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Things have been pretty slow in the audio world over the past few weeks – except when it comes to AIwhich seems to be progressing at a clip.
Today, ChatGPT is coming to radio, NPR employees are preparing for layoffs, and Spotify is expanding its audiobook business.
Widespread layoffs expected this week at NPR
Last month, NPR CEO John Lansing announced that the network would lay off 10 percent of its workforce to cover an expected budget shortfall of $30 million this year. This is the week final decisions are expected to be made, and workers are bracing for the cuts. Many have taken to Twitter to collect support from their colleagueswhile others begged public radio fans to donate to their local channels.
“This week is tough here @NPR,” tweeted Morning edition host Leila Fadel. “The layoffs will become a reality and we will lose colleagues who work so hard every day to set up our programming. We don’t know who’s going to go, but we know that everyone who’s here right now… we need them. Tough days ahead.”
NPR did not respond hot pod‘s request about the timing of the layoffs. I’ll have more for Insiders later this week on the size of the cuts.
RadioGPT makes it easy to replace human DJs with bots
That is very reassuring, given the condition of the radio. Axis Cleveland reports that local company Futuri has launched a product called RadioGPT, which can theoretically do most of the work of manning a radio station without human labor.
According to the website, it uses GPT-4 powered bots which can run interstitial chats about the music lineup, local weather and news, and even comments and questions from listeners in the field. RadioGPT can also perform tasks that would otherwise be the domain of entry-level interns and staffers, such as creating free blog posts, turning live shows into podcasts, and social media.
Unlike the deep crazy AI radiowhich I reported last month, this isn’t just a fun thought experiment. According to Axioswill debut the product next month with Alpha Media and Rogers Sports & Media, which together represent more than 250 stations in the US and Canada.
That is what Futuri’s CEO, Daniel Anknop, told us Axios that the product was intended to “save radio, not compete with it” by filling hours stations can’t staff anyway. “What we want to do is increase a station’s ability to fill its programming with more live and local content,” he said.
The way Anknop positions it is that for a lot of radio stations it’s AI or nothing. That may be true in some cases, but the companies that have signed up so far are not exactly Indies. It seems more likely that radio companies will have the opportunity to use this tool (or others like it) as a means of reducing their workforce and shrinking the audio industry’s already dwindling pipeline.
Maximum Fun podcast network is turning into an employee-owned co-op
Maximum Fun, the podcast network founded by Bullseye host Jesse Thorn, transitions from a more traditional corporate structure to an employee-owned co-op (in the same vein as Defector). Maximum Fun’s two dozen employees will share ownership and decision-making power over the company, which produces comedy and pop culture shows such as The adventure zone And My brother, my brother and me.
“I didn’t build this company to be sold to the highest bidder,” Thorn said in a statement. “I built it to make great things. I don’t trust big tech companies to run this operation. I trust the people who built it with me.”
It’s an unusual move at a time when studios seem to have consolidated under large corporations. But Defectorof his mega hit Normal gossip and highly respected sports and culture journalism, has shown that such arrangements can make good work (and even be lucrative!). With so many layoffs from the major audio companies and creators’ increased awareness of the value of owning their work, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more smaller audio companies move in this direction. Although it would probably look more like it Defectorfounded in that way at first, then Maximum Fun, in which the owner willingly gives up most of his interest.
Spotify expands audiobooks vertically to Canada
Spotify may still be figuring out the future of its audiobook business, but in the meantime, the company is expanding its vertical footprint. Today, the company announced that audiobooks will now be available for purchase in Canada. Spotify’s catalog contains more than 350,000 titles to date and was previously only available in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand.
That’s it for now. See you next week.
Janice has been with businesskinda for 5 years, writing copy for client websites, blog posts, EDMs and other mediums to engage readers and encourage action. By collaborating with clients, our SEO manager and the wider businesskinda team, Janice seeks to understand an audience before creating memorable, persuasive copy.