ChatGPT comes for radio – The Verge

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The past few weeks have been a pretty slow pace in the audio world. However, when it comes to AI, it looks like progress is being made in the clip.

Today, ChatGPT is on the radio, NPR employees are preparing for layoffs, and Spotify is expanding its audiobook business.

Widespread layoffs expected at NPR this week

Last month, NPR CEO John Lansing announced that the network would lay off 10% of its workforce to cover an expected $30 million budget shortfall this year. A final decision is expected this week, and employees are bracing for cuts.Many people use Twitter to earn support for colleaguessome begged public radio fans for donations local station.

“This week @NPR is heavy,” he tweeted. morning paper host Leila Fadell“Layoffs are becoming a reality and we are going to lose a colleague who works so hard every day to make the show. There will be tough days ahead.”

NPR did not respond hot podRequests for timing of layoffs. We’ll have more details for insiders on the extent of the cut later this week.

RadioGPT makes it easy to replace human DJs with bots

Given the state of the radio, that’s very reassuring. Axios Cleveland Local company Futuri reports that it has launched a product called RadioGPT. This could theoretically do most of the work of a radio station without human labor.

According to the website, it uses a GPT-4 powered bot that can run interstitial chats about music lineups, local weather, news and even comments and questions from field listeners. RadioGPT can also perform tasks for interns and entry-level staff, such as writing free blog posts, converting live shows into podcasts, and social media.

Unlike deeply unstable people AI-radio, which we reported last month, is more than just a fun thought experiment.according to AxiosThe product debuts next month on Alpha Media and Rogers Sports & Media, representing more than 250 broadcasters across the United States and Canada.

Futuri CEO Daniel Decent said: Axios The product was intended to “save radio, not compete with it” by filling the hours that broadcasters couldn’t handle. It’s about increasing the capacity of broadcasters to fill their shows with more live and local content,” he said.

Anstandig says that for many radio stations it’s AI or nothing. That may be the case in some cases, but the companies that have registered so far aren’t entirely indie. It seems likely that radio companies will have the opportunity to use this tool (or similar tools) as a means of reducing labor force and shrinking the already shrinking pipeline of the audio industry.

Maximum Fun Podcast Network Transforms into Worker-Owned Co-op

Maximum Fun, a podcast network founded by bullseye Host Jesse Thorn is moving from a more traditional corporate structure to a worker-owned cooperative ( defector). His 20 employees at Maximum Fun will share ownership and decision-making power in a company that produces comedy and pop culture shows like; adventure zone and my brother my brother and me.

“We did not create this company to sell to the highest bidder,” Thorn said in a statement. “I built it to build something great. I don’t trust big tech companies to manage this business. I have.”

At a time when studios seem to be consolidated under big companies, this is an unusual move.but defectorwith its mega-hit normal gossip And highly respected sports and culture journalism has shown that such arrangements can produce good jobs (and even be lucrative!). , with creators becoming more aware of the value of owning their work, I wouldn’t be surprised if smaller audio companies move in this direction. defectorwas founded that way in the first place, than Maximum Fun, whose owner willingly gives up most of his stake.

Spotify expands audiobooks vertically into Canada

Spotify may still be exploring the future of its audiobook business, but in the meantime the company is expanding its footprint in this space. Today, the company announced that the audiobook will be available for purchase in Canada. Spotify’s catalog includes over 350,000 titles to date and was previously only available in the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

That’s all for now. see you next week.