Free Voice-Swap VST plugin will pay artists for use of AI vocal modelling

Voice-Swap – the ethical AI voice company co-founded by DJ Fresh – has launched a new free-to-use VST plugin which compensates the artists used for AI vocal modelling. 

The tech startup’s system allows producers to choose from a menu of licensed voices and drop these directly into their chosen DAW. Lyrics can then be tailored, and royalties are automatically paid to the singers behind each voice. 

“Being able to load up your favourite vocalist straight into your DAW has always been the vision for Voice-Swap. Now you can also make your own high-quality models and load them straight into your session,” said Voice-Swap CEO and co-founder Dan Stein aka DJ Fresh.

House music legend Robert Owens, famed for solo work alongside collaborations with Frankie Knuckles and Coldcut, Calvin Harris and Nervo collaborator Ayah Marar, and decade-spanning icon Angie Brown (The Rolling Stones, Happy Mondays, Grace Jones) are already signed up to provide vocals for Voice-Swap. Other names on the roster include Liam Bailey, who has appeared on tracks by Chase & Status and Shy FX, and Dominique Young, whose career includes features with Diplo and Don Diablo. 

A custom model training feature also allows users to create their own voice models, which can then be shared privately with other producers, musicians, or labels and agents. Once available to use, anyone with approved access can use the vocal through Voice-Swap’s web platform, its stem separation tool Stem-Swap, the new VST plugin, and third-party integrations via the API. 

Custom voice uploads are cross-checked for copyright against BMAT’s database of over 180million ‘audio fingerprints’ to prevent unauthorised use. According to Voice-Swap, this process is the “first solution of its kind in the industry.” The company also recently earned a Fairly Trained Certification for ethical AI use, applying to all current models. 

“Our BMAT integration ensures rightsholders can trust your models,” added Stein. “Once that trust has been established, those models can be shared with other Voice-Swap users, or even made available to licensees and partners via our new API.”