We are all ears

For decades radio dominated the mass media until television made its way into every household Today in the digital age where visual stimuli dominate our senses many of us seem to be returning to the audio medium The emergence of audio platformsmdashoffering podcasts audiobooks audio fiction series and cooking showsmdashhas made it a force to reckon with Only this time we donrsquot huddle together for a shared experience instead making it a part of our metime Audible Spotify Pocket FM KukuFM Gaana and Wynk are among the popular platforms riding the success wave So what exactly is making the young and old of India listen inPosters of Devil Se Shadi right Insta MillionaireCreating an audience baseIt turns out that audiences enjoy audio content that are centred on involvement entertainment and selfdevelopment The lack of visual medium doesnrsquot act against it but in its favour as listeners tune in while engaged in household tasks commuting taking brief mental health breaks at work exercising or winding down before bedtimeThe platform has an extensive catalogue exceeding 400000 titles Focusing largely on fiction Audible lures listeners with its collaborations with industry giants like Marvel Entertainment DC Comics and on home turf with Balaji Telefilms Vice Media The Viral Fever Dice Media Shailesh Sawlani Country Manager at Audible India reports ldquoIn 2022 we saw 39 per cent increase in paid member listening hours for our service in India Success stories like Marvelrsquos Wastelanders StarLord underscore the platformrsquos expanding influence bridging the gap between imagination and entertainment Our effort to localise the global IP has received remarkable reception from the audience with the series becoming one of our strongest paid releases to date We have also received an overwhelming response to our other titles including Little Things Baby Doll and The Sandman Act 1 HindirdquoKareena Kapoor Khan at the recording studio with Mantra MugdhUnlike Audible that collaborates with known names Pocket FM has found a way to cultivate artistes and creators It boasts over 1000 audio series with hundreds of episodes each Nishanth KS COO amp Cofounder Pocket FM says ldquoOur audio series universe thrives on a 100000strong community of creators including writers and voice actors We nurture new talent and elevate them to become audio celebrities in the media industry We have designed a unique model to incentivise the creators for their contributionrdquo The platformrsquos artistes include Swapnil Jain Moni Singh Pankaj Jeena and Kavya SharmaSuccess formula behind the storiesEach platform has its unique way to quantify the growing market Pocket FM gauges its success against two factorsmdashthe revenue generated by each series and the number of plays each garners ldquoOur operational model operates under a freemium structure offering a predetermined number of complimentary episodes for each audio series during a 24hour windowrdquo explains Nishanth For avid listeners Pocket FM gives the audiences opportunity to purchase either single episodes or entire series This is facilitated through a coinbased system Audible has a onestop subscription format ldquoWe consider how a single title improves acquisition and engagement on the service from its ability to draw new customers to its ability to engage and retain current customersrdquo informs SawlaniSaif Ali Khan recording for WastelandersGenre paletteWith wide audiences come diverse tastes Ridhima Thakral director of content Audible India says romance is its most widely listenedto genre with horror coming a close second The platform has found success across other genres like crime thriller and sliceoflife dramas ldquoEscapist fiction has been a notable trend transporting listeners to worlds beyond our ownrdquo notes Thakral It has also tied up with renowned Indian authors While Amish Tripathi and Devdutt Pattanaik add to its sections of Indian mythology and mythofictionmdashtwo genres that are hugely popularmdashChetan Bhagat Durjoy Datta Ankur Warikoo and Anand Neelakantan also enrich its fiction offeringsPocket FM boasting 25 genres and subgenres has garnered prominence in romance drama thrillers and horror while also witnessing the emergence of fantasy and scifi offerings From a creatorrsquos point of view Mantra Mugdhmdashactor director voiceover artiste and who has helmed over 35 audio shows with over 800 episodesmdashsays psychological thrillers are often tough to crack He recalls ldquoI did a show called Darr Ka Raaz with Dr Phobia for Spotify The psychological thriller was about a doctor who travels inside the mind of his patients to cure their phobias For that show I had to dig into my imagination to be able to write because I was not experienced in itrdquo Mugdh also says that while most stories can be adapted as audio shows silent films are a genre he is yet to crackFuture of soundWhat makes the medium lucrative for content creators is its lack of production value and budgetary constraints Mugdh says the audio medium needs more brand awareness ldquoIt might not pay you as much as television or films do but it is still a medium for actors to express themselves Brands need to start advertising more through this particular medium Soon enough we will have personalised podcasts If they donrsquot join the bandwagon right now they might just get laterdquoThe head honchos of Pocket FM intend to go bigger launching 50 more titles in the coming month ldquoOur primary objective is establishing a strong repository of audio series At present we are adding 50 new audio series on a monthly basis and our library is poised to get better by 50 per cent increase in the next few monthsrdquo adds Nishanth Sawlani says his platform will focus on building a library that includes different languages ldquoWe continue to see a significant increase in listening for nonEnglish content Regional languages are a key focus area for us going forward including new Marathi Tamil and Telugu titlesrdquoChannels I listen ToNeerja Israni 33Profession Senior AssociateChannels Spotify Pocket FM and AudibleCurrently listening to Lessons in ChemistryI deviated to audio shows because the genres of contentmdashmythology folktales true crime and historicalmdash were not available to watch I am a person who likes visual imagery and makes up worlds in my head Audio shows give me the same experience I am not limited by someone elsersquos visualisation of the story I generally listen to English content Irsquove not listened to Hindi content yetSaksham Dangi 25 Profession EntrepreneurChannels Gaana Spotify Amazon Music WynkCurrently listening to Chanakya NeetiI mostly like listening to podcasts on current affairs and history The way they explain is something that appeals to me a lot I mostly prefer English showsJanhavi Guru 35Profession IT professionalChannels Spotify Audibles Pocket FM KukuFMCurrently listening to Solved Murders True Crime MysteriesI like listening to true crime mysteries including Bhaskar Bose I read a lot of fiction novels hence I prefer audio shows over video content as it leaves a lot to my imagination I prefer interesting content over a specific language I listen to content in both English and Hindi