A Second Wave of Social Audio?
Plus, how to design a ringtone and YouTube Music rolls out podcasts in the US
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The landscape of social audio is changing, and it’s time for some bluesky thinking.
In recent weeks, there has been a shift, with Spotify Live and Reddit Talks no longer available and smaller standalone apps disappearing quietly. While Twitter Spaces is still hanging on, the move from Clubs to Houses on Clubhouse left the community upset and confused, and a flurry of 2.0 updates left the app difficult to navigate. This week Clubhouse announced they’re cutting staff by 50%.
But there is hope on the horizon in the form of Bluesky Social. The invite-only platform, funded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, offers a familiar look and feel to Twitter (without the ads and power-hungry overlord.) But the most significant advantage of Bluesky is that it is a protocol, allowing developers to create their own versions of the platform without worrying about being cut off from an API.
Enter developer Justin and BlueSky Spaces. As we heard on this week’s All Things Audio, Justin spent last weekend building Twitter Spaces for Bluesky from scratch, iterating in real time as the community listening threw suggestions and ideas at him. Listen, code, refresh – it sounds like the early days of Spaces, where community involvement felt integral to its growth.
With the ability for developers to experiment with and build customised versions of social audio features, could we be about to experience a second wave of social audio? Imagine more unique and tailored audio-based experiences, beyond what we have seen before. And what might adding GPT-4 and other AI solutions add to the mix?
Let’s embrace this bluesky thinking and see where it takes us.
✂️ Cut The Tape
Bluesky Social offers a glimpse into the future of social audio, where developers have the freedom to create and innovate, and the community has a voice in the process.
🎧 #Podcasting
Spotify’s research into goal-oriented podcast recommendations | Spotify
YouTube Music rolls out podcasts to US listeners | TechCrunch
No exclusive deals as podcasts launch on YouTube Music | Business Today
NAB panel reveals for what’s needed Podcasting’s continued growth | InsideRadio
How to cut through the noisy podcast market | Mumbrella
New slate of podcasts for Audible | Audible
Spotify to be “very diligent” ahead of podcast talent deal renewals | Deadline
🎶 #SoundDesign
Cunard launches ‘soundwave’ campaign | Mobile Marketing
Shure hosts ‘Women in Tech’ panel on location sound | Shure [REPLAY]
The psychology of sound design "| LLBOnline
🔮 #AudioFuture
Real-time AI voice changing and soundboards on Mac | The Verge
UK start-up raises £5.6million ($7m) for further work on AI-background noise removal tool | UKTN
South London producer pattern drops text to audio album | Bandcamp
Roblox to add voice options to avatar chat | Dexerto
AI software detects where to add sfx | PetaPixel
🗣 #SocialAudio
Clubhouse announces its cutting half its workforce - but says it’s not due to finances | Techjuice
Clubhouse founders email to employers | Clubhouse blog
This week on #AllThingsAudio we hear how social audio is appearing on Bluesky Social. Regular contributor Morgan Evetts fills us in on the details. We also pick up where we left off last week and talk about Subscriptions on Twitter and what sort of content we might expect people to create for subscriber-only Spaces.
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The Genrelist has reached the halfway point. This 10-episode series from US audio ad agency SXM Media is a must-listen for anyone interested in the audiences of different podcast genres. Bite-sized episodes, packed with insights. Make sure you have your notes app open while you’re listening to this one.
“Podcasts offer more listener control. It is extremely easy to replay a podcast and listen to it repeatedly. Similarly, we can back-scan a podcast to listen to a section multiple times; this allows for different production practices and modes of shaping content.”
Great issue! so much is happening - this is the best source that brings it all together I have found!