Business Wire

ReadSpeaker VoiceLab Powers Sonos Voice Control Custom Voice

Share

ReadSpeaker, the most trusted, independent digital voice partner for global businesses, today announced that Sonos, the world’s leading sound experience company, has selected the ReadSpeaker VoiceLab to create a custom voice for Sonos Voice Control, the brand’s voice assistant. Sonos selected VoiceLab, ReadSpeaker’s custom voice production unit, because of the company’s proven experience and expertise in state-of-the-art, AI-driven text-to-speech.

Leading consumer brands are looking to develop their own voice assistants to provide consistently on-brand, personalized and engaged automated customer experiences. Those with a visionary strategy and commitment to consumer privacy, like Sonos, are understanding the broader importance of AI-driven digital voice in helping expand their business and meet consumer needs and expectations, even as they quickly evolve.

The ReadSpeaker VoiceLab managed the development process, including carrying out recordings with Giancarlo Esposito, processing the recorded data, training Deep Neural Networking (DNN) models on that data, and managing quality control, delivery, and all necessary quality assurance steps. Because of the technicality of the voice recordings required to build the custom voice, which requires speech to be delivered in an extremely consistent way that prioritizes precise articulation and style, ReadSpeaker’s VoiceLab experts worked closely with Esposito throughout every stage of the process.

A key challenge in the development of this custom voice was the need for it to comprehend and pronounce non-standard text content that is often found in the music industry. It was also critical that the assistant was able to read artists’ track or album information in numerous languages. The VoiceLab team worked closely with Sonos and Esposito to optimize the speech output for this massively broad domain.

Sonos Voice Control is an entirely new voice experience that delivers fast, accurate hands-free control of your music and your Sonos system with unmatched privacy. Designed with privacy at its core, Sonos Voice Control is the simplest way to control your music, offering complete command of your Sonos system using only your voice. Sonos Voice Control works on every voice-capable Sonos speaker, processing requests entirely on the device. No audio or transcript is sent to the cloud, stored, listened to or read by anyone. Available from June 1 in the US and later this year in France on all voice capable Sonos products, Sonos Voice Control is compatible with Sonos Radio, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, and Pandora at launch. More services and markets will follow.

“We selected ReadSpeaker to power the custom voice for Sonos Voice Control for a variety of reasons, not least of which was their ability to work closely with us from the development phase all the way through delivery,” said Joseph Dureau, Vice President, Voice Experience, at Sonos. “ReadSpeaker’s approach to custom voice is innovative and extremely thorough – which is exactly what we required for this project – and the company’s dedicated linguistic team has been a critical tool for us throughout this project.”

“As brands become increasingly aware that, much like a visual logo, a custom voice ensures consistently engaging, on-brand interactions across touchpoints, our VoiceLab is developing voices that speak to their brand persona and create unique experiences,” said Roy Lindemann, CMO and CCO EMEA, at ReadSpeaker. “With more consumers leveraging digital voice every day for everything from making purchases to choosing which playlist to listen to, having a custom branded voice is becoming table stakes for delivering a quality, personalized CX in real time. By partnering with Sonos, we are helping to bring yet another brand’s voice to life in an exciting, innovative way.”

Watch the SVC Custom Voice “behind the scenes” video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwJ8Ub10arQ

For more information about the ReadSpeaker VoiceLab, visit www.readspeaker.ai/solutions/custom-text-to-speech-tts-voices/.

About ReadSpeaker:
ReadSpeaker is the most trusted independent digital voice partner for global brands, institutions, and organizations. With over 20 years’ experience, ReadSpeaker’s AI-powered text-to-speech solutions and expert assistance enhance the accessibility of digital content and enable more user-friendly and engaging interactions with technology. The company’s flexible cloud and on-premise solutions bring over 110 expressive, humanlike synthetic voices in more than 35 languages to any application or device. The company consistently maintains its uncompromising commitment to data privacy and has so far speech enabled over 10,000 voice applications worldwide.

ReadSpeaker’s digital voice design brand, readspeaker.ai, helps agencies, integrators, and developers to enhance CX and drive sales through consistently engaging, on-brand interactions across touchpoints. For more information, go to readspeaker.ai and follow the company on Twitter and LinkedIn.

To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

Contact information

ReadSpeaker:
Victoria Newell
V2 Communications for ReadSpeaker
readspeaker@v2comms.com

About Business Wire

Business Wire
Business Wire
24 Martin Lane
EC4R 0DR London

+44 20 7626 1982http://www.businesswire.co.uk

(c) 2018 Business Wire, Inc., All rights reserved.

Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is the global leader in multiplatform press release distribution.

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

H.I.G. Capital Announces the Sale of DGS S.p.A.11.6.2024 12:00:00 CEST | Press release

H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global alternative investment firm with $62 billion of capital under management, is pleased to announce that an affiliate has signed a definitive agreement to sell its portfolio company, DGS S.p.A. (“DGS” or the “Group”), a leading firm in the Italian Information Technology market, to DGS Co-Founders and management team in partnership with ICG, a global alternative asset manager. Since its inception in 1997, DGShas supported blue-chip customers in the design, integration, and maintenance of complex IT systems, with a specialization in digital transformation and cybersecurity services. The Group currently has over 1,900 employees, revenues of approximately €300 million, and maintains a group of highly loyal clientele. During H.I.G.’s ownership, DGS has tripled in size and consolidated its position as a leading Italian firm in cybersecurity services and digital transformation. DGS offers its clients sophisticated and proprietary digital transformation

Evertas Names Nick Selby Head of European Underwriting11.6.2024 12:00:00 CEST | Press release

Evertas, the world’s first crypto insurance company, has named Nick Selby as its new Head of European Underwriting. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240611141887/en/ Nick Selby, Executive Vice President and Head of European Underwriting at Evertas (Photo: Business Wire) Selby, an accomplished information and physical security professional, brings two decades of expertise in public and private sector information security, physical security, and complex incident handling, as well as seven years of experience leading teams securing billions of dollars in cryptoassets. Previously, his roles included VP of the Software Assurance Practice at Trail of Bits, Chief Security Officer at Paxos Trust Company, and Director of Cyber Intelligence and Investigations at the NYPD Intelligence Bureau. “Nick is an extremely valuable addition to our European team,” said Evertas CEO and Co-Founder J. Gdanski. “His public and private

Owlet utvider globalt fotavtrykk med lanseringen av medisinsk-sertifisert Dream Sock™ i Storbritannia og over hele Europa11.6.2024 11:00:00 CEST | Pressemelding

Owlet, Inc. («Owlet» or the «Company») (NYSE:OWLT), pioneren innen smart spedbarnsovervåking, kunngjør i dag den britiske og europeiske lanseringen av Dream Sock. Dette er en smart babymonitor med levende helseavlesninger og varsler for friske spedbarn mellom 0-18 måneder og 2,5-13,6 kg. Dette innovative medisinske utstyret gir foreldre helse og viktig informasjon i sanntid, noe som gir uovertruffen trygghet. Denne pressemeldingen inneholder multimedia. Se hele pressemeldingen her: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240611820341/no/ (Photo: Business Wire) «Vi er svært stolte over å lansere Dream Sock til omsorgspersoner over hele Storbritannia og Europa og gi millioner av foreldre mer trygghet mens babyen sover,» sa Kurt Workman, Owlets administrerende direktør og medgründer. «Dream Sock er nå et globalt produkt som er anerkjent som medisinsk nøyaktig og trygt, etter å ha gjennomgått regulatoriske autorisasjoner og sertifiseringer innenfor flere geografier. I dag er misjonen vår

V-Nova Surpasses 1000 Patent Milestone in Media Technology Innovation11.6.2024 10:00:00 CEST | Press release

V-Nova, a leading provider of data compression solutions, video compression technology, XR technology, AI acceleration and parallel processing for a multitude of industries including media and entertainment, today announced its milestone achievement of 1000 active technology patents. This accomplishment underscores V-Nova’s dedication to research and development and its commitment to protecting its intellectual property globally. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240611724561/en/ V-Nova’s patent portfolio spans more than 50 different jurisdictions. Including over 400 patents in Europe, over 200 in the Americas, over 100 in the United States specifically, and over 200 in Asia. V-Nova forged new directions in data processing to enhance digital experiences, maximize efficiency, reduce costs, and increase sustainability. The company leads the way with key international data compression standards for the video indust

Alipay+ Reveals Top Scorer Trophy Design for UEFA EURO 2024™11.6.2024 09:24:00 CEST | Press release

Alipay+, a suite of cross-border mobile payment and digitalization technology solutions operated by Ant International and an Official Partner of UEFA EURO 2024™, today revealed the trophy that will be awarded to the most prolific marksman at the UEFA EURO 2024™ finale on July 14 in Berlin, Germany. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240610328619/en/ The UEFA Top Scorer Trophy presented by Alipay+ is unveiled for UEFA EURO 2024™ (Photo: Business Wire) Sculpted in the shape of the Chinese character “支” (pronounced zhi, and meaning payment as well as support), the trophy reflects Alipay+’s dedication to supporting consumers to enjoy seamless payment and a broad choice of deals using their preferred payment methods while traveling abroad. The character also resembles the fleeting moment of a barefooted striker poised to shoot, evoking the original beauty and power of football – a game that united people across the wo

World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye