AI Text-to-Speech That Turns Books and Articles Into Listening Playlists
Solo-built text-to-speech service: upload an EPUB, PDF or article link and get hours of chaptered audio, also as a podcast feed.
In plain English
AudiowaveAI reads long writing out loud with a natural computer voice. You upload a book or a PDF, or paste a link to an article, and it gives back audio split into chapters. You can listen in its own player or in any podcast app. One developer in Vancouver runs it and people buy packs of listening time.
~$5K/mo self-reported (whatitmakes, Nov 2026)
Operator: Michael Yagudaev (solo founder)
A named, real operator ran this and shared results publicly. The figures are their own.
Not disclosed.
The tool stack
Payments
OpenAI API ↗LLM / vision
Next.js ↗Web app framework
Prices are the vendors' published list prices as researched in Oct 2026 and change often — always check the vendor's pricing page.
Step-by-step setup
- Accept the long files people already have: EPUB books, PDFs and article links.
- Split the text into chapters and send it to a text-to-speech voice.
- Deliver a playlist plus a private podcast feed so it plays anywhere.
- Sell prepaid listening packs and launch on Product Hunt and Hacker News.
What's automated vs. the human 10%
The machine does
- Core AI generation/analysis
- Billing and onboarding
You still do
- Product quality and support
- Distribution and marketing
- Compliance and edge cases
Overview
Solo-built text-to-speech service: upload an EPUB, PDF or article link and get hours of chaptered audio, also as a podcast feed.
Operator: Michael Yagudaev (solo founder). Website: https://www.audiowaveai.com/
Estimated split: about 90% of the work automated, 10% human.
Realistic income
The revenue directory whatitmakes lists AudiowaveAI at about $5,000 a month, marked self-reported and flat from October to November 2026. The founder’s own launch report showed $45 on launch day in May 2024. This figure is operator-reported, not independently verified. This is one operator’s result, often after months or years of work, and doesn’t predict yours. Check the live source — numbers change.
Risks
- The ~$5K/mo figure is self-reported by the founder and not verified.
- Voices come from OpenAI and Azure, so costs and quality depend on them.
- Only convert books and articles the user has the right to use.
- Startup cost and time to first dollar are not disclosed.
*Income figures are illustrative ranges based on public pricing and typical outcomes reported by practitioners, not guarantees. Most new online businesses earn little or nothing at first. Not financial, legal or tax advice.
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