Narratives are the most powerful tools of our age. Each week, I deconstruct the dominant ones behind the success or failure of businesses, leaders and governments
Good Morning Dear Reader,
Stories are often first written down these days. And then, they are adapted for various mediums. Audio books, movies, graphic novels… Take your pick.
We’ve already talked about how powerful showing is as a storytelling tool. But the spoken word can be equally effective. In fact, a story can excite every sense no matter what the medium. Written words can turn into visual sequences; audio can sometimes provoke a sense of smell, or touch.
And reading a story aloud can be quite the intimate experience, as Japanese author Haruki Murakami writes in Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman:
“Reading aloud is different from just following sentences with your eyes. Something quite unexpected wells up in your mind, a kind of indefinable resonance that I find impossible to resist.”
Think onomatopoeia as a form of theatre in graphic novels.
Remember, also, the kind of authenticity and intimacy that radio show hosts used to bring to the table, before the business of storytelling began to be dominated by the visual medium.
Well, audio may have been down for a while, but it certainly isn’t out. And that’s what this edition’s first piece is about: Audio storytelling’s comeback story.
India’s Radio Ga Ga moment
Earlier this week, market research firm RedSeer forecast that India would have 95 million monthly active users consuming online audio content by the end of this month.
These users listen to audio across formats (podcasts, audiobooks, etc.) and are set to grow by 34% over the past year. And with just 12% of the Indian population ever having listened to a podcast before, their numbers are expected to continue rising.
It seems India, already the third-largest podcast market in the world after the US and China, is rediscovering its love for audio storytelling. As early as November 2019, Gautam Raj Anand, CEO of podcast hosting platform Hubhopper, had said that talent has started flocking to the microphones.
There has been an emergence of talented voices from all around the country, and these storytellers are now actively leveraging technology to start a career in podcasting. We have stories coming from all walks of life and in their preferred vernacular languages.
India is rediscovering its love for the audio medium with podcasts, IGB
And it isn’t just content creators who are ready for audio, but listeners too.
Mae Mariyam Thomas, who launched India’s first indie music podcast ‘Maed In India’ in 2015, attributed the growth in this industry to India’s love for stories and storytelling. “We’re a nation that loves storytelling — whether that’s through fiction, interviews, or people talking about their personal experiences, we love being told stories,” Thomas, whose podcast was part of Apple’s Best Indian Podcasts of 2018, told ThePrint.
More eager listeners getting on board during the pandemic has pushed audio platforms to increase podcast content. Audio streaming service Spotify, for instance, launched nearly 30 original podcasts in 2020, while its Indian competitor JioSaavn’s content grew 200X during the year.
For creators, audio storytelling is an attractive option because it doesn’t have the kind of entry/resource barriers that other mediums have. It is inexpensive and simple to execute digitally; offers a level of anonymity for those who wish it; and now has a rapidly growing market.
But what about the audiences? What are they listening to, and why?
Surveys by companies such as Spotify show that, perhaps as a sign of the times, Indian listeners had a strong appetite for self-help and motivation-related content. Millennials and Gen-Z listeners are also choosing podcasts that help them cope with stress and anxiety. A whopping 80% of listeners, meanwhile, said that it was easy to form an emotional connection with a podcast host. And that “tuning in felt like listening to a friend”.
Apart from self-help and motivation, audio categories such as comedy, shayari (poetry), and news and politics are also quite popular. As are genres such as horror and romance.
“Genres like romance, fantasy, thriller and suspense have worked well for us. The romantic drama show ‘Ye Rishta Kaisa Hai’ has done really well, with about 300 million plays. Another recent paranormal horror show, titled ‘Yakshini’, has also witnessed about 100 million plays. The scale of audio OTT shows is reaching what we’re used to seeing for video OTT shows. This suggests that audio storytelling is now becoming mainstream,” Pocket FM’s cofounder Rohan Nayak told Afaqs.
However, there is an important distinction between popular content and legitimate content. And some of the more popular content on audio platforms right now isn’t exactly good for the platforms’ brands or reputations. Here’s what Redseer says:
To acquire popularity and keep content development costs low, Indian platforms started with both user generated content (UGC) and professionally generated content (PGC) models. However, the platform's ability to preserve brand value and quality is hampered by UGC material. Platforms are increasingly devoting more resources to producing high-quality content and bringing on celebrities to narrate and host shows. Few platforms, such as Headphone and Khabri, are investing in stronger UGC filtering and recommendation engines.
Normal user-generated content has quality issues, yes. But this is also industry-speak for: “Audio porn is popular, but not exactly great for the brand”.
So platforms are scrambling to find ways to increase content quality. And it seems celebrities are the answer.
One hack that’s working to spread the word is leveraging one of India’s biggest obsessions: Bollywood. JioSaavn’s #NoFilterNeha is already on its third season and IshqFM’s shows hosted by Karan Johar and Kareena Kapoor have garnered massive listenerships, too. Kalki Koechlin got a second season of BBC podcast My Indian Life. Clearly, in a country where Bollywood is all the craze, celebrities can help podcasts go the extra mile…While entertainment is taking the cake, storytelling, business, horror, and children’s podcasts are doing well, too, Audioboom found. The devotional category, which includes the likes of Hindu religious text Bhagvad Gita and epics like Ramayan and Mahabharat are also hits.
India’s demand for audio content has led to a surge in the popularity of podcasts, Scroll.in
Even then, building a viable business model for audio-only content is a work in progress. “In terms of monetisation, podcasting in India has a long way to go,” says Padma Priya, the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Suno India, according to The News Minute. “Sponsors, ads, or getting support for original shows are options, but it isn't a cakewalk. For Suno India, we received a couple of grants for our reporting, including the one from the Google News initiative. We have also been supported by an angel investor, as well as the contributions made by listeners.”
And audio platforms have their work cut out for them here. Because in order to get the money flowing, they first need to find all three parts of storytelling’s holy trinity: the right story, the right storyteller, and the right audience.
No narrative shortcuts to success
If you are a business that is not in the business of telling stories, however, your narratives need another crucial ingredient in order to ensure success. The truth.
This week, The Economist wrote a piece on Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos, an American corporation that sold itself as a breakthrough healthtech firm. Holmes, however, has now been charged with defrauding investors and patients by making false claims about the startup’s blood-testing technology.
The Economist wrote:
The story of Theranos is not simply about how its leaders behaved, and whether they deliberately misled others. (Ms Holmes denies the charges.) It is also about how people take decisions. The trial has shown how cognitive shortcuts helped propel the firm to a valuation of more than $9bn, before reporting by the Wall Street Journal, revealing that its proprietary technology did not work, sent it spiralling towards oblivion…The story of Theranos is not just about Ms Holmes’s guilt or innocence. It raises questions about Silicon Valley’s “fake-it-till-you-make it” culture, investors’ fear of missing out on the next big thing and the scrutiny that private firms receive compared with listed peers. It is also about the thought patterns that helped Ms Holmes soar. When you review a job candidate’s credentials or take comfort from logos on a website, when you are blown away by someone’s charisma, ask yourself what you really know.
Share this edition
That’s it for this week. Please let me know what you think about this edition. What did you like? What did I miss? What would you like to read about? Write to me at [email protected], and I’ll be back in your inbox at 7 am India time next Friday.
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Narratives are the most powerful tools of our age. Each week, I deconstruct the dominant ones behind the success or failure of businesses, leaders and governments
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