Unleashing the power of AI in podcasting
Plus, Spider-Verse sound design and Blast Radio shakes up social audio
AI is currently the talk of the town, and podcasting is no exception. The recent Podcast Show at the Business Design Centre in London shed light on the remarkable integration of AI in this dynamic industry. From leveraging Chat GPT for content generation to the use of synthetic voices, AI-generated social assets, and monetisation insights, the potential for utilising this new tech seems to hit every aspect of podcasting.
But the event stirred up contrasting opinions among participants. While some celebrated the time efficiency offered by cutting-edge AI tools, others expressed concerns about the rise of generative podcasts and the potential demise of creativity.
Reflecting on the discussions, podcasters seem most excited about the prospect of AI being used to make more money, create content and reach more people.
AI can help podcasters make more money. The use of AI enables the gathering of invaluable data and insights. This empowers podcasters with enhanced recommendation engines and detailed listener demographics, paving the way for more targeted advertising and sponsorship opportunities.
Nevertheless, while specific data holds tremendous value for podcasters seeking monetisation, it raises questions about data privacy and the compromises listeners may make in exchange for podcasters earning revenue. Success relies heavily on the accuracy and bias neutrality of the AI models employed to collect the data.
AI can help podcasters create content. Generating ideas, crafting scripts, researching guests and topics and transcribing episodes - Chat GPT and other AI tools can handle it all. Podcasters are also automating tasks like show notes, summaries and artwork creation using AI. In post production, text-based editing tools like Descript and noise removal tools like Adobe Podcast's Enhance are gaining popularity. But just because you can, doesn’t mean you should - right?
While delegating these tasks to AI clearly frees up time for podcasters to focus on interviewing, editing and production tasks, it could come at a cost. The quality of the content needs to remain paramount, otherwise we could find podcasting flooded with AI-generated content lacking the creative finesse that sets great audio content apart.
AI can help podcasters reach a wider audience. Creating captivating social assets to promote shows can be a time-consuming hassle, and a task I’m sure many would be happy to hand over to automation. The ClipGen booth attracted crowds at the Podcast Show with team members demonstrating the efficiency of using an algorithm to curate highlights of a show and deliver them back as subtitled social assets—a dream come true for podcast marketers.
However, asset creation is just the tip of the iceberg. Developing a comprehensive strategy for deploying these assets effectively, alongside crafting engaging posts and distributing them, remains a labour-intensive process. Undoubtedly, AI will soon step in to curate, clip, and distribute assets to a perfectly AI-defined target audience without missing a beat, but we're not quite at a seamless, hands-off workflow just yet.
✂️ Cut The Tape
AI has undeniably found its place in podcasting, but discerning podcasters will have to tread carefully when deciding which aspects of their audio creativity they are willing to relinquish to this powerful technology. Embracing AI can unlock new possibilities and efficiencies, but it is vital to strike the right balance to ensure the essence of creativity and authenticity remains at the core of every outstanding podcast.
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🎧 #Podcasting
Spotify job cuts and combining Parcast and Gimlet | Hollywood Reporter
Ashley Carmen’s take on the Spotify lay-offs | Bloomberg
Podchaser introduces AI data capture to boost ad reach and refine targeting | Radio Online
Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights Spring 2023 report | Global Newswire
Podcasting: The first 20 years | The Guardian
🎶 #SoundDesign
Fantastic breakdown of the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse end theme *Spoilers!* | Twitter Spider-Verse composer @danielpemberton and @mikelawz_
Breakdown of the sound of Stranger Things S4 from sound designers Craig Henighan and Angelo Palazzo | YouTube via GoldDerby
🔮 #AudioFuture
AI-assisted audio in broadcasting | TVTechnology
15 languages from history brought back to life using AI | Upworthy
Three AI tools to ‘power up’ your edit | nofilmschool.com
🗣 #SocialAudio
Free, audio-only social network Blast Radio invites creators to invest in tech to broadcast | Gizmodo
Former FBI hostage negotiator launches new online streaming network | Entrepreneur
This week on #AllThingsAudio we talk about how the TwitterSpaces account sprang into life with news that maintenance was being carried out to ensure Spaces could handle high traffic. It came ahead of Elon hosting Robert Kennedy Jnr in the latest Space bring US politics to the fore. We also covered this week’s job cuts at Spotify and new social audio app Blaze Radio.
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Part ASMR part interview, this 20-minute episode is peppered with sounds we hear every day as host Frank Burton asks podcast expert Steph Fuccio about her favourite sounds. Finishing up with a reading from The Sound of Life's Unspeakable Beauty by Martin Schleske, poetically describing the making of a violin, from wood to instrument.
Follow Steph’s Substacks Global Podcast Editors and Podcast To Connect
“There is undeniably something about sound, music and voice - as a commanding entity of connection and emotion - it can so powerfully pull us backward and forward through our own memories, thoughts and feelings”