This week begins with a decided sense of déjà vu. I was just entering secondary school when the cultural world turned on its axis and entered a new phase, as MTV launched and Buggles proclaimed that video killed the radio star.
ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
Since 1981 there have been times where that felt true, including in the very recent past with talk of “voice first” replacing screens in the near future. But this week two stories remind us that actually where audio leads, video quickly “augments” (a trend where TikTok is very much leading the way).
Audible's Video Experiment
We start with Audible. Audible is launching (as a limited beta for now) in-app videos designed to introduce listeners to new content. This will mean trailers and the kind of snippets that we would associate with films, like interviews with the stars. The word “immersive” is used a lot by Audible in talking about the move. That, I have to say, raised if not a bell then an alarm tinkle: it sounds a lot like the argument for enhanced e-books, which despite being trailed for a decade few people now remember.
Spotify Lowers the Bar
And while we are on the subject of audio, and the increasing use of video in conjunction with audio content, some very interesting news from Spotify.
Spotify is looking to tap this audiovisual frontier by lowering its eligibility criteria for monetizing podcasts. To qualify, you will now need a minimum of three episodes (down from twelve), and in the past thirty days have a minimum consumption of 2,000 hours (down from 10,000), and an engaged audience of 1,000 (down from 2,000).
All of this points to listeners increasingly wanting if not to experience everything in both audio and visual then at least to be able to switch between the two and use each for all purposes they want. And it shows that platforms are now trying to make it as easy as possible for creators to meet this demand.
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