ElevenLabs just launched a new AI-powered SFX library — this is a big deal

ElevenLabs, the leader in artificial intelligence sound generation , has published a library of sound effects made using its AI model. There are dozens of categories covering instruments, nature, emotions and animals.

SFX Explore pulls together the sound effects generated by ElevenLabs itself, as well as individual users of the AI audio platform. These sounds are great for bringing life to an AI-generated film , adding color to a podcast or bringing a video game to life.

Users who still want a specific custom sound effect can go and generate one. I tried the generation tool for a recent project and found I could make the exact soundscape, not just individual sounds and customize how long the audio file should be.

Why an SFX library?

My first thought when I read the X post from ElevenLabs talking about the new library was to ask “why bother” when you can just use a text prompt to create the exact sound you need for a project.

Having spent some time exploring the SFX Explore library, though, I can now see its purpose. As well as providing the sound file to download, it also gives you the prompt and an easy way to reuse and adapt it as needed.

On the first page, you’re presented with a selection of hand-picked sounds including one that sounds exactly like the start of some of the most epic blockbuster movie trailers of all time. Then there is another that sounds like something undead is going to come out of the screen and a third that sounds like a perfect vintage radio.

At its heart what the library offers is a prompting guide as much as a repository of sounds. It offers a better way to learn how to best utilize the AI model with real-world examples that can be adapted or recreated.

All we need now is for Midjourney to take this as inspiration and create a library of Sref codes so it becomes easier to generate images with a unique flare.

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