videos of a person may be used only with their consent. However, as mentioned above, users themselves give this consent, consciously or not.Read alsoYou May Have Digital Colleagues: What Ukrainian IT Executives Expect from 2026The Law on Personal Data Protection regulates the processing of personal information. However, there are currently no special rules regarding digital copies. To defend your rights, you need clear evidence of violations, money for good lawyers, and time.If you do decide to make a passive profit by selling your voice or avatar to AI platforms, Shcherbakov urges you to consult a lawyer before doing so, because "it's much cheaper to prevent the problem than to fight in court."

Comments