<p>Voice-over (VO) artistes in Bengaluru are losing gigs as many newer and smaller agencies are turning to AI tools that mimic human voices. They say the use of AI-generated narration had set in pre-Covid, but has risen sharply over the past two years.</p>.<p>VO work for e-learning and corporate training content has especially declined, as it does not require the dynamic, emotional delivery sought in TV commercials, documentaries, or brand films. AI tools, they concur, are now effective at producing plain, functional, and announcement-style audio output. And where human voices are still needed, some clients are offering lower pay, knowing they can fall back on AI.</p>.<p><strong>‘Newcomers hit hard’</strong></p>.<p>VO artiste Sourin Roy Chaudhuri says steady work from audiobooks, e-learning, and corporate training has dried up. Now, he mostly gets work from brand films and the occasional documentary. Supriya Jambunathan reports a 30% drop in VO projects, especially explainer videos, training modules, and online education. But her demand in the entertainment and marketing space remains strong, where brands seek voices that add a human touch and embody personality, from cheerful to classy. Swagata Majumdar hasn’t gotten VO work for YouTube videos in a while. The voice artiste and coach believes English and Hindi artistes are hit harder than those in regional languages, as AI hasn’t yet developed a strong bank of regional voices. She says the shift is especially tough on newcomers, who may be forced to accept gigs as low as Rs 2,000 just to build a portfolio.</p>.<p>The fallout is more visible at the studio level. At Prabhath Studios in south Bengaluru, VO projects have dropped by half, especially in e-learning, radio jingles, and social media content. Owner Ashwin Prabhath says music production, the other arm of his business, remains steady, but it’s not enough. VO work, he notes, typically brings in four times more revenue. He points to another worrying trend: some studios are now renting out space for audiobook recordings at a meagre Rs 100-Rs 150 per hour, just to cover overhead expenses.</p>.<p>Five years ago, Voicebox Productions in Indiranagar would record 400 hours of voiceovers monthly for corporate training manuals. Now, it’s down to just four hours, says owner Gowri C. While work hasn’t disappeared entirely, their bargaining power has. The rates have also dropped from Rs 8,000-Rs 15,000 per session to Rs 2,000-Rs 4,000.</p>.<p>E J Sound Studios in Jeevan Bima Nagar records VO only two to three times a month, down from every other day earlier, says manager Sendrilla Ellwyn. Where the studio once set rates, now clients dictate prices, often slashing them down to one-fifth.</p>.<p>Rajesh Ramaswamy, writer at The Script Room, a creative agency, says AI-generated VO is gaining favour because client budgets are shrinking and timelines for delivering creatives are tightening. He warns that change is coming fast. A friend of his is developing an app that can replicate the same voice from Hindi to Tamil with a few taps.</p>.<p>Artistes and studios fear that some companies are jumping on the AI voice trend just to appear cool, and this is diminishing the overall appreciation for the craft.</p>.<p><strong>Unclear offers</strong></p>.<p>These artistes are approached to train AI models in a bid to create more realistic synthetic voices. While the pay is good, some acknowledge the risk that AI could replace human talent and there’s little transparency about the commercial use of their cloned voices.</p>.<p>Jyotica Sarkar Malik has declined seven such offers in the past two months. She says these companies often don’t disclose their true intentions until the very end. Chaudhuri has turned down at least five offers, because these companies provide no real value to artistes. When he asked for royalties to be included in the contracts, the companies backed out. Prabhath and Gowri are firmly opposed to the idea of training AI models for VO. Prabhath still wants to immerse himself in creative work shaped by trial and error and driven by human conviction.</p>.<p>Supriya isn’t opposed to lending her voice for training, but so far, none of the offers have worked out. As for Swagata, she is all for the ethical use of AI. She has lent her voice in Bengali for a self-learning Braille device specifically designed for children. Jyotica is open to coexisting with AI as long as it acts as an assistant, not a competitor, but she wants the government to first set clear rules defining that boundary. On the other hand, some artistes are turning to AI out of necessity, driven by limited work and financial pressure.</p>.<p><strong>Diversifying</strong></p>.<p>Despite the disruption, the VO community is not panicking. These senior artistes say most legacy brands still prefer human voices, as AI can’t match the emotional depth and connection they bring. Interviewees shared cases where clients, dissatisfied with AI recordings, turned to them at the last minute to redo entire projects or the sections where brand names had to be pronounced.</p>.<p>To diversify income, some artistes have moved into podcasting, dubbing, and voice coaching. Chaudhuri is also consulting on corporate learning and development. Supriya has a varied career already — working as a writer, actor, content creator, and in communications. Sendrilla’s studio offers additional production services, and is now searching for VO artistes in less-common languages like Khasi and Sindhi. They say foreign clients still value original Indian voices and pay well.</p>.<p><strong>Legal protection</strong></p>.<p>According to advocate K M Sai Apabharana, voice-over artistes in India enjoy two key legal protections. Under the Copyright Act, 1957, they are recognised as performers with rights against the unauthorised use, misuse, or distortion of their voice and work. If they are well-known and identifiable by their voice, they may also claim personality rights. These provisions have been upheld in cases such as Anil Kapoor v. Simply Life India and Titan Industries v. Ramkumar Jewellers. In the Anil Kapoor case, the Delhi High Court also briefly acknowledged the need to protect such rights from misuse by emerging technologies like AI.</p>
<p>Voice-over (VO) artistes in Bengaluru are losing gigs as many newer and smaller agencies are turning to AI tools that mimic human voices. They say the use of AI-generated narration had set in pre-Covid, but has risen sharply over the past two years.</p>.<p>VO work for e-learning and corporate training content has especially declined, as it does not require the dynamic, emotional delivery sought in TV commercials, documentaries, or brand films. AI tools, they concur, are now effective at producing plain, functional, and announcement-style audio output. And where human voices are still needed, some clients are offering lower pay, knowing they can fall back on AI.</p>.<p><strong>‘Newcomers hit hard’</strong></p>.<p>VO artiste Sourin Roy Chaudhuri says steady work from audiobooks, e-learning, and corporate training has dried up. Now, he mostly gets work from brand films and the occasional documentary. Supriya Jambunathan reports a 30% drop in VO projects, especially explainer videos, training modules, and online education. But her demand in the entertainment and marketing space remains strong, where brands seek voices that add a human touch and embody personality, from cheerful to classy. Swagata Majumdar hasn’t gotten VO work for YouTube videos in a while. The voice artiste and coach believes English and Hindi artistes are hit harder than those in regional languages, as AI hasn’t yet developed a strong bank of regional voices. She says the shift is especially tough on newcomers, who may be forced to accept gigs as low as Rs 2,000 just to build a portfolio.</p>.<p>The fallout is more visible at the studio level. At Prabhath Studios in south Bengaluru, VO projects have dropped by half, especially in e-learning, radio jingles, and social media content. Owner Ashwin Prabhath says music production, the other arm of his business, remains steady, but it’s not enough. VO work, he notes, typically brings in four times more revenue. He points to another worrying trend: some studios are now renting out space for audiobook recordings at a meagre Rs 100-Rs 150 per hour, just to cover overhead expenses.</p>.<p>Five years ago, Voicebox Productions in Indiranagar would record 400 hours of voiceovers monthly for corporate training manuals. Now, it’s down to just four hours, says owner Gowri C. While work hasn’t disappeared entirely, their bargaining power has. The rates have also dropped from Rs 8,000-Rs 15,000 per session to Rs 2,000-Rs 4,000.</p>.<p>E J Sound Studios in Jeevan Bima Nagar records VO only two to three times a month, down from every other day earlier, says manager Sendrilla Ellwyn. Where the studio once set rates, now clients dictate prices, often slashing them down to one-fifth.</p>.<p>Rajesh Ramaswamy, writer at The Script Room, a creative agency, says AI-generated VO is gaining favour because client budgets are shrinking and timelines for delivering creatives are tightening. He warns that change is coming fast. A friend of his is developing an app that can replicate the same voice from Hindi to Tamil with a few taps.</p>.<p>Artistes and studios fear that some companies are jumping on the AI voice trend just to appear cool, and this is diminishing the overall appreciation for the craft.</p>.<p><strong>Unclear offers</strong></p>.<p>These artistes are approached to train AI models in a bid to create more realistic synthetic voices. While the pay is good, some acknowledge the risk that AI could replace human talent and there’s little transparency about the commercial use of their cloned voices.</p>.<p>Jyotica Sarkar Malik has declined seven such offers in the past two months. She says these companies often don’t disclose their true intentions until the very end. Chaudhuri has turned down at least five offers, because these companies provide no real value to artistes. When he asked for royalties to be included in the contracts, the companies backed out. Prabhath and Gowri are firmly opposed to the idea of training AI models for VO. Prabhath still wants to immerse himself in creative work shaped by trial and error and driven by human conviction.</p>.<p>Supriya isn’t opposed to lending her voice for training, but so far, none of the offers have worked out. As for Swagata, she is all for the ethical use of AI. She has lent her voice in Bengali for a self-learning Braille device specifically designed for children. Jyotica is open to coexisting with AI as long as it acts as an assistant, not a competitor, but she wants the government to first set clear rules defining that boundary. On the other hand, some artistes are turning to AI out of necessity, driven by limited work and financial pressure.</p>.<p><strong>Diversifying</strong></p>.<p>Despite the disruption, the VO community is not panicking. These senior artistes say most legacy brands still prefer human voices, as AI can’t match the emotional depth and connection they bring. Interviewees shared cases where clients, dissatisfied with AI recordings, turned to them at the last minute to redo entire projects or the sections where brand names had to be pronounced.</p>.<p>To diversify income, some artistes have moved into podcasting, dubbing, and voice coaching. Chaudhuri is also consulting on corporate learning and development. Supriya has a varied career already — working as a writer, actor, content creator, and in communications. Sendrilla’s studio offers additional production services, and is now searching for VO artistes in less-common languages like Khasi and Sindhi. They say foreign clients still value original Indian voices and pay well.</p>.<p><strong>Legal protection</strong></p>.<p>According to advocate K M Sai Apabharana, voice-over artistes in India enjoy two key legal protections. Under the Copyright Act, 1957, they are recognised as performers with rights against the unauthorised use, misuse, or distortion of their voice and work. If they are well-known and identifiable by their voice, they may also claim personality rights. These provisions have been upheld in cases such as Anil Kapoor v. Simply Life India and Titan Industries v. Ramkumar Jewellers. In the Anil Kapoor case, the Delhi High Court also briefly acknowledged the need to protect such rights from misuse by emerging technologies like AI.</p>