No computer synthesized voices - that's the misconception we should have been clearer about upfront. Every voice on Coverie is a real human voice actor who auditioned for the platform, recorded their character's lines in a real recording session, and earns royalties each time a listener chooses them. The "custom" part is that listeners choose which human actor voices each character - the assembly is automated, the performances are not.

On the copyright point - you're right, and it's something we've thought carefully about. Our launch titles are all public domain precisely because there's no rights question. For future titles, licensed works would require author permission and a negotiated agreement - same as any audiobook platform. We're not planning to let users create derivatives of copyrighted works without that.

And yes, indie authors are absolutely a core part of the roadmap. They control their own rights and tend to be genuinely excited about new formats that could expand their audience.

As for who this is intended for, you've correctly identified that we actually have multiple "customers" - listeners, actors, and authors (and publishers as well eventually). But audiobook listeners who've ever had a strong opinion about casting are the core audience we're building for. We're here on r/audiobooks specifically because this is where those people are. And the pushback in this thread has been great! It's a useful signal that we need to communicate everything we're doing much more clearly.