ListenUp provides a comprehensive set of features to add professional text-to-speech functionality to your WordPress site.
One-Click Audio Generation
Generate professional audio for any post or page directly from the WordPress editor. The ListenUp meta box provides a simple interface for creating audio.
How it works:
- Click “Generate Audio” in the post editor meta box
- Content is extracted and cleaned (HTML stripped, entities decoded)
- Text is sent to Murf.ai for processing
- Audio file is downloaded and cached locally
- Player becomes available for visitors
Benefits:
- No technical knowledge required
- Audio generates in seconds to minutes
- Works with any post type
- Automatic caching saves API credits
Professional AI Voices
Access Murf.ai’s full library of professional AI voices with natural-sounding speech.
Voice features:
- Multiple languages and accents
- Male and female voices
- Various speaking styles
- Preview voices before selecting
Configuration:
- Go to Settings → ListenUp
- Click “Load Available Voices”
- Browse and preview voices
- Select your preferred default voice
Voice Styles
Many voices support multiple speaking styles to match your content type:
| Style | Best For |
|---|---|
| Conversational | Blog posts, casual content |
| Newscast | News articles, updates |
| Narration | Stories, long-form content |
| Promo | Marketing, promotional content |
Not all voices support all styles. Available styles display after selecting a voice.
Intelligent Content Chunking
For posts that exceed Murf.ai’s API limits, content is automatically split into manageable chunks.
How it works:
- Text is analyzed for length
- If over 2800 characters, content splits by sentences
- Each chunk is processed separately
- Frontend player seamlessly plays all chunks in sequence
- Downloads automatically concatenate chunks
Benefits:
- No content length limitations
- Seamless playback experience
- Single file downloads
- Efficient API usage
Audio Formats
ListenUp supports multiple audio formats for different use cases:
| Format | Benefits |
|---|---|
| MP3 | Best compatibility, smaller files (recommended) |
| WAV | Highest quality, larger files |
| OGG | Open format, good compression |
| FLAC | Lossless compression |
Note: MP3 is recommended for most sites due to universal browser support and efficient file sizes.
Pre-roll Audio
Add branded introductions that play before your content.
Options:
- Upload pre-roll: Use your own audio file
- Generate pre-roll: Create spoken intro from text using Murf.ai
Use cases:
- Podcast-style intros
- Brand mentions
- Sponsor messages
- Content warnings
Configuration:
- Go to Settings → ListenUp → Pre-roll
- Upload audio file OR enter text to generate
- Pre-roll applies to all new audio generations
Pronunciation Dictionary
Define custom pronunciations for technical terms, acronyms, and brand names.
Why it matters:
Without custom pronunciation, “AWS” might be spoken as “aws” instead of “Amazon Web Services.”
Pronunciation types:
| Type | Use Case | Example |
|---|---|---|
| SAY_AS | Plain text replacement | “NES” → “Nintendo Entertainment System” |
| IPA | Phonetic notation | “live” → “laɪv” |
Learn more about Pronunciation →
Accessible Audio Player
A fully accessible audio player with modern design and comprehensive keyboard support.
Accessibility features:
- Full keyboard navigation
- Screen reader compatible
- WCAG-compliant controls
- High contrast mode support
- Reduced motion support
- Proper ARIA labels
Player controls:
- Play/Pause button
- Progress bar with seeking
- Volume control
- Download button (if enabled)
- Time display (current/total)
Automatic Placement
Configure automatic player insertion without editing templates.
Placement options:
| Setting | Behavior |
|---|---|
| None | Manual placement only (shortcode) |
| Posts | Auto-insert on all blog posts |
| Pages | Auto-insert on all pages |
| Both | Auto-insert on posts and pages |
Position options:
- Before Content – Player appears at top
- After Content – Player appears at bottom
Shortcode Support
Use shortcodes for precise player placement.
Basic usage:
[listenup]Display audio from specific post:
[listenup post_id="123"]In templates:
<?php echo do_shortcode('[listenup]'); ?>Audio Library Shortcode
Display a collection of posts with audio using the library shortcode.
Basic usage:
[listenup_library]With options:
[listenup_library posts_per_page="5" category="podcasts" autoplay="true"]Available attributes:
| Attribute | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| posts_per_page | 10 | Number of posts to display |
| post_type | post | Post type to query |
| orderby | date | Sort order (date, title, rand) |
| order | DESC | Sort direction |
| category | – | Filter by category slug |
| autoplay | false | Auto-advance to next track |
Download Controls
Control who can download audio files from your site.
Options:
| Setting | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Allow All | Anyone can download |
| Logged In Only | Only authenticated users |
| Disable | No downloads allowed |
When downloads are restricted, the download button is hidden from the player.
Leech Protection
Audio files are served through a secure PHP proxy with nonce-based authentication.
How it works:
- All audio URLs include WordPress nonces
- Direct file access is blocked
- HTTP range requests supported for seeking
- Proper caching headers for performance
Benefits:
- Prevents unauthorized direct access
- Stops hotlinking from other sites
- Works on any PHP server (Apache, Nginx, IIS)
- No server configuration required
Cloud Storage Integration
Offload audio files to cloud storage providers to reduce bandwidth and improve delivery.
Supported providers:
- Amazon S3
- Cloudflare R2
- Google Cloud Storage
Benefits:
- Reduce server bandwidth usage
- Improve delivery performance
- Geographic distribution (CDN)
- Signed URLs for security
Learn more about Cloud Storage →
Audio Library Admin
Manage all audio content from a centralized admin page.
Features:
- View all posts with audio
- Filter by audio status
- See storage location (local/cloud)
- Bulk management options
- Pagination for large sites
Access: Settings → ListenUp → Audio Library tab
WP-CLI Commands
For large sites, use WP-CLI for bulk operations:
# Generate for all posts without audio
wp listenup generate --all
# Generate for specific post
wp listenup generate --post-id=123
# Regenerate all audio
wp listenup generate --all --force
# Upload to cloud storage
wp listenup cloud-upload --all
# Show statistics
wp listenup stats
# Clean up orphaned files
wp listenup cleanup-orphanedAnalytics Integration
Track audio engagement through Google Analytics integration.
Events tracked:
- Audio play started
- Audio paused
- Audio completed
- Audio downloaded
Integration:
Events push to dataLayer for GTM/GA4 consumption. Requires Google Tag Manager or similar to capture events.
Smart Caching
Efficient caching system saves API credits and improves performance.
How it works:
- Audio files cached locally on first generation
- Cache keys include content hash, voice, and style
- Content changes trigger regeneration prompt
- Metadata stored for quick lookups
Cache location: wp-content/uploads/listenup-audio/
No FFmpeg Required
Unlike many audio plugins, ListenUp works without FFmpeg.
Benefits:
- Works on shared hosting
- Works on managed WordPress hosts
- No server configuration needed
- Compatible with any PHP environment
How it works:
- Uses Murf.ai for all audio processing
- Simple binary concatenation for multi-chunk downloads
- Server-agnostic audio delivery
Security Features
Built-in protection keeps your audio secure:
- Nonce verification – All AJAX requests verified
- Leech protection – Prevents unauthorized access
- Input sanitization – All data properly sanitized
- Secure file delivery – Audio served through PHP proxy
- Cloud signed URLs – Time-limited access tokens