The Podcast Show 2023: Industry insights and overlooked messages
Plus, how AI is impacting sound design and podcasting and a playlist of Nokia hits
The Podcast Show took place in London this week. Two days of creators and big business coming together to celebrate the power of audio storytelling.
There were some notable differences this year. Spotify were hidden away in an invite-only corner. Where Spotify and Amazon stood last year, Acast, The Podhouse and Amazon Music/ Wondery took the main exhibition stands at the entrance to the show. There was much less YouTube branding and talk. Video podcasting was mentioned in passing but without the fanfare it received last year when audio creators were left wondering if it was even worth switching on the mic without a video setup.
Sessions around web3 and synthetic voice took prominence instead. How to use Chat-GPT to speed up the ideation and show notes processes and at what point is it ok to hand the whole thing over to tech? There seemed to be more sessions for creators this year (or perhaps I was seeking those out) with great insights from brands and solo podcasters around building and sustaining shows.
A particular highlight was the after hours Promo Club event hosted by PodSpike and This Is Distorted. Arielle Nissenblatt joined Becky Lamb, Emily Crosby and Dan Page to drop podcast promotion pearls of wisdom. They spoke about the importance of not leaving marketing as afterthought, how your visuals should entice the first listen and the use of pod swaps and cross-promotion to boost your audience.
But amidst the excitement, noise, and bustling energy of The Podcast Show I felt the most important message was struggling to be heard. A session on equality in the podcast industry led by founder and CEO of Content Is Queen Imriel Morgan and Head of UKAN Laura Blake, was tucked away in a side room with limited attendees, largely unnoticed by those who needed to hear it the most.
So while my notebook is full of podcast marketing ideas, show suggestions and email addresses, the most vital message I took home was the urgent need for action in ensuring inclusivity within the industry.
✂️ Cut The Tape
Read an open letter to the audio industry and lend your support where you can
Take a look at the UKAN State of the Audio Industry survey 2023
Read my full blog about equality in the audio industry
Catch up on why this year’s International Women’s Podcast Festival won’t be going ahead
FREE TIME AVAILABLE HERE »» Want to get some free time back? Why not outsource your editing? Big Tent Media is now booking for Q4. Get in touch for more information.
🎧 #Podcasting
Podnews uncovers information suggesting YouTube will ingest RSS feeds but will only take ad-free content | Podnews
Edison podcast metrics to launch in the UK later this year | Radio Today
Podcasting means big money for big boys (and no one else) | Sky News
iHeart research boss says podcasting is still growing | Radio Today
Generative AI podcasts are here - prepare to be bored | Wired
🎶 #SoundDesign
LNA Does Audio Stuff Push 3 demo and review | YouTube LNA Does Audio Stuff
Sound Design in an AI world | Shots
Tony Ward nominated Ain’t No Mo sound designer on the challenge of reflecting black culture in audio | YouTube: GoldDerby
Great YouTube channel for anyone interested in UI sound. A collection of consumer tech sounds curated into playlists by company. Check out the Nokia playlist!
🔮 #AudioFuture
Will AI revolutionise Arabic audiobooks and podcasts? | The National News
A summary of how AI is being used in the audio industry | CityLife
Is Spotify about to use AI for host read ads? | Insider
🗣 #SocialAudio
Twitter to host the Daily Wire slate of podcasts | Axios
Presidential campaign is launched via chaotic crashing Twitter Space | World Wire
There was no new #AllThingsAudio episode this week as I was out at the Podcast Show. This is the podcast for you if you want to know more about what’s happening at Clubhouse, or how to use Twitter Spaces. I join Twitter marketing expert Madalyn Sklar every Wednesday to cover the week’s social audio news. We record the show live on Twitter and invite our community of listeners to take the mic and ask questions.
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I started out wanting to listen to this episode to hear sound expert Julian Treasure speak about listening in an increasingly noisy world. But in true TED content style the full episode (initially a four-part series) was too interesting to skip any sections.
Artist Neil Harbisson talks about his synesthesia and how he hears colour. Engineer Todd Kuiken explains how artificial limbs could be rewired to upgrade us as humans. Speech scientist Rupal Patel discusses the importance of advances in synthetic speech for people who are non-verbal. Finally sound enthusiast Julian Treasure speaks about using soundscapes to control human behaviour and how we are actually are tuning out and not listening.
*A note on the section Rupal - This series was initially aired in 2014 proving that while synthetic voice has come a long way - it’s taken 10 years to hit the general consciousness and to improve to where we are now. And still, we are aware of the non-natural, ‘robotic’ sounds of AI voices.
“Sound design is the invisible art. It's the art of creating sounds that are so immersive and believable that the audience doesn't even notice them. But when they're done well, they can make a huge difference in the overall experience of a film."