Voice AI lets you listen in another language
Spotify join forces with OpenAI to translate top shows
Spotify has announced a partnership with OpenAI this week enabling podcasters to translate their shows into different languages.
Episodes of the Lex Fridman Podcast, Armchair Expert and The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett can now be heard in Spanish thanks to AI.
OpenAI voice transcription tool Whisper is being used under the hood for the speech-to-text and text-to-speech translation. The use of voice clone models means listeners will hear their favourite hosts in languages that in reality they are unable to speak.
It’s no surprise these shows are big hitters, and at least initially the tech is unlikely to be rolled out to any podcaster that wants to use it. Currently translated episodes are available for all users to listen to. It would be nice to think it will always be that way, but I’m guessing it may become part of the premium subscription package further down the line.
Being able to create shows in any language means wider reach and allows different ideas to cross cultural barriers. Of course there’s also the risk of losing some meaning along the way and of some ideas being ‘lost in translation’.
There’s also debate around whether listening to a clone of the host, has the same impact as listening to the host themself. Our voices are packed with subtle information, emotion, intent and detail that might not be possible to replicate with tech. Our voice is powerful, it is a tool that builds trust. In future how will be sure we can believe what we hear?
🎧 #Podcasting
Google Podcasts to close 2024 | TechCrunch
Statement from Equality In Audio regarding PodNews Live event | Equality In Audio
BBC Radio 4’s Today programme launches weekly podcast | BBC
New chart shows Joe Rogan is UK’s most popular podcast | The Guardian
Podchaser launches predictive demographics tool | Podchaser
Does podcasting have a fraud problem? | Bloomberg
Study shows AM/FM radio is perfect promotional vehicle for podcasts | InsideRadio
🎶 #SoundDesign
The end of an era for Moog? | X @moogmusicinc
How sonic branding has changed over the years | Streamly
Sound designer creates immersive soundscape to match the 60+ hours of Andy Serkis’ The Lord of the Rings audiobooks | theonering.net
🔮 #AudioFuture
ChatGPT introduces speech-to-text and text-to-speech features | OpenAI
Daniel Ek says Spotify won’t be banning AI-created music | BBC
🗣 #SocialAudio
Unrest at Amazon Amp following sudden leadership change | Business Insider
Clubhouse co-founder Paul Davison answers FAQs following launch of Chats | Twitter @pdavison
This week on #AllThingsAudio we spoke about voice coming to ChatGPT, AI-translated podcasts coming to Spotify and audio calls coming to X.
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A thoughtful and compact listen from Podcast Perspectives this week as host Jeff Umbro discussed the past, present and future of podcasting. An interesting conversation between Amrita Khalid (The Verge, Hot Pod), Rachael King (Pod People) and Alex Goldman (Reply All) gives a rather US-centric view of the industry. There are some interesting comments from Alex Goldman on the sale of Gimlet to Spotify and his thoughts on what the top shows all have in common. Definitely worth a listen.
From under a pile of acoustic blankets, room dividers and a mic shield here’s an invite to come see my new studio space….
[Owing to X’s API ridiculousness you’ll need to hit the pic to watch the video 🙄]
See you next week!
Suze