Audiobooks: changing the literary landscape

audiobooks

With Audible recently announcing Harry Potter fans have listened to the fantasy series for more than one billion hours, the popularity of the audiobook market has undoubtedly exploded.

Today, industry insiders suggest the global market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.

Apple recently launched a catalogue of books narrated by artificial intelligence. However, the market remains sceptical, because a great narrator can bring a whole new level of storytelling to the literature.

As such, many authors argue that AI is no substitute for the quality of human narration. For example, in children’s literature, like the Harry Potter series, narrators must be able to convey the youthful and whimsical energy of the characters.

Today, people tune in to audiobooks while multitasking, so instead of competing for a reader’s time, audiobooks enhance the limited time readers have. 

This makes audiobooks an extremely desirable form of entertainment.

A huge factor that has also contributed to the rise in audiobooks is the ability to translate an audiobook into different languages.

What’s not to love? Narration allows the listener to increase the number of books they consume, listen on the go, introduce a different perspective on the author’s story and even listen in a different language.

View some of our favourite audiobooks here.

Turning Podcasts Into Video Content

As YouTube releases a podcast homepage and TikTok is rumored to be launching a new podcast app, it’s clear the medium is continuing to remain a top priority for media platforms. 

However, young listeners are still attracted to visual media. So can the two mediums be successfully combined?

Today, podcast creators are seeing their fan bases grow via their video platforms. As a result, creators have begun investing in long and short form video content to drive further engagement on social media.

This phenomena was explored through a recent Voices podcast study, which found 57% of respondents said that YouTube was their preferred podcast listening app. 

This new audience suggests there is an untapped audience for advertisers where visual podcasting can allow advertisers to integrate a logo, or product throughout the podcast.

So is this just another form of video, or is this a genuinely new market for advertisers?

The Rise Of mLearning

Smartphones have generally replaced on the go music devices, cameras and even TVs, but could they be used for learning?

Mobile learning, or mLearning, may soon become a new professional development medium that forms part of workplace flexibility, because it provides a more flexible learning experience for employees.

mLearning can allow employees to learn at their own pace, or refresh their memory via simple how-to guides. Mobile Learning can also provide a personalised training experience to help keep employees engaged. 

For Millennials and Gen Z who have grown up with mobile tech, the need for businesses to adapt training and development methods will be imperative for a flexible and engaged workforce into the future.

Christmas advertising goes back to basics

paddington bear

Yes, it’s that time of year when we will once again see Christmas advertising.

However, this year, as the cost of living increases around the world, some of the major retailers in the UK are opting for a more muted approach to Christmas.

This is because retail experts have warned that as families struggle with rising prices, scenes of bountiful gifts and buffets will seem out of touch.

As a result, the retailers have been developing campaigns which focus more on Christmas kindness, than indulgence.

John Lewis’s new Christmas advert this year depicts a middle-aged man’s efforts to prepare for the arrival of a new foster daughter, by trying to share her passion for skateboarding.

Many other supermarkets in the UK have also given a nod to the cost of living crisis in their Christmas advertising.

One such UK brand is Barbour, the iconic country clothing brand, who this year features an animated Paddington Bear, in a charming little tale of kindness.

New McCain Fries Jingle To Challenge Katy Perry’s Menu Log

In a bid to rival Katy Perry’s Menu Log jingle, McCain has created a new ad campaign that features Kelis’s Milkshake track from her 2003 album Tasty.

Created by independent agency Dig, the ad remixes the Milkshake track to showcase the benefits of McCain’s new SureCrisp fries.

In Australia, as takeaway and home delivery has grown, so has the issue of soggy chips on delivery.

McCain SureCrisp fries were developed to address this problem.

Apparently more than half of Australians surveyed say they don’t expect the fries to be hot and crispy by the time they arrive. 

By featuring a special plant-based coating, MCain suggests that their fries will stay crisp for up to 30 minutes, giving venues the confidence to sell deliciously hot, crispy fries for takeaway or delivery.

The campaign will launch nationally across Catch Up TV, Digital, Radio, Social and In-store.

The Voice Of Darth Vader Hangs Up His Helmet

darth vader

James Earl Jones, the voice behind the legendary Star Wars’ villain Darth Vader, is hanging up his helmet.

Jones’s voice was remastered from the original Star Wars films for the recent Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Some of Jones’s archival voice recordings were also used.

For future Star Wars projects, the 91 year old actor has reportedly granted permission for Disney and Lucasfilm to use artificial intelligence and archival recordings to recreate his voice.

The Ukrainian-based A.I. company working with Lucasfilm on the voice recreation will also use proprietary deep learning software to create new lines of dialogue using Jones’s speech patterns. 

Similar technology was used with actor Peter Cushing, who starred as Grand Moff Tarkin and Carrie Fisher, as Princess Leia.

For fans, perhaps it’s comforting that one of the most famous voices in cinema history will be kept ‘alive’ for generations to come.

Podcasting: influencers and the bottom line

Over the past few years, talent scouting has been a hot topic because brands saw influencers as having a ready and engaged follower base to advertise too.

However, some experts now suggest that the followers of TikTok influencers, or Instagram Reels, don’t necessarily want to hear the same people talk at length in a podcast. 

Further to this, many brands have a renewed focus on the bottom line, wanting proven talent and ideas, and a desire for a better return on their podcast investment.

This focus will particularly affect original programming, which is a far greater gamble. 

However, the shift to focus more on the bottom line might also suggest that the podcast world is moving from a niche channel to a more established distribution channel for big advertisers.

Should I Be Using Interactive Audio Ads?

Audio advertising has always been an important part of the media mix. 

Today, interactive audio ads are being cleverly used with smartphones and smart speakers via the device’s voice activated technology.

Interactive ads allow the listener to engage with the content as opposed to being a passive listener, resulting in a stronger and more meaningful brand association.

We know that digital audio ads can target a subsection of listeners, which means that it’s possible to tailor the message to a unique listener. However, interactive digital audio ads take this a step further by providing an opportunity to introduce actionable outcomes. 

For example, at the end of an ad, the listener could be asked to answer a question, or to have the product being advertised dropped directly into an online shopping cart.

The interactive digital audio ad is a unique proposition for advertisers, because it’s capable of combining the brand benefits of traditional advertising with the targeting and interactivity of digital ads.

Spotify continues to break new ground in the world of interactive audio. Click here for more information about what they are doing in this space.

The Benefit of Audio in e-Learning

When it comes to e-Learning, which is better, audio or text?

Text is often the foundation of digital learning due to the ease of writing, or updating the content however, audio can add emotion, personality and tone that will help enrich the overall learning experience.

We often see e-Learning combine text and audio, where a narrator reads the text on the screen, however, recent studies suggest that this is not particularly effective.

This is because people process text and audio differently. This means that text and audio may become ineffective, or redundant in targeting a learner’s auditory and visual channels at the same time. 

For example, if you watch a TV show with audio captions, you may notice that you read dialogue before it’s spoken, limiting the emotional impact of the on-screen action.

In the context of storytelling, text can be written in a compelling manner however, audio will improve engagement because the listener will better associate with the emotion behind the voice.

Audio can also create a memorable experience; a critical component of e-Learning because it allows the listener to better retain and recall the information.

Audio continues to be an effective tool in e-Learning, and if used properly can provide better outcomes. However, when deciding on the best media, context for the learning will ultimately influence the solution.

Audio Jargon 101

Audio engineer jargon tends to sound more like terms you’d use to describe food rather than audio. So here are the meanings behind some of the more common words used here at Hardy Audio.

Warm

Warm is a positive term. A ‘warm’ sound or tone, has a tilt towards the bass frequencies but remains pleasantly spacious in the upper ranges.

Muddy

Muddy is a negative term that suggests the audio has too much bass/low mid frequency, instruments/vocals aren’t clear, or there is poor sound reproduction.

Clean

Clean audio suggests the audio is free from distracting/unwanted sounds, and or frequencies. It can also mean the audio is easily distinguishable without anything being too loud, or too quiet.

Hollow

Sound that is ‘hollow’ is where the mid range is too quiet. This can make the bass and treble sound louder, resulting in a sound that is empty in the middle.

Dull

Dull, or flat may be used to describe a lack of high frequencies, or treble notes.

Peaky

Peaky audio implies there are peaks or distortions. This results in unexpectedly loud audio that can distort and sound unclear.

Tinny

Tinny audio can have weak lows and peaky mids which result in a flat hollow sound, like it is coming through a telephone, or ‘tin can’.

Cooked 

The term cooked is used when the digital audio signal is higher than the allowable limit i.e. a clipped signal. Cooked audio can also refer to the compression applied e.g. if the audio is over compressed, it will lose dynamic range and sound quieter.