Podcasts about studio resonate

“We should be hearing diverse voices. As I like to say, if the only time we're hearing voices of color is in advertising to those segments, then we've not just segmented those voices, we've actually segregated them. So let's lean into sonic diversity. You'll create better representation and a better relationship for your brands with those communities at the same time, without having any negative impacts on your ad's favorability or effectiveness.” -- Steve Keller This episode's guest is the Sonic Strategy Director for Studio Resonate, SiriusXM Media's in-house, audio-first creative consultancy offering support to brands that advertise on the Pandora, SiriusXM, and Soundcloud platforms. He's recognized as a leading authority on sonic strategy, blending art and science into award-winning creative content and sonic experiences for a variety of global agencies and brands. With a degree in psychology and business, and over thirty years of experience in the music and advertising industries, his research explores the ways music, sound, and voice influence our perception and behavior and his writing on the subject can be found in a very large list of publications.His name is Steve Keller, and he and I first spoke in the very early days of this podcast, right before the pandemic started. I still consider his episode the most pivotal of this podcast, and he blew my mind on multiple occasions. He certainly does it again here, and you'll get to hear it! As always, if you have questions for my guest, you're welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you'll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest audio chats will be about. If you're getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help – and I'd love to feature your review on future podcasts. (0:00:00) - Exploring Sonic Diversity in MediaAs we start our conversation, Steve tells us about his early memories of sound, including a surprising childhood discovery he made about train whistles. “One of the things I found out from talking to one of the engineers,” he explains, “is that there are patterns in the whistles almost like Morse code.” We talk about the subtext of sound that's often hidden in plain sight, and how our unconscious biases can limit sonic diversity, whether it's the vocal range audio codecs are built around or the roles AI voices are assigned. “We live in a diverse world,” Steve says. “We should be hearing diverse voices.”(0:11:27) - Navigating Bias in Sonic Diversity“One of the things that we're trying to promote,” Steve tells us, “is to make sure that the synthetic voices that are being created are diverse, that the training populations that are used in developing these voices, that there's diversity there.” We discuss how the early days of telephone and radio created audio biases that we're still working to overcome, and the role AI voices will play as they continue to evolve. “The majority of them said yes, they could tell a difference,” Steve recalls a neuro-based study he led on distinguishing between human and AI voices, “but when we tested it, it was a flip of a coin whether or not they'd get it right. And the AI voices have improved even since we did that test.”(0:23:54) - Implications of AI in AdvertisingSteve tells us more about his work with AI, including the murky legal questions surrounding how AI learns...

Join us as we sit down with Steve Pogatch, Senior Manager of Voice Over Operations at Studio Resonate, SiriusXM and Pandora, to uncover the transformative journey of voiceover and audio advertising over the past decade. Prepare to have your perceptions of podcast advertising turned upside down. We dive into the fascinating differences between host reads and announcer reads. Gain valuable tips on delivering standout performances, crafting compelling commercial reels, and handling ambiguous scripts with finesse. Steve underscores the importance of prompt communication and reliable turnaround times while highlighting the industry's efforts to protect voice talent amidst the rise of synthetic voices. Finally, discover the impact of the Sonic Diversity Initiative, a significant step towards inclusivity in voice casting. 00:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey bosses, upgrade your voiceover game with VIPeeps and access our extensive library of over 350 hours of pre-recorded workshops. Whether you're interested in commercials, audiobooks, corporate narration, video games, promos, our workshops cover it all. Plus, as a VIPeeps member, you'll enjoy a 15% discount on current workshops and complimentary monthly workshops to further develop your skills. Join VIPs today and take your voiceover career to new heights. Find out more at vopeepscom.  00:39 - Intro (Host) It's time to take your business to the next level the boss level. It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, anne Ganguza.  00:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, anne Ganguza, and today I'm very excited to have with me in the studio a very special guest, senior Manager of Voice Over Operations of Studio Resonate, which is SiriusXM Media Pandora Stitcher, Steve Pogatch. In addition to producing thousands of high-quality audio ads in the past 10-plus years that he's been at Pandora, steve has been the go-to guy for all things VO casting, direction and quality. He's responsible for recruiting, auditioning and curating new talent for the Pandora VO roster, as well as managing that roster. Steve, I am so super excited to have you with us today. Thanks so much for being with us.  01:42 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it. I feel like I've reached the upper echelon of the VO world now that I'm on the Boss podcast.  01:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So thank you so much. Well, thank you, thank you. Well, we're super excited to glean all of your years of wisdom and I'm just so excited that we had this opportunity that I saw you in person. I had to see you in person to beg you to come on the show. So let's kick off things by talking a little bit about your journey at Pandora. You've been there for 10 years and I know in the past 10 years in my voiceover career, I've seen a ton of things change. Talk to us a little bit about what you've seen as far as changes in audio advertising, casting and voiceover.  02:24 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Sure. So yeah, about 10 years ago when I started I was just a producer and our voice roster was maybe about 60 talents or so Wow, and yeah, when they started their advertising department they were getting talents off of Craigslist and other places that I really didn't know. So when I got there, that roster was on an Excel spreadsheet really and it was just filled with all kinds of information and it was really hard to manage and navigate. But a lot of the voices were that terrestrial radio, you know announcer-y style voice.  02:56 And one overarching theme is that voices and everything we've been doing for the past 10 plus years has really just escalated from the announcer-y like hey, pandora listeners, you know like radio style, to hey, pandora listener, you know it's like instead of talking to a group of people talking to one person, you're interrupting their music flow, you're tapping them on the shoulder. You know you're in their earbuds and you just hey, let me tell you about this Tide detergent or Cascade dishwashing liquid or something like that, and just the gentle approach. So it's really gravitated from the super announcer-y, terrestrial radio style to super conversational. The directional word I love to use nowadays is casual a lot. Everyone's sick of conversational already. They're like oh yeah, you're talking to a friend, blah blah, blah, you know yeah.  03:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) You know, what's so funny is just my own personal feelings about it is, I get that Like I think they're just sick of the conversational word, but in reality we have conversations with each other every single day, and so there's all different styles of conversational. It could be authoritative conversational, it could be like super casual conversational. I think that when it comes to advertising, though, one of the reasons why it's kind of gotten to that in your ear one-on-one sort of, I think that's what sells and I think that's the evolution of advertising over the years. Would you say that that's true?  04:18 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, I think so it's. You know, the more personal you can get, or targeted, you know, with an ad, or I mean not to the point where it's creepy, but to the point where it resonates with the listener. You know where it's like, oh yeah, the same thing with VO talent getting into a script and connecting with a script. It's like you want to connect with that listener, like, oh yeah, I do use that dish soap every night.  04:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, yeah, I want to.  04:40 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Oh yeah, that sounds interesting to me, you know.  04:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So then I guess my question would be is and this is probably something you're very familiar with is that they ask you to have that casual, like engaged, sort of sound, but yet they don't always write it so that it's easy to achieve that? Do you find that, in terms of the copy that you're seeing come across your desk over and over again, like people still want it to be very, you know, like you're talking to your best friend or that casual, but yet sometimes it's written like super announcer-y?  05:08 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, and that is hard. That is really hard when you get the bullet point style our orange juice has 100% fresh pulp and made from only Valencia oranges. It's like there's three other facts attached to that and you're squeezing that into 30 seconds spot. It's like there's three other facts attached to that and you're squeezing that into 30 seconds spot. It's like how do we get these bullet points to be super conversational?  05:30 - Intro (Host) That is hard.  05:31 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) That is very hard for a talent and for a copywriter. So we do have some great copywriters on our team on Studio Resonate that actually really write great scripts and whenever I can get scripts with humor in them or stuff like that, it just really makes the whole experience better.  05:48 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Now in the studio, are you always writing the copy, or do the clients come and provide copy as well, or do you make suggestions? Let's say, when they come with copy and then they ask for a super casual read, or they have 5,000 words when they need it in 30 seconds.  06:02 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, that happens. The struggle is real.  06:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) The struggle is real.  06:06 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, I'd say I don't know the exact percentage, but from where I sit I don't do the writing, but it feels like maybe half and half half are our copywriters and half might be the clients, and sometimes we'll actually take the clients and go here, let us try and rewrite this in a Pandorified way or something like that. And sometimes again, it's like those bullet points-y stuff that really need to get in there and don't even get me started on like some like pharmacy disclaimers and stuff like that.  06:32 - Intro (Host) You probably know from medical narration and stuff like that.  06:34 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) It's just like woo. You know, it's like 90 words in a 30 second script.  06:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, but they're changing too. It's interesting if you actually listen to some of them now I don't think they're as fast as they used to be, because I'm almost positive that because it's a legal disclaimer that they have to be, like, understood by the listener, and so sometimes if they're talking too fast then it's not clear, or because I've really noticed that trend and I don't know if it's the same in terms of I've seen it on television at least.  07:04 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah.  07:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I don't know about Pandora, but very interesting. So then my question is is the casual read dying? Are people coming back to announcer style, or are you seeing variations on the type of casual?  07:20 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, I hope it's not going back to announcer, because we've really worked hard on this whole gentle approach. Yeah, exactly, and you know personally, when I meet a voice actor who's locked into that whole radio world like I have 27 years of radio experience how do I get on your roster and I just kind of go well, how do I let you down gently?  07:41 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, exactly Because you're looking for an actor.  07:44 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Some talents and again talents who haven't really evolved with us in the 10 years that I've been there at least, or may not be on our roster anymore because there has been that evolution. But yeah, it's really difficult for some people who have been locked into that radio world to actually shift and change and it's part of their muscle memories.  08:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right Interesting. I know that even when it comes to, like, long format narration, I know that just reading it it doesn't cut it anymore. I mean, you have to be in their ear and that's super hard, given you've got more than a minute's worth of copy and it's not always written in a first person kind of way, so that I know the struggle is real for that as well. So, in terms of advertising, would you say that there are more advertisements from 10 years ago today, or how are you seeing the trend? Because I know in podcasting there's a lot of people who, like they find advertising annoying and so they fast forward quickly, and so I'm just curious to see how advertising is received in terms of listenership and in terms of popularity of people. Yeah, let's advertise on Pandora.  08:49 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) It's funny because when I first started this job, I would meet people at like a party or something like that, or a dinner, you know a get together, and they were like oh, where do you work?  08:57 - Intro (Host) I'm like, oh, I work at Pandora.  08:58 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) They're like I love Pandora, and then I just sit back and wait for the next sentence. They take a breath and they go, but the ads, yeah, exactly.  09:14 - Intro (Host) You, he knew it. And then I go, hey.  09:15 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) I make those ads and then talk about like an awkward. You know you can hear a glass drop in the background, but it's just like, well, we're trying to you know to make these ads gentle and not as abrasive and in your face like real radio ads.  09:22 And then they turn around and they start to agree with me. I'm like yeah, yeah, you know, okay, but I think the Free Pandora, you knowora, has really kind of survived on the advertising and I haven't really done a count in a while, but I don't think it's that many ads. I don't think it's really changed over time either, like in terms of an ad pod and an hour listening session.  09:39 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, I think it is what it is. I mean, you have to support the medium and I know that for myself, like on the VO Boss podcast, I've had sponsors which I wait until the end typically to say anything about the sponsors. But lately I'm like gosh, I've had this podcast for seven and a half years and I've never done any advertising, and so now I'm kind of doing my own ads. Now we'll see how that turns out. But my question to you is is that podcast advertising is now really started to become a thing just because podcasts are now becoming a thing? So what are your thoughts on that? Are you seeing trends? Are you seeing changes in how people tolerate ads and podcasts?  10:16 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, I mean, I actually am guilty of fast-forwarding through a podcast ad recently, when I was listening to a podcast.  10:21 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) It better not be mine.  10:23 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Shame on me.  10:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's like a voice actor who fast-forwards through a commercial on television.  10:27 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Right, it was their own. No, no, no.  10:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, I don't watch commercials Really.  10:34 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) But since SiriusXM bought Stitcher a few years ago, they were a podcast company. So we had to kind of figure out okay, we're going to do a lot more podcast ads now, so what does this sound like? So I feel like in the past few years we've been kind of sculpting this. There's a couple of different versions of what we work with in our group, on our team, and one is host reads. You know, it's like you have your Conan O'Briens and they're just handed a sheet of bullet points and they're ad living.  11:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yes, yes, and I think that's effective.  11:02 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, if you ever listen to Conan O'Briens ad reads, they're incredible.  11:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, it's smart list. I'm going to put my vote in for SmartList. Okay, Really, really excellent. It's Sean Hayes, Dustin Bateman and oh my gosh, Will Arnett.  11:15 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah.  11:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And so each one of them take turns. And you're right, they get the bullet points and they add them. They're amazing, they're funny. That's the best yeah, and so I agree. So that's just so so interesting yeah.  11:25 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) So that's the host read, and then we also do this thing called announcer.  11:29 Read now again that word announcer is not used in the same context that I just told you that we've evolved from. It's just quote announcer read, it's another package or whatever. So we've been trying to sculpt what does this announcer read sound like? Well, in my eyes it's like an offshoot of the conversational, because you're listening to a podcast and it's usually two hosts, you know, or whoever the hosts are, they're just shooting the breeze, you know, talking to one another, you know, we've all heard that. And then boom, a podcast ad comes in. So how do we want that ad to be? And it's the same thing as interrupting someone's music flow Again. But this is like. So we just want that super casual approach.  12:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) But you can still tell the difference, because it's not necessarily ad-libbed right Like a host Right.  12:14 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, you can definitely yeah, but we're trying to write that way as well, and we've been working on this for a couple of years already, and I feel like we're getting there and we have a select group of talent.  12:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) I think I'm going to hire you guys. I wrote my own and it took a long time because trying to write it as a host and in trying to like write something to sell something, I'm doing it myself, not bouncing it off anybody, and so it's a tough way to write. I mean, it's a whole different way of writing. Very interesting.  12:41 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, I actually. You know, I produced a podcast for my wife and her sister my sister-in-law and my wife is a therapist and a coach and she has products and stuff like that and she finally said oh, I should advertise myself on there. Sure, I said, you know, go to chat GPT and have them write some scripts for you and adjust it.  13:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) She didn't ask you to write them.  13:05 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) No.  13:05 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) No, Steve, I think maybe.  13:07 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) I already do too much. Producing this podcast is a lot more work than I expected, but I said feed in your website or something like that, so they know who you are.  13:15 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Again, I'm not super experienced with it yet I did have some help with ChatGPT writing my own ad, yeah and she came up with three, and so I created three commercials for her.  13:23 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Now I put them in a rotation for her midway through her podcast, so it's cool. And then they also turn it on ads wherever they're uploading their podcast to as well, so it'll be her ad, and then whatever ads they decide to put in there as well.  13:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So yeah, let's talk a little bit more about when you're recruiting or trying to find new talent for your roster. What is the process and what are you looking for? What sort of qualities in a voice actor are you looking for that are suitable for your roster? I know before it used to be a thing in the industry where it would be like, oh, they're opening up the roster, so everybody would be like, oh my God, did you get an invite, or it was that kind of thing. Or did you submit? Did you submit and did you get asked to be on the roster? And it was a big thing when you weren't thing, when you weren't. I remember that it was years ago. I submitted. I just remember, like going in the underground VO circles, it was the big thing.  14:15 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, and I will say it's very hard. We have 260 talents on our roster, or 250 talents on our roster right now, and I'd say it's pretty jammed up, so it's like it's really hard to like find what are we looking for now. You know, I feel like every time someone applies or sends me something, the number one reason I have to tell people is you know, you kind of sound like one or two other people on our roster and I feel bad like you are a superstar.  14:41 But yeah you know I can't give the people on our roster a disservice and I can't give you a disservice by oversaturating those kind of voices. So it's been tough to manage and we don't open the roster at any particular time. I know at the end of the year I do a little house cleaning. So people who aren't really, who are maybe booking one or two jobs a year, it's like, let me tell you, that's the hardest thing about saying goodbye to someone because they're not booking enough, like sorry, you've only booked like two gigs in the past two years. It's like you know that's not sustainable for you as us being a client of yours. It's like you're firing me. I'm like no, I'm not. No, I don't want to use that word, no, but again, it's not sustainable for you to just book one spot a year from us. You know.  15:29 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Right, I book one spot a year from us, you know. So, right, I agree, and I also think that it's hard for talent because they take it very personally when in fact sometimes it's not. I mean, sometimes, yes, it may be performance related, correct, but myself, having been in casting and having done Vio Basta as an audition demolition, but in casting and for projects like that, I just know that sometimes it has nothing to do with the performance, it has everything to do with oh okay, I have this product and this voice is not the demographic that I'm looking for, and so a lot of it is based on the client and what kind of voice they're looking for and who they're trying to sell to. Is that similar to what you feel, as well as to why some people get picked on the roster, like is there a trending sound right now, like millennial, like that kind of thing?  16:13 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) No, I mean there was the millennial thing, I think, but we've gotten everything we need right now and I just like what I really watch out for is oversaturating certain age ranges, you know, and just like you know, okay, we already have some, you know, senior age, males only a couple and then it's like do I bring one more on? No, because again it's that oversaturation thing. That's the thing I have to watch out for the most these days.  16:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So what would be your tips or secrets to help voice actors deliver their best performances? Not necessarily to get on the roster, but because I mean you've been casting for years and casting talent and performances. So what would be your best tips for helping VO talent deliver a great performance?  16:59 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Sure, I mean, I think the number one thing in the way we deal with talent is we're not doing a lot of live sessions, we're booking via email. So in those cases you're going to have to send us three takes, and your confidence and your self-direction is really what's at play here. So I would say that's like the number one kind of thing that we really hope you have is that confidence and self-direction, because you're going to send us three choices and you can't be unsure and you can't send us three of the exact same carbon copy. We've had some talents in the past?  17:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, how often does that happen?  17:33 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) It's happened where I actually have taken all three of their takes and put them on top of each other in Pro.  17:38 - Intro (Host) Tools or whatever.  17:39 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) And it's just one thing, echo and there's no difference between any of them. It's almost like it's eerie. Yeah, so that's a no do. But other stuff, definitely a good commercial reel. I think from like listening to a ton of commercial reels, I'm starting to learn like what makes a good one these days. You know, and also sitting on the speed dating with your demo panel the past few years at Solvus, I've had people give me demos that are, like you know, sound effects heavy, and then there's another voice on there and I say you have 60 seconds, add up the sound effects, add up the other voices on here. What's that? Four, five, six seconds? Okay, that's 10% of your demo.  18:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's not you. That's real estate.  18:21 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, so you can have sound effects, but not have it just be by themselves or start your demo with a big explosion or something like that, right, unless you're going for terrestrial radio or whatever I don't know. But yeah, other stuff is like. One thing I really appreciate from a talent is I call it VO intuition. If you have a script that, for example, it says finance or something like that, and you're not sure the way the client wants it, you know it's finance or finance and I want to write a book that has those words in VO data data. You know, I wonder if anyone's done that yet. A book that all the words that could be said two different ways.  18:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh right.  18:57 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) There's my quarter million dollar idea. I guess I don't know. But if you have a script like that and it's like 9 o'clock pm and the producer's not available, send it both ways and say hey.  19:07 I gave it to you. So that's what I call VO intuition. I really appreciate that when it's like oh, I didn't know if you wanted data or data, so I'm giving it to you both ways or I'm picking up this sentence. Stuff like that is really great, but it's not a requirement. Good communication If I send good communication, you know, if I send you a request, I want to hear back from you within, you know, three or four hours, say, yes, I got it, I got you, I'm going to hit it by the deadline, no problem, our turnarounds are like 24 to 48 hours, so we need that as well. So, yeah, stuff like that and other stuff. I mean definitely the commercial demo is number one. These are nice to have character work singing, but, again, not required got Got it.  19:45 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So what qualities in addition to like, let's say, the demo? Right, let's say you have a demo and the demo is amazing. And then, all of a sudden, do you find talent sometimes that don't equate to the demo. Meaning what you hear on the demo is not necessarily what you get back when you give them. Okay, here's a job the customer picked out for you. Can you give me three versions of it? And then, all of a sudden, it sounds nothing like their demo. And then what happens at that point?  20:09 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Do you direct them or yeah, I mean, there is always a chance for us to get on the phone or do a live session. But in terms of our recruiting and the way it works to get on our roster is we listen to the demos and if we really like it, then we'll reach out with a whole packet of auditions. Oh god, this is like 12 different scripts you know from like automotive, university, healthcare, retail, and then we've just created a podcast script and cpg, which is consumer packaged goods, and a conversational script and ad lib script. So it's like 12 of those scripts. So that gives us. So you'll find out. Yeah, did you record in a fancy studio and now you're at your kitchen table and what you did on your demo? Is that also translating as well to our scripts?  20:53 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So let's talk a little bit about I always call it like the technological disruptor in the room synthetic voices. Are you finding that you have clients that are looking for that these days and, if so, do you have a source or how do you feel about it? What's your take on synthetic voices and their place in the industry today?  21:13 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, I think there are some spots where it would be good for a talent, you know, like if you had your clone and you were in control of it. I think that is number one. Again, I want to shout out to Nava and everything they're doing for. Ai Because I believe in all the stuff that their manifesto, everything about how they stand for the vo industry and ai.  21:34 I'm just so into what they're doing so I gotta shout out for them. But there are places, you know, suppose you were given something you know where you needed to read like 2500 addresses or something like that, you know, and you're just like, oh god, I can't do, I can't do this, I'm going to blow out my voice or it's going to take six hours. And then you're like, all right, I'll just do the body of the spot and then turn my clone on to do that. It's hard to figure out. What are the rates? What is a good rate for that as well? You know, and that's kind of stuff I think about, you know, when I'm what is a good rate? I always want to stand for our talents and try and get the best rates possible for them. So you know, that's something I need to think about if we ever were to go into an AI world Right now. I mean, some clients are asking for it and stuff like that.  22:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And what type of applications Are they asking for it in terms of it's because they can't afford or they have, let's say, volume material that they think it's an ongoing thing where just a date will change or a price will change or a couple of things will change.  22:30 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, I don't think it's gotten that expressive yet or that detailed yet. I think they're just like wanting to touch the new toys that are out there Play around yeah.  22:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, I actually almost I agree with you on that, because I feel like it's kind of novelty. People just want to see how good it is and I think for certain things, as you mentioned and a big shout out to Nava and one of the reasons why on the VO Boss podcast and Bosses if you haven't listened to it I did an extensive set of interviews with a number of AI companies to talk to them about ethics and the industry and synthetic voices in general, and I got educated. I did a lot of work and I got educated and I think that's wonderful and Nava is a really wonderful source for being educated as well, and so I think if we own the creative license to our voices and we can control it, I think that's moving in a positive direction and we just need to get it there first so that we can do that Absolutely.  23:27 But I don't think that the technology is there yet for emotion or rhythm or that kind of thing, although there's lots of great examples out there, and the scary thing about some of the great examples is somebody will say, oh gosh, listen to this. And everybody's like, oh my God, it's really good. And then everybody panics and gets scared. And in reality there's a lot of technical things on the backend and this is just from my own education, from interviewing so many people that worked in the AI industry that there's many, many different ways that people come out with these samples and you don't know how much engineering is done on the back end to make them sound that good.  24:01 And there's different technologies too. I mean there's text-to-speech, and then there's speech-to-speech, which is an entirely different technologies too. I mean there's text-to-speech, and then there's speech-to-speech, which is an entirely different thing, which is what they use for high-end Hollywood movie dubs, and that's where it sounds scary good. And so a lot of times you don't know. You don't know how it was produced or how it was manufactured. But kudos to NAVA again. And the sooner we can get legislation in place so that we can be protected, the better. You know, I've always said that we should, as an industry, just evolve. I mean, we're not going to make it go away, that's for darn sure. So we need to evolve and somehow work with it as it evolves as well. I don't think anymore that AI's high power is in synthetic voices anymore. I really feel that it's in data manipulation and data curation, and that's where its true strength is in terms of helping the world, you know, and hopefully in a good way.  24:55 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah, I think there's also in my mind. There's a difference between, like the synthetic voices which are just like sprinkling stuff into a blender, and creating a new voice, versus a real person who owns their clone and they're in charge of their clone. That, to me, feels like the more comfortable situation.  25:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) And to me I feel like that's like money-wise, it's an equal split, right? I feel like I should get 50% and the company that has my voice and generates my voice and hosts my voice right with their engine should get 50%. That's where I start in terms of why not, right?  25:28 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) yeah, if you need a pickup and you're like I'm sleeping, I'm on vacation, I'm in charge, I'm going to push the button, I'll get you that pickup, but I'm just going to set it for my phone right here, you know, or, yeah, you're in charge of that locker or whatever it is.  25:40 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So yeah, well, what other predictions? So I guess I'll say, if you took a look into the crystal ball outside of synthetic voices, what sort of predictions do you have for the future, at least for yourself and audio production and advertising?  25:54 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Well, this is what I'm enjoying a lot more in my day-to-day is more immersive sound design in audio advertising.  26:05 We are starting to do some cool stuff in the 3D space, where and I'm now the go-to guy Well, I'd like to think I'm now the go-to guy on my team for horror movie trailers or all things horror, because I just did something the other day that was really cool for this horror movie coming up and I just enjoyed taking an alien and going whoo whoo, whoo, whoo whoo, but in the headphones, where it comes from the top of the head to the bottom, or you can go around in that 3D space in headphones, which is really cool.  26:41 So anytime I could do that where you're just getting more theater of the mind stuff to actually immerse a listener and just have the VO be a support to that. I think if we can get more into those kind of things almost cinematic ads in your headphones I think that might be the way to really get people to enjoy ads too and really just be like whoa, did you hear that? You know, imagine people talking about did you hear that audio ad? You know? Like when they're in the same way people talk about super bowl ads, you know it's like, yeah, I'd love to get there.  27:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah, yeah, audio ads like that. One other thing before I have to leave you, we could probably do five podcasts with all this really great conversation. Tell us a little bit about you started something called the sonic great conversation. Tell us a little bit about you started something called the Sonic Diversity Initiative. Talk to us a little bit about that. Sure.  27:23 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) This is like something we started during the pandemic. It's called Stand for Sonic Diversity and is a website we created called standforsonicdiversitycom, and basically we just started to take a look at our casting practices and other advertising agencies and we kind of put out almost like a pledge to other advertising agencies hey, will you guys pledge along with us to make your casting and your rosters more diverse and more inclusive? And as a result, I've worked really hard and I'm proud to say that our roster is now more than 50% voices of color. So I'm really proud of that work and we're trying to also make sure that our casting practices are that way.  28:10 Because, back then it was like you know, you're just like, unless a client specified, you would maybe assume like, oh, if they don't specify, then they want a white talent as their go-to and it's like no. So we decided we can move the needle from within by just making these changes internally and smartly, and it's the right thing to do. And so we also put this pledge up to other agencies and other advertising conglomerates and stuff like that, and hopefully they all join in as well.  28:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Wonderful, wonderful.  28:39 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Well, thank you for that, yeah if you go to that site, there's a really cool audio spot that you can play there, and I am I'm proud to produce that spot as well.  28:46 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So what's that site again? Stanforsonicdiversitycom okay, awesome, so all right. My last question, which is here's a fun question for you if you were stranded on a deserted island and you could only bring three albums or podcasts with you, what would they be? I mean, I figure you must have some music preferences, for sure yeah, oh man only three, wow all right.  29:15 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) One of them is Prince.  29:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Ah, Of course I say 1999.  29:21 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) No, it's a double album.  29:23 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Well, just saying Prince is enough for me. Yeah, yeah, I would absolutely.  29:27 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) I like that it's the one with Housequake and Starfish and Coffee. I don't know why the name has escaped me. It's one of my favorite albums too he's brilliant. He's brilliant. Yes, and then I'm also a metalhead and I like kind of like heavy hardcore music and there's a band I.  29:42 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Why did I know that? Why did I know that somehow?  29:44 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) I play in two bands actually, so that's my weekend. Therapy is going and playing super loud music.  29:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) There you go, and what do you play if I can?  29:51 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) ask I play bass.  29:52 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, okay, awesome, my brother plays. Brother plays bass. Yeah, wow, okay, can we hear you anywhere? Is that a thing? Can we hear you somewhere?  29:59 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Uh-huh, I'm in a band, it's an all-dad band, and this is the best name for an all-dad band. It's called that Ship has Sailed. I love it, I love it. We're on all the streaming places and I'm in're called Converge and their album is called Jane Doe. Okay, and then one more.  30:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh God, it could be a podcast too, if you have a favorite podcast.  30:29 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Yeah.  30:30 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Because you've got to keep yourself busy.  30:32 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Right.  30:35 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So maybe the podcast would be more refreshing because it would come out on a regular basis.  30:39 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) There was one podcast I listened to by a co-worker introduced it to me and it's not something I can listen to over again because it was pretty intense, but it was really cool. It was called Sweet Bobby, I think. Okay, it was like a kind of a true crime kind of podcast.  30:51 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I think that I have.  30:53 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) I wouldn't take that with me, though. I'm sorry you put me on the spot.  30:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's okay, that's all right. I think you did really well.  31:00 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Thank you.  31:01 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) So let me ask you I'm really excited by the way that, before I let you go, that I'm going to have you as a guest director for my VO Peeps group, which is going to be really amazing coming up in July. So thank you, Very excited to have that happen. If a voice talent, Voice talent want to reach out and find you, see all the good things that you do, listen to your band and also the other website that we mentioned, when can they find you?  31:23 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) You can probably hit me on LinkedIn or my email address is spogach at pandoracom. It might change to SiriusXM shortly. But one thing I like to tell talents and I guess I'm overly nice this way is like I'm always happy to lend talents their ears, like, for example, if someone sends a mission out or they want you, they want to know oh, why didn't I get that audition? You know, I'm happy to give feedback on there. It's like almost like you're all sending resumes out in the world. You don't hear anything back. You know it's, and it's like you're sending auditions out and no one ever gets feedback. So I'm always happy to lend an ear and give feedback. Or someone's like oh, can you listen to my demo? If I have time, I'm glad to take a minute and listen to someone's demo, give them feedback and stuff like that.  32:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) That's wonderful, I guess I'm too nice, I don't know. Now I'm going to send everybody your way out.  32:14 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) I know.  32:19 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) By the way, I'm changing my email address. There you go, yeah, right, well, steve, it has been so wonderful to have you here. Thank you so much for taking the time. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. Yes, you too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Steve, thank you again, it's been wonderful.  32:35 - Steve Pogatch (Guest) Thank you, can't wait to see you. It was great talking to you.  32:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host) Yeah for VO. Peeps and bosses, you have an amazing week and we'll see you next week.  32:44 - Intro (Host) Bye-bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IP.     

[VIDEO PODCAST] Studio Resonate is an Audio Creative Agency, creating award winning campaigns for advertisers within the Sirius XM Media portfolio, including Pandora, SoundCloud, Sirius, and their network of Podcasts. They produce amazing audio advertising for Radio, Podcasts, and Streaming Music. (**EDITOR'S NOTE: Kim was clairvoyant! Turns out "Smartless" has moved to Sirius since the recording of this show!) **Please note also, their offices are all over North America. Sign up for our show takeaways, resources, and drink recipes before episodes air here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.speechlessvo.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ EPISODE SPONSORS & AFFILIATE LINKS:  Please visit our sponsors! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠STUDIOBRICKS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ VO BOOTH TO-GO RESOURCES mentioned in this episode: Studio Resonate Proven Creative Tips for Announcer Reads in 2024 and Beyond Voiceover and the Effectiveness of Podcast Ads Voiceover Casting with Pandora Radio's Steve Pogatch Stand for Sonic Diversity Conan Needs a Friend Podcast Ads CONTACT INFO: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast Home⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email: SpeechlessVO@gmail.com PRODUCTION CREDITS: Music: Rick Wilson Editing: Hamza Latif Written and Produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Kim Wilson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Natasha Marchewka⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Production Assistant: Carolyn Robson Natasha and Kim are both in ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠StudioBricks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ booths

On this episode of The Sonic Truth, Kristin Charron is joined by Steve Keller, Sonic Strategy Director, Studio Resonate at SiriusXM Media where they discuss all things AI – including it's increased use in audio advertising and creative, industry reactions and impact, predictions for future use and regulations of AI, and more. Download transcript The post The ABC’s (and Relevancy) of A.I. in Today’s Audio Advertising Landscape with Steve Keller of Studio Resonate at SiriusXM Media appeared first on The Sonic Truth.

We naturally listen to sound in 3D. Why are we not taking this into consideration within our advertising and content creation? This episode was a reboot from a previous article I wrote in 2022; How Does 3D Audio Better Communicate and Engage With A Brand Audience. Special thanks to Tanvi Phadke and the team at Studio Resonate for your hard work in developing better and better 3D audio ad experiences. For more info on creating 3D in your audio ads, you can find them here. For those interested in sonic strategy and sound design, I would love to chat with you further. Send me a message at Dreamr Productions or you can come find me on Linkedin, Twitter, and Facebook. For more on sound in marketing, check out Soundinmarketing.com where I house courses, resources and all sorts of sound relevant information. Contact me directly and I'll hook you up with a discount code. You can find the Sound In Marketing Podcast on all the major podcast channels like iTunes, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Pandora, and Stitcher so don't forget to share it with your friends, follow, and rate it.  This episode was produced by Dreamr Productions and hosted, written, and edited by me, Jeanna Isham. Let's make this world of sound more intriguing, more unique, and more and more on brand.

Steve Pogatch is the Sr. Manager of Voiceover Operations of Studio Resonate (SXM Media-SiriusXM/Pandora/Stitcher). In addition to producing thousands of high quality audio ads in the 8+ years he's been at Pandora, Steve has been the go-to guy for all things VO Casting, VO Direction and VO Quality for Studio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXM/Stitcher. He's been responsible the past few years for recruiting, auditioning and curating new talent for the Pandora VO Roster as well as managing the Pandora VoiceOver Roster. *In Steve's Episode, We Talk About: * The difference between podcast and radio ads What Pandora looks for in talent for their roster Home Studio Dos How to vary “natural, real” reads STAND FOR SONIC DIVERSITY: https://www.standforsonicdiversity.com/ Cheez-It + Pandora Collaboration - https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cheez-it-teams-up-with-pandora-to-create-first-ever-sonically-aged-cheese-snack-using-music-from-iconic-hip-hop-artists-301546401.html Check out our BONUS questions with STEVE on the AVS YOUTUBE CHANNEL where Steve shares the #1 thing clients look for, how many submissions they get versus # they bring on and the biggest DON'T when submitting to Pandora . YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/gGPFePt8Rfs Follow Atlanta Voiceover Studio Here: facebook.com/atlantavoiceoverstudio instagram.com/atlantavoiceoverstudio twitter.com/atlvostudio tiktok.com/@atlantavoiceoverstudio Atlanta Voiceover Studio & ProVoiceoverTraining's Classes & Workshops www.AtlantaVoiceoverStudio.com www.ProVoiceoverTraining.com **Sign up for FREE weekly VO tips: https://bit.ly/AVSemail CLICK HERE for 15% off a Voice123 Membership ($359 tier and up) - https://bit.ly/3uPpO8i Terms & Conditions - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D-PfTuRouL2JIs5T7gcrmMQLmr5OyDe-a_yaeV-UKNw/edit?usp=sharing

Today on The Download: is the IAB on borrowed time?, podcast ads see big gains again, Google makes misinformation less profitable, podcasts grow globally, SXM enters the identity game, and Spotify stands behind Rogan even as earnings fall. HBO Max is Hiring For Their Podcast Marketing Team Subscription streaming video service HBO Max continues to prove its serious about podcasting. Their first venture into the space dropped last summer with Batman: The Audio Adventures, an exclusive podcast that could only be listened to in HBO Max app itself.While HBO maintains podcast channels on Spotify and Apple for related content, just like their peers at Netflix, this is the first podcast to be exclusively hosted in a subscription video streaming app.Now, they're looking to hire a new role, specifically for podcasting under the HBO Max brand. The role is for a Sr. Analyst, Direct-to-Consumer, Podcasting Strategy & Operations, and will “provide strategic and analytic support on various projects covering direct-to-consumer and HBO Max Podcasting initiatives. Interactive Voices Lack Diversity If you missed CES 2022 because... well, reasons; you probably saw a plenty of breathless reporting of new prototypes and maybe-coming-in-the-future tech. Steve Keller, Sonic Strategy Director for Studio Resonate, SXM’s audio-first creative consultancy has an in-depth piece on things he noticed at the event of interest to audio people like us. Like a lot of tech around the explosion of interactive voice systems. But he also noticed something else: Quoting from the piece: But something was missing. Innovation aside, the lack of sonic diversity in the voice sector was disturbing. [P]ractically all the AI voices we heard at CES 2022 were female—and white. In fact, the only voice assistant of color heard was during a series of sessions focused on voice technology, curated and moderated by attn.live CEO, Ian Utile. Multiple panelists affirmed that there’s an underlying problem with the overwhelmingly white, male demographics of the AI world who are unconsciously programming biases, sonic color lines, and digital discrimination into voice systems. As a result, the default voice of automotive assistants, connected homes, and a plethora of other devices is white. The issue is compounded by the fact that these assistants, designed to serve us, are also predominantly female. It’s a systemic problem, and developers and brands need to work harder to sonically diversify their voice systems, as well as the designers, engineers, and developers who create them. With DEI so high on the priority list for most companies, it’s surprising this problem exists. No, wait. It’s not surprising at all, is it? Google’s Federated Learning of Cohorts Replaced by Topics While third-party cookies aren’t part of the information we receive from listeners in podcasting, they are a big part of the device graphs we use to augment what we do receive and improve how we run attribution. So while Safari and Firefox kicked them completely to the curb in 2020, Google has pushed out their deadline for when they’re twilight third-party cookies until 2023. And their original pitch, Federated Learning of Cohorts, or FLoC for short, has now been scrapped for what they’re calling Topics. FLoC grouped audiences based on their browsing activity at a very granular level, where Topics focuses on applying a list of topics, starting at around 300 but expected to be in the thousands, directly to the individual. Only the top three most prevalent Topics will be available for targeting and identification, but what’s really interesting is that they expire every three weeks, keeping them increasingly fresh and relevant. Topics fit in nicely with the contextual offerings that podcasting is primed to offer advertisers if we continue to prioritize transcription and contextual targeting. Podcasting Only Looks Hit-Resistant If you somehow avoided the kerfuffle over the Bloomberg Article where Lucas Shaw reported on podcasting’s inability to generate a current hit... well, I’m not sure how you did. There have been a lot of hot takes on the article, but one worthy of your attention was penned by Tom Webster in his weekly newsletter, I Hear Things.It’s a fascinating read, with Tom pointing out that other mediums, like movies, television programs, and music all have the same “problem”. They just present differently. Examining the top movies from last year, Tom notes: Even if you go further down the list from the top 10, it's sequels, movies based on existing properties, and remakes. Is it fair to say that the movie industry hasn't produced a new hit in years? No--all the above movies are new movies, but they are familiar at the same time. He goes on to make a similar case for popular television programs - The Bachelor season 26, anyone? - and even music, going so far as to craft metaphors around melody and harmony to predict a hit. Working that back to podcasting, Tom says: Podcasting is, by its very definition, a medium that largely lacks harmony. When you can listen to a podcast anytime, there is little compunction to listen to them at any given time. They are always there--convenient, but rarely urgent. In other words, asynchronous. And they also currently (though not by definition) lack melody. The whole medium is new to so many people, and even for veteran listeners, there isn't exactly the equivalent of NCIS: New Orleans or Thursday Night Football or The Traveling Wilburys--that thread of familiarity that telegraphs immediately: if you like this, you will like that. Even some of the biggest hits of podcasting aren't easily explainable to a friend. That's part of why there is such a spate of celebrity podcasts right now. What is easier to describe to people: It's the Michele Obama podcast, or "it's the podcast that reveals the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds. Check out the entire post for insights on why Tom thinks the article that made such waves was a little unfair little wrong, but ultimately right-ish. Links in the episode details, as always. Amazon Expands Ad Sales Efforts Amazon Advertising was responsible for generating $23bn in revenue for the first three quarters of 2021, nearly double the $13.5bn generated in that same period for 2020. How’d they do it? By shifting their focus to pursuing major brands, agencies, and holding companies looking to focus on awareness with their large customer sales team.Joshua Kreitzer, founder and CEO of Channel Bakers, an Amazon-focused ad agency tells Digiday With this change, the Amazon large customer sales team is no longer focused on shopper marketing dollars — they're now responsible for breaking through to the $70 billion TV market. While selling advertising to Amazon’s clients actively selling products on Amazon.com is still part of their focus, they’re now providing a bigger brand play by being able to offer inventory across Twitch, Fire TV, IMDb TV, and their podcast companies Art 19 and Wondery. Amazon has an immense amount of first-party data, from all their apps and services that require a login, so coupled with the technology they integrated from acquiring attribution company Sizmek and their AWS infrastructure, they have the potential to provide insights competitive to Google and Meta. The Download is presented by Sounds Profitable and is hosted by Bryan Barletta and Evo Terra. Audio editing by Ian Powell. SA81NiPbZ3KByWl3qVE3See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Download: is the IAB on borrowed time?, podcast ads see big gains again, Google makes misinformation less profitable, podcasts grow globally, SXM enters the identity game, and Spotify stands behind Rogan even as earnings fall. HBO Max is Hiring For Their Podcast Marketing Team Subscription streaming video service HBO Max continues to prove its serious about podcasting. Their first venture into the space dropped last summer with Batman: The Audio Adventures, an exclusive podcast that could only be listened to in HBO Max app itself. While HBO maintains podcast channels on Spotify and Apple for related content, just like their peers at Netflix, this is the first podcast to be exclusively hosted in a subscription video streaming app. Now, they're looking to hire a new role, specifically for podcasting under the HBO Max brand. The role is for a Sr. Analyst, Direct-to-Consumer, Podcasting Strategy & Operations, and will “provide strategic and analytic support on various projects covering direct-to-consumer and HBO Max Podcasting initiatives.   Interactive Voices Lack Diversity If you missed CES 2022 because... well, reasons; you probably saw a plenty of breathless reporting of new prototypes and maybe-coming-in-the-future tech. Steve Keller, Sonic Strategy Director for Studio Resonate, SXM's audio-first creative consultancy has an in-depth piece on things he noticed at the event of interest to audio people like us. Like a lot of tech around the explosion of interactive voice systems. But he also noticed something else: Quoting from the piece: But something was missing. Innovation aside, the lack of sonic diversity in the voice sector was disturbing. [P]ractically all the AI voices we heard at CES 2022 were female—and white. In fact, the only voice assistant of color heard was during a series of sessions focused on voice technology, curated and moderated by attn.live CEO, Ian Utile. Multiple panelists affirmed that there's an underlying problem with the overwhelmingly white, male demographics of the AI world who are unconsciously programming biases, sonic color lines, and digital discrimination into voice systems. As a result, the default voice of automotive assistants, connected homes, and a plethora of other devices is white. The issue is compounded by the fact that these assistants, designed to serve us, are also predominantly female. It's a systemic problem, and developers and brands need to work harder to sonically diversify their voice systems, as well as the designers, engineers, and developers who create them. With DEI so high on the priority list for most companies, it's surprising this problem exists. No, wait. It's not surprising at all, is it?   Google's Federated Learning of Cohorts Replaced by Topics While third-party cookies aren't part of the information we receive from listeners in podcasting, they are a big part of the device graphs we use to augment what we do receive and improve how we run attribution. So while Safari and Firefox kicked them completely to the curb in 2020, Google has pushed out their deadline for when they're twilight third-party cookies until 2023. And their original pitch, Federated Learning of Cohorts, or FLoC for short, has now been scrapped for what they're calling Topics. FLoC grouped audiences based on their browsing activity at a very granular level, where Topics focuses on applying a list of topics, starting at around 300 but expected to be in the thousands, directly to the individual. Only the top three most prevalent Topics will be available for targeting and identification, but what's really interesting is that they expire every three weeks, keeping them increasingly fresh and relevant. Topics fit in nicely with the contextual offerings that podcasting is primed to offer advertisers if we continue to prioritize transcription and contextual targeting.   Podcasting Only Looks Hit-Resistant If you somehow avoided the kerfuffle over the Bloomberg Article where Lucas Shaw reported on podcasting's inability to generate a current hit... well, I'm not sure how you did. There have been a lot of hot takes on the article, but one worthy of your attention was penned by Tom Webster in his weekly newsletter, I Hear Things.It's a fascinating read, with Tom pointing out that other mediums, like movies, television programs, and music all have the same “problem”. They just present differently. Examining the top movies from last year, Tom notes: Even if you go further down the list from the top 10, it's sequels, movies based on existing properties, and remakes. Is it fair to say that the movie industry hasn't produced a new hit in years? No--all the above movies are new movies, but they are familiar at the same time. He goes on to make a similar case for popular television programs - The Bachelor season 26, anyone? - and even music, going so far as to craft metaphors around melody and harmony to predict a hit. Working that back to podcasting, Tom says: Podcasting is, by its very definition, a medium that largely lacks harmony. When you can listen to a podcast anytime, there is little compunction to listen to them at any given time. They are always there--convenient, but rarely urgent. In other words, asynchronous. And they also currently (though not by definition) lack melody. The whole medium is new to so many people, and even for veteran listeners, there isn't exactly the equivalent of NCIS: New Orleans or Thursday Night Football or The Traveling Wilburys--that thread of familiarity that telegraphs immediately: if you like this, you will like that. Even some of the biggest hits of podcasting aren't easily explainable to a friend. That's part of why there is such a spate of celebrity podcasts right now. What is easier to describe to people: It's the Michele Obama podcast, or "it's the podcast that reveals the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds. Check out the entire post for insights on why Tom thinks the article that made such waves was a little unfair little wrong, but ultimately right-ish. Links in the episode details, as always.   Amazon Expands Ad Sales Efforts Amazon Advertising was responsible for generating $23bn in revenue for the first three quarters of 2021, nearly double the $13.5bn generated in that same period for 2020. How'd they do it? By shifting their focus to pursuing major brands, agencies, and holding companies looking to focus on awareness with their large customer sales team. Joshua Kreitzer, founder and CEO of Channel Bakers, an Amazon-focused ad agency tells Digiday With this change, the Amazon large customer sales team is no longer focused on shopper marketing dollars — they're now responsible for breaking through to the $70 billion TV market. While selling advertising to Amazon's clients actively selling products on Amazon.com is still part of their focus, they're now providing a bigger brand play by being able to offer inventory across Twitch, Fire TV, IMDb TV, and their podcast companies Art 19 and Wondery. Amazon has an immense amount of first-party data, from all their apps and services that require a login, so coupled with the technology they integrated from acquiring attribution company Sizmek and their AWS infrastructure, they have the potential to provide insights competitive to Google and Meta. The Download is presented by Sounds Profitable and is hosted by Bryan Barletta and Evo Terra. Audio editing by Ian Powell. SA81NiPbZ3KByWl3qVE3 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Download: is the IAB on borrowed time?, podcast ads see big gains again, Google makes misinformation less profitable, podcasts grow globally, SXM enters the identity game, and Spotify stands behind Rogan even as earnings fall. HBO Max is Hiring For Their Podcast Marketing Team Subscription streaming video service HBO Max continues to prove its serious about podcasting. Their first venture into the space dropped last summer with Batman: The Audio Adventures, an exclusive podcast that could only be listened to in HBO Max app itself.While HBO maintains podcast channels on Spotify and Apple for related content, just like their peers at Netflix, this is the first podcast to be exclusively hosted in a subscription video streaming app.Now, they're looking to hire a new role, specifically for podcasting under the HBO Max brand. The role is for a Sr. Analyst, Direct-to-Consumer, Podcasting Strategy & Operations, and will “provide strategic and analytic support on various projects covering direct-to-consumer and HBO Max Podcasting initiatives. Interactive Voices Lack Diversity If you missed CES 2022 because... well, reasons; you probably saw a plenty of breathless reporting of new prototypes and maybe-coming-in-the-future tech. Steve Keller, Sonic Strategy Director for Studio Resonate, SXM’s audio-first creative consultancy has an in-depth piece on things he noticed at the event of interest to audio people like us. Like a lot of tech around the explosion of interactive voice systems. But he also noticed something else: Quoting from the piece: But something was missing. Innovation aside, the lack of sonic diversity in the voice sector was disturbing. [P]ractically all the AI voices we heard at CES 2022 were female—and white. In fact, the only voice assistant of color heard was during a series of sessions focused on voice technology, curated and moderated by attn.live CEO, Ian Utile. Multiple panelists affirmed that there’s an underlying problem with the overwhelmingly white, male demographics of the AI world who are unconsciously programming biases, sonic color lines, and digital discrimination into voice systems. As a result, the default voice of automotive assistants, connected homes, and a plethora of other devices is white. The issue is compounded by the fact that these assistants, designed to serve us, are also predominantly female. It’s a systemic problem, and developers and brands need to work harder to sonically diversify their voice systems, as well as the designers, engineers, and developers who create them. With DEI so high on the priority list for most companies, it’s surprising this problem exists. No, wait. It’s not surprising at all, is it? Google’s Federated Learning of Cohorts Replaced by Topics While third-party cookies aren’t part of the information we receive from listeners in podcasting, they are a big part of the device graphs we use to augment what we do receive and improve how we run attribution. So while Safari and Firefox kicked them completely to the curb in 2020, Google has pushed out their deadline for when they’re twilight third-party cookies until 2023. And their original pitch, Federated Learning of Cohorts, or FLoC for short, has now been scrapped for what they’re calling Topics. FLoC grouped audiences based on their browsing activity at a very granular level, where Topics focuses on applying a list of topics, starting at around 300 but expected to be in the thousands, directly to the individual. Only the top three most prevalent Topics will be available for targeting and identification, but what’s really interesting is that they expire every three weeks, keeping them increasingly fresh and relevant. Topics fit in nicely with the contextual offerings that podcasting is primed to offer advertisers if we continue to prioritize transcription and contextual targeting. Podcasting Only Looks Hit-Resistant If you somehow avoided the kerfuffle over the Bloomberg Article where Lucas Shaw reported on podcasting’s inability to generate a current hit... well, I’m not sure how you did. There have been a lot of hot takes on the article, but one worthy of your attention was penned by Tom Webster in his weekly newsletter, I Hear Things.It’s a fascinating read, with Tom pointing out that other mediums, like movies, television programs, and music all have the same “problem”. They just present differently. Examining the top movies from last year, Tom notes: Even if you go further down the list from the top 10, it's sequels, movies based on existing properties, and remakes. Is it fair to say that the movie industry hasn't produced a new hit in years? No--all the above movies are new movies, but they are familiar at the same time. He goes on to make a similar case for popular television programs - The Bachelor season 26, anyone? - and even music, going so far as to craft metaphors around melody and harmony to predict a hit. Working that back to podcasting, Tom says: Podcasting is, by its very definition, a medium that largely lacks harmony. When you can listen to a podcast anytime, there is little compunction to listen to them at any given time. They are always there--convenient, but rarely urgent. In other words, asynchronous. And they also currently (though not by definition) lack melody. The whole medium is new to so many people, and even for veteran listeners, there isn't exactly the equivalent of NCIS: New Orleans or Thursday Night Football or The Traveling Wilburys--that thread of familiarity that telegraphs immediately: if you like this, you will like that. Even some of the biggest hits of podcasting aren't easily explainable to a friend. That's part of why there is such a spate of celebrity podcasts right now. What is easier to describe to people: It's the Michele Obama podcast, or "it's the podcast that reveals the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds. Check out the entire post for insights on why Tom thinks the article that made such waves was a little unfair little wrong, but ultimately right-ish. Links in the episode details, as always. Amazon Expands Ad Sales Efforts Amazon Advertising was responsible for generating $23bn in revenue for the first three quarters of 2021, nearly double the $13.5bn generated in that same period for 2020. How’d they do it? By shifting their focus to pursuing major brands, agencies, and holding companies looking to focus on awareness with their large customer sales team.Joshua Kreitzer, founder and CEO of Channel Bakers, an Amazon-focused ad agency tells Digiday With this change, the Amazon large customer sales team is no longer focused on shopper marketing dollars — they're now responsible for breaking through to the $70 billion TV market. While selling advertising to Amazon’s clients actively selling products on Amazon.com is still part of their focus, they’re now providing a bigger brand play by being able to offer inventory across Twitch, Fire TV, IMDb TV, and their podcast companies Art 19 and Wondery. Amazon has an immense amount of first-party data, from all their apps and services that require a login, so coupled with the technology they integrated from acquiring attribution company Sizmek and their AWS infrastructure, they have the potential to provide insights competitive to Google and Meta. The Download is presented by Sounds Profitable and is hosted by Bryan Barletta and Evo Terra. Audio editing by Ian Powell. SA81NiPbZ3KByWl3qVE3See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today in the programme we have Steve Keller from Oakland California and we learn more about sound art, sound science and sound business. Steve has a great title: Audio alchemist and Sonic Strategy Director, Studio Resonate at SXM Media. We talk about audio-only and audio first strategies in what he calls ‘the platinum age of audio', how COVID has changed our listening habits, the rise of clubhouse and how leaders can foster the ability to listen inside their companies. We have a conversation about the relationship between visual and sonic identities and what brands with a conscience can do to use sound for sustainable business in a multisensory world.  We learn about his research on sonic racism and he shares with us a little ritual that he uses before brainstorming sessions that matter. Connect with Steve: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevekeller1/  Sound first consultancy Studio Resonate | Pandora: https://www.sxmmedia.com/studio-resonate  Listening Builds Trust in a Time of Uncertainty https://www.adweek.com/partner-articles/listening-builds-trust-in-a-time-of-uncertainty/ Brands can tackle sonic racism: https://www.warc.com/newsandopinion/news/brands-can-tackle-sonic-racism/44246 Stand For Sonic Diversity website: https://www.standforsonicdiversity.com/ The Power of Music Thinking is brought to you by CREATIVE COMPANION

Roger Gehrmann is a creative leader with 18 years experience spanning the various worlds of Advertising, Product Design and B2B & B2C Marketing & Strategy. He currently is the Executive Creative Director at SiriusXM/Pandora, the largest audio entertainment company in North America. Roger is the co-founder of Studio Resonate, the audio-first creative consultancy that brings brands to life through audio. Key chapters: 0:00 - Intro 2:28 - Favourite artist and why? 4:11 - What makes a brand iconic? 5:47 - Do iconic brands have a consistent narrative? 7:39 - Sonic branding example with Mastercard 8:48 - What is audio branding? 9:09 - How Mastercard created their audio (sonic) branding 11:03 - Intel's audio branding explained 13:14 - McDonald's ‘I'm lovin it' sonic branding 15:15 - How long has audio branding been used for? 16:44 - Why audio branding is important for brands today? 19:48 - Can small brands use audio branding? 22:39 - How small brands can create their audio branding 25:53 - What is brand safety? 30:46 - Applying AI to brand safety in advertising 38:36 - Advice for creatives in problem solving Links to reach out to Roger Gehrmann: Follow her on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogershogehrmann/ Twitter: @roger_sho Web: rogersho.co Clubhouse: Join Society For Sound Thinking, for our weekly discussion on all things sound. About Andrew Tran Digital Andrew Tran (AT) Digital is an independent marketing consultant, strategist and podcaster partnering with brands to navigate the ch allenges in their market in order to perform better, realise their brand's purpose and develop value to their customers. For more information, please visit the website - https://www.andrewtran.asia/pov or connect on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewtrandigital/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndrewTranDigital Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewtrandigital Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamayetee

Today we conclude our conversation with Miya Kanzaki and Brian Ostreicher from Studio Resonate.  They go into a little more detail about their sonic diversity initiative.  Important work being done at Pandora and I applaud them!  To join the initiative and/or learn more, go to https://www.standforsonicdiversity.com/  Studio Resonate is an audio-first creative consultancy at Pandora who helps advertisers bring their brands to life through audio. And the Dove Tropical Moods SoundEscape was created by a team of its members: Ali Charlesworth, Alberto Santiago Deida, Miya Kanzaki, Brian Ostreicher, Evelyn Overall, and Mya Passmore. In other news, my course Sound’s Power and Influence in Marketing is now available at www.soundinmarketing.com.  I’m super happy to share with you all the years of research and knowledge that went into creating this course.  I’m confident that you’ll learn a lot and my goal is that you’ll be able to easily apply it to your brand or company.  So head on over to the site to preview the trailer, view the curriculum, and sign up for a dose of sound in marketing.   You can also follow and subscribe to the Sound In Marketing Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, iHeart Radio, Pandora, and Stitcher and don’t forget to share it with your friends.  For inquiries on producing and developing your own podcast or for inquiries on sonic branding and sonic branding consultation availabilities, you can find me at Dreamr Productions www.dreamrproductions.com, Linkedin, Twitter, and Facebook.  You can also email me at jeanna@dreamrproductions.com.  Let’s make this world of sound more intriguing, more unique, and more and more on brand. This episode was produced by Dreamr Productions and hosted, written, and edited by me, Jeanna Isham.  

Steve Keller: "Our reflexes respond to sound much faster than sight that means sound can kind of get into our brain and set the stage for our other senses and that's what cross-modalism is all about".My guest today is the one and only Audio Alchemist Steve Keller, Sonic Strategy Director for Studio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXM the largest ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S. Prior to that, Steve was the Founder and CEO of iV, an audio consultancy based in Nashville. In this episode, Steve and I discuss the ins and outs of the psychology and quantification of audio. – how to harness the power of sound to shape perception and influence behavior in the new now.Listen to the entire podcast or vlog: The Power of Audio + Science + AI with Jasmine Moradi (https://www.jasminemoradi.com, Spotify, Apple Music & Google Play) Episode 8: Quantifying Audio ROI: - It's time to harness the power of sound by predicting, measuring and optimizing audio assets to shape perception and influence behavior.Soundbites#8.1Steve Keller's journey: from Beethoven to Audio Alchemist. (03:24)#8.2 An Audio Alchemist's mission to blend sound science and sound art to develop valuable sound strategies. (05:32) #8.3 An audio logo is to your ear like a visual logo is to your eye. However, research shows that audio assets significantly outperforms visual assets. (07:44) #8.4 How the power of sound shapes consumer perception and influences consumer behavior.(10:51) #8.5 What are your KPIs for audio? It's time to close the value perception gap by predicting and optimizing the value of audio through quantifying consumer perception, consumer behaviour and brand equity. (16:22) #8.6 The challenges with developing a valuable sound strategy are a) personal preference b) lack of measurement and c) choosing a sound tactic instead of a sound strategy. (35:02) #8. 7 Test! Test! Test! It's time to start measuring the impact of your audio assets, or how many more misfits can you afford? (38:54) #8. 8 Sound Science, the cross modalism case study of Propel: Flavor DJ - a sonic sensploration.(47:01) #8. 9 The future of audio is to harness the power of sound to make a positive difference in the way we hear and experience the world around us. (59:07) Steve KellerSonic Strategy DirectorStudio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXMwww.pandoraforbrands.com/studio-resonate#podcast #audioroi #audiobranding #sound #music #science #stevekeller #jasminemoradi #thepowerofaudioscienceai #pandoraforbrands #sonicbranding ##audiobranding #sthlmmusic #sthlmtech #nordimusictech #audioresearch #soundresearch #soundscientistSupported by STHLM Music City https://www.facebook.com/sthlmmusic/Recorded at the pod booth at the co-working space The Park Södra. https://thepark.se/en/vara-stallen/sodra/podd-i-podden/Music Amazilia Luciae by SkirkAmazilia Luciae by SKIRK https://soundcloud.com/skirkofficialCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Music promoted by FDL Music https://youtu.be/dMvG-OshvJwSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-power-of-audio-science-ai. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve Keller: "How can we use sound as a positive intervention. How it can have a positive impact around us. For example using sound in healthcare".My guest today is the one and only Audio Alchemist Steve Keller, Sonic Strategy Director for Studio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXM the largest ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S. Prior to that, Steve was the Founder and CEO of iV, an audio consultancy based in Nashville. In this episode, Steve and I discuss the ins and outs of the psychology and quantification of audio. – how to harness the power of sound to shape perception and influence behavior in the new now.Listen to the entire podcast or vlog: The Power of Audio + Science + AI with Jasmine Moradi (https://www.jasminemoradi.com, Spotify, Apple Music & Google Play) Episode 8: Quantifying Audio ROI: - It's time to harness the power of sound by predicting, measuring and optimizing audio assets to shape perception and influence behavior.Soundbites#8.1Steve Keller's journey: from Beethoven to Audio Alchemist. (03:24)#8.2 An Audio Alchemist's mission to blend sound science and sound art to develop valuable sound strategies. (05:32) #8.3 An audio logo is to your ear like a visual logo is to your eye. However, research shows that audio assets significantly outperforms visual assets. (07:44) #8.4 How the power of sound shapes consumer perception and influences consumer behavior.(10:51) #8.5 What are your KPIs for audio? It's time to close the value perception gap by predicting and optimizing the value of audio through quantifying consumer perception, consumer behaviour and brand equity. (16:22) #8.6 The challenges with developing a valuable sound strategy are a) personal preference b) lack of measurement and c) choosing a sound tactic instead of a sound strategy. (35:02) #8. 7 Test! Test! Test! It's time to start measuring the impact of your audio assets, or how many more misfits can you afford? (38:54) #8. 8 Sound Science, the cross modalism case study of Propel: Flavor DJ - a sonic sensploration.(47:01) #8. 9 The future of audio is to harness the power of sound to make a positive difference in the way we hear and experience the world around us. (59:07) Steve KellerSonic Strategy DirectorStudio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXMwww.pandoraforbrands.com/studio-resonate#podcast #audioroi #audiobranding #sound #music #science #stevekeller #jasminemoradi #thepowerofaudioscienceai #pandoraforbrands #sonicbranding ##audiobranding #sthlmmusic #sthlmtech #nordimusictech #audioresearch #soundresearch #soundscientistSupported by STHLM Music City https://www.facebook.com/sthlmmusic/Recorded at the pod booth at the co-working space The Park Södra. https://thepark.se/en/vara-stallen/sodra/podd-i-podden/Music Amazilia Luciae by SkirkAmazilia Luciae by SKIRK https://soundcloud.com/skirkofficialCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Music promoted by FDL Music https://youtu.be/dMvG-OshvJSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-power-of-audio-science-ai. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve Keller: "I think language is one aspect, but I really think the real issue is what I call a value perception gap".My guest today is the one and only Audio Alchemist Steve Keller, Sonic Strategy Director for Studio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXM the largest ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S. Prior to that, Steve was the Founder and CEO of iV, an audio consultancy based in Nashville. In this episode, Steve and I discuss the ins and outs of the psychology and quantification of audio. – how to harness the power of sound to shape perception and influence behavior in the new now.Listen to the entire podcast or vlog: The Power of Audio + Science + AI with Jasmine Moradi (https://www.jasminemoradi.com, Spotify, Apple Music & Google Play) Episode 8: Quantifying Audio ROI: - It's time to harness the power of sound by predicting, measuring and optimizing audio assets to shape perception and influence behavior.Soundbites#8.1Steve Keller's journey: from Beethoven to Audio Alchemist. (03:24)#8.2 An Audio Alchemist's mission to blend sound science and sound art to develop valuable sound strategies. (05:32) #8.3 An audio logo is to your ear like a visual logo is to your eye. However, research shows that audio assets significantly outperforms visual assets. (07:44) #8.4 How the power of sound shapes consumer perception and influences consumer behavior.(10:51) #8.5 What are your KPIs for audio? It's time to close the value perception gap by predicting and optimizing the value of audio through quantifying consumer perception, consumer behaviour and brand equity. (16:22) #8.6 The challenges with developing a valuable sound strategy are a) personal preference b) lack of measurement and c) choosing a sound tactic instead of a sound strategy. (35:02) #8. 7 Test! Test! Test! It's time to start measuring the impact of your audio assets, or how many more misfits can you afford? (38:54) #8. 8 Sound Science, the cross modalism case study of Propel: Flavor DJ - a sonic sensploration.(47:01) #8. 9 The future of audio is to harness the power of sound to make a positive difference in the way we hear and experience the world around us. (59:07) Steve KellerSonic Strategy DirectorStudio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXMwww.pandoraforbrands.com/studio-resonate#podcast #audioroi #audiobranding #sound #music #science #stevekeller #jasminemoradi #thepowerofaudioscienceai #pandoraforbrands #sonicbranding ##audiobranding #sthlmmusic #sthlmtech #nordimusictech #audioresearch #soundresearch #soundscientistSupported by STHLM Music City https://www.facebook.com/sthlmmusic/Recorded at the pod booth at the co-working space The Park Södra. https://thepark.se/en/vara-stallen/sodra/podd-i-podden/Music Amazilia Luciae by SkirkAmazilia Luciae by SKIRK https://soundcloud.com/skirkofficialCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Music promoted by FDL Music https://youtu.be/dMvG-OshvJwSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-power-of-audio-science-ai. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve Keller: "You can pre-test. Let's say a spot that you're going to run on the radio, you can do a pre-test because there are companies out there that now are specializing in this".My guest today is the one and only Audio Alchemist Steve Keller, Sonic Strategy Director for Studio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXM the largest ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S. Prior to that, Steve was the Founder and CEO of iV, an audio consultancy based in Nashville. In this episode, Steve and I discuss the ins and outs of the psychology and quantification of audio. – how to harness the power of sound to shape perception and influence behavior in the new now.Listen to the entire podcast or vlog: The Power of Audio + Science + AI with Jasmine Moradi (https://www.jasminemoradi.com, Spotify, Apple Music & Google Play) Episode 8: Quantifying Audio ROI: - It's time to harness the power of sound by predicting, measuring and optimizing audio assets to shape perception and influence behavior.Soundbites#8.1Steve Keller's journey: from Beethoven to Audio Alchemist. (03:24)#8.2 An Audio Alchemist's mission to blend sound science and sound art to develop valuable sound strategies. (05:32) #8.3 An audio logo is to your ear like a visual logo is to your eye. However, research shows that audio assets significantly outperforms visual assets. (07:44) #8.4 How the power of sound shapes consumer perception and influences consumer behavior.(10:51) #8.5 What are your KPIs for audio? It's time to close the value perception gap by predicting and optimizing the value of audio through quantifying consumer perception, consumer behaviour and brand equity. (16:22) #8.6 The challenges with developing a valuable sound strategy are a) personal preference b) lack of measurement and c) choosing a sound tactic instead of a sound strategy. (35:02) #8. 7 Test! Test! Test! It's time to start measuring the impact of your audio assets, or how many more misfits can you afford? (38:54) #8. 8 Sound Science, the cross modalism case study of Propel: Flavor DJ - a sonic sensploration.(47:01) #8. 9 The future of audio is to harness the power of sound to make a positive difference in the way we hear and experience the world around us. (59:07) Steve KellerSonic Strategy DirectorStudio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXMwww.pandoraforbrands.com/studio-resonate#podcast #audioroi #audiobranding #sound #music #science #stevekeller #jasminemoradi #thepowerofaudioscienceai #pandoraforbrands #sonicbranding ##audiobranding #sthlmmusic #sthlmtech #nordimusictech #audioresearch #soundresearch #soundscientistSupported by STHLM Music City https://www.facebook.com/sthlmmusic/Recorded at the pod booth at the co-working space The Park Södra. https://thepark.se/en/vara-stallen/sodra/podd-i-podden/Music Amazilia Luciae by SkirkAmazilia Luciae by SKIRK https://soundcloud.com/skirkofficialCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Music promoted by FDL Music https://youtu.be/dMvG-OshvJwSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-power-of-audio-science-ai. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve Keller: "We all know what we don't like and that's a problem because we're so used to making decisions about music and sound from our gut even though in reality that's not what's happening".My guest today is the one and only Audio Alchemist Steve Keller, Sonic Strategy Director for Studio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXM the largest ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S. Prior to that, Steve was the Founder and CEO of iV, an audio consultancy based in Nashville. In this episode, Steve and I discuss the ins and outs of the psychology and quantification of audio. – how to harness the power of sound to shape perception and influence behavior in the new now.Listen to the entire podcast or vlog: The Power of Audio + Science + AI with Jasmine Moradi (https://www.jasminemoradi.com, Spotify, Apple Music & Google Play) Episode 8: Quantifying Audio ROI: - It's time to harness the power of sound by predicting, measuring and optimizing audio assets to shape perception and influence behavior.Soundbites#8.1Steve Keller's journey: from Beethoven to Audio Alchemist. (03:24)#8.2 An Audio Alchemist's mission to blend sound science and sound art to develop valuable sound strategies. (05:32) #8.3 An audio logo is to your ear like a visual logo is to your eye. However, research shows that audio assets significantly outperforms visual assets. (07:44) #8.4 How the power of sound shapes consumer perception and influences consumer behavior.(10:51) #8.5 What are your KPIs for audio? It's time to close the value perception gap by predicting and optimizing the value of audio through quantifying consumer perception, consumer behaviour and brand equity. (16:22) #8.6 The challenges with developing a valuable sound strategy are a) personal preference b) lack of measurement and c) choosing a sound tactic instead of a sound strategy. (35:02) #8. 7 Test! Test! Test! It's time to start measuring the impact of your audio assets, or how many more misfits can you afford? (38:54) #8. 8 Sound Science, the cross modalism case study of Propel: Flavor DJ - a sonic sensploration.(47:01) #8. 9 The future of audio is to harness the power of sound to make a positive difference in the way we hear and experience the world around us. (59:07) Steve KellerSonic Strategy DirectorStudio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXMwww.pandoraforbrands.com/studio-resonate#podcast #audioroi #audiobranding #sound #music #science #stevekeller #jasminemoradi #thepowerofaudioscienceai #pandoraforbrands #sonicbranding ##audiobranding #sthlmmusic #sthlmtech #nordimusictech #audioresearch #soundresearch #soundscientistSupported by STHLM Music City https://www.facebook.com/sthlmmusic/Recorded at the pod booth at the co-working space The Park Södra. https://thepark.se/en/vara-stallen/sodra/podd-i-podden/Music Amazilia Luciae by SkirkAmazilia Luciae by SKIRK https://soundcloud.com/skirkofficialCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Music promoted by FDL Music https://youtu.be/dMvG-OshvJwSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-power-of-audio-science-ai. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve Keller: "It is a really pleasurable experience, and it's very addictive. Music is an extremely powerful dopamine trigger. It's one of the reasons why we have particular songs we like to listen to over and over and over again".My guest today is the one and only Audio Alchemist Steve Keller, Sonic Strategy Director for Studio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXM the largest ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S. Prior to that, Steve was the Founder and CEO of iV, an audio consultancy based in Nashville. In this episode, Steve and I discuss the ins and outs of the psychology and quantification of audio. – how to harness the power of sound to shape perception and influence behavior in the new now.Listen to the entire podcast or vlog: The Power of Audio + Science + AI with Jasmine Moradi (https://www.jasminemoradi.com, Spotify, Apple Music & Google Play) Episode 8: Quantifying Audio ROI: - It's time to harness the power of sound by predicting, measuring and optimizing audio assets to shape perception and influence behavior.Soundbites#8.1Steve Keller's journey: from Beethoven to Audio Alchemist. (03:24)#8.2 An Audio Alchemist's mission to blend sound science and sound art to develop valuable sound strategies. (05:32) #8.3 An audio logo is to your ear like a visual logo is to your eye. However, research shows that audio assets significantly outperforms visual assets. (07:44) #8.4 How the power of sound shapes consumer perception and influences consumer behavior.(10:51) #8.5 What are your KPIs for audio? It's time to close the value perception gap by predicting and optimizing the value of audio through quantifying consumer perception, consumer behaviour and brand equity. (16:22) #8.6 The challenges with developing a valuable sound strategy are a) personal preference b) lack of measurement and c) choosing a sound tactic instead of a sound strategy. (35:02) #8. 7 Test! Test! Test! It's time to start measuring the impact of your audio assets, or how many more misfits can you afford? (38:54) #8. 8 Sound Science, the cross modalism case study of Propel: Flavor DJ - a sonic sensploration.(47:01) #8. 9 The future of audio is to harness the power of sound to make a positive difference in the way we hear and experience the world around us. (59:07) Steve KellerSonic Strategy DirectorStudio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXMwww.pandoraforbrands.com/studio-resonate#podcast #audioroi #audiobranding #sound #music #science #stevekeller #jasminemoradi #thepowerofaudioscienceai #pandoraforbrands #sonicbranding ##audiobranding #sthlmmusic #sthlmtech #nordimusictech #audioresearch #soundresearch #soundscientistSupported by STHLM Music City https://www.facebook.com/sthlmmusic/Recorded at the pod booth at the co-working space The Park Södra. https://thepark.se/en/vara-stallen/sodra/podd-i-podden/Music Amazilia Luciae by SkirkAmazilia Luciae by SKIRK https://soundcloud.com/skirkofficialCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Music promoted by FDL Music https://youtu.be/dMvG-OshvJwSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-power-of-audio-science-ai. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve Keller: "Same thing with an audio logo as it is usually based on sound design. It could be a few notes that's part of a simple melody, but it's designed to be a very short sonic representation of the brand".My guest today is the one and only Audio Alchemist Steve Keller, Sonic Strategy Director for Studio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXM the largest ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S. Prior to that, Steve was the Founder and CEO of iV, an audio consultancy based in Nashville. In this episode, Steve and I discuss the ins and outs of the psychology and quantification of audio. – how to harness the power of sound to shape perception and influence behavior in the new now.Listen to the entire podcast or vlog: The Power of Audio + Science + AI with Jasmine Moradi (https://www.jasminemoradi.com, Spotify, Apple Music & Google Play) Episode 8: Quantifying Audio ROI: - It's time to harness the power of sound by predicting, measuring and optimizing audio assets to shape perception and influence behavior.Soundbites#8.1Steve Keller's journey: from Beethoven to Audio Alchemist. (03:24)#8.2 An Audio Alchemist's mission to blend sound science and sound art to develop valuable sound strategies. (05:32) #8.3 An audio logo is to your ear like a visual logo is to your eye. However, research shows that audio assets significantly outperforms visual assets. (07:44) #8.4 How the power of sound shapes consumer perception and influences consumer behavior.(10:51) #8.5 What are your KPIs for audio? It's time to close the value perception gap by predicting and optimizing the value of audio through quantifying consumer perception, consumer behaviour and brand equity. (16:22) #8.6 The challenges with developing a valuable sound strategy are a) personal preference b) lack of measurement and c) choosing a sound tactic instead of a sound strategy. (35:02) #8. 7 Test! Test! Test! It's time to start measuring the impact of your audio assets, or how many more misfits can you afford? (38:54) #8. 8 Sound Science, the cross modalism case study of Propel: Flavor DJ - a sonic sensploration.(47:01) #8. 9 The future of audio is to harness the power of sound to make a positive difference in the way we hear and experience the world around us. (59:07) Steve KellerSonic Strategy DirectorStudio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXMwww.pandoraforbrands.com/studio-resonate#podcast #audioroi #audiobranding #sound #music #science #stevekeller #jasminemoradi #thepowerofaudioscienceai #pandoraforbrands #sonicbranding ##audiobranding #sthlmmusic #sthlmtech #nordimusictech #audioresearch #soundresearch #soundscientistSupported by STHLM Music City https://www.facebook.com/sthlmmusic/Recorded at the pod booth at the co-working space The Park Södra. https://thepark.se/en/vara-stallen/sodra/podd-i-podden/Music Amazilia Luciae by SkirkAmazilia Luciae by SKIRK https://soundcloud.com/skirkofficialCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Music promoted by FDL Music https://youtu.be/dMvG-OshvJwSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-power-of-audio-science-ai. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve Keller: "I'm educating our clients and hopefully the world through opportunities and conversations about the power of sound. To think about it more as a strategy than simply a tactic".My guest today is the one and only Audio Alchemist Steve Keller, Sonic Strategy Director for Studio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXM the largest ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S. Prior to that, Steve was the Founder and CEO of iV, an audio consultancy based in Nashville. In this episode, Steve and I discuss the ins and outs of the psychology and quantification of audio. – how to harness the power of sound to shape perception and influence behavior in the new now.Listen to the entire podcast or vlog: The Power of Audio + Science + AI with Jasmine Moradi (https://www.jasminemoradi.com, Spotify, Apple Music & Google Play) Episode 8: Quantifying Audio ROI: - It's time to harness the power of sound by predicting, measuring and optimizing audio assets to shape perception and influence behavior.Soundbites#8.1Steve Keller's journey: from Beethoven to Audio Alchemist. (03:24)#8.2 An Audio Alchemist's mission to blend sound science and sound art to develop valuable sound strategies. (05:32) #8.3 An audio logo is to your ear like a visual logo is to your eye. However, research shows that audio assets significantly outperforms visual assets. (07:44) #8.4 How the power of sound shapes consumer perception and influences consumer behavior.(10:51) #8.5 What are your KPIs for audio? It's time to close the value perception gap by predicting and optimizing the value of audio through quantifying consumer perception, consumer behaviour and brand equity. (16:22) #8.6 The challenges with developing a valuable sound strategy are a) personal preference b) lack of measurement and c) choosing a sound tactic instead of a sound strategy. (35:02) #8. 7 Test! Test! Test! It's time to start measuring the impact of your audio assets, or how many more misfits can you afford? (38:54) #8. 8 Sound Science, the cross modalism case study of Propel: Flavor DJ - a sonic sensploration.(47:01) #8. 9 The future of audio is to harness the power of sound to make a positive difference in the way we hear and experience the world around us. (59:07) Steve KellerSonic Strategy DirectorStudio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXMwww.pandoraforbrands.com/studio-resonate#podcast #audioroi #audiobranding #sound #music #science #stevekeller #jasminemoradi #thepowerofaudioscienceai #pandoraforbrands #sonicbranding ##audiobranding #sthlmmusic #sthlmtech #nordimusictech #audioresearch #soundresearch #soundscientistSupported by STHLM Music City https://www.facebook.com/sthlmmusic/Recorded at the pod booth at the co-working space The Park Södra. https://thepark.se/en/vara-stallen/sodra/podd-i-podden/Music Amazilia Luciae by SkirkAmazilia Luciae by SKIRK https://soundcloud.com/skirkofficialCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Music promoted by FDL Music https://youtu.be/dMvG-OshvJwSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-power-of-audio-science-ai. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve Keller: "I picked up a guitar when I was in junior high school and in high school I started writing songs because it was a great way to meet girls, but I never thought about it as career".My guest today is the one and only Audio Alchemist Steve Keller, Sonic Strategy Director for Studio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXM the largest ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S. Prior to that, Steve was the Founder and CEO of iV, an audio consultancy based in Nashville. In this episode, Steve and I discuss the ins and outs of the psychology and quantification of audio. – how to harness the power of sound to shape perception and influence behavior in the new now.Listen to the entire podcast or vlog: The Power of Audio + Science + AI with Jasmine Moradi (https://www.jasminemoradi.com, Spotify, Apple Music & Google Play) Episode 8: Quantifying Audio ROI: - It's time to harness the power of sound by predicting, measuring and optimizing audio assets to shape perception and influence behavior.Soundbites#8.1Steve Keller's journey: from Beethoven to Audio Alchemist. (03:24)#8.2 An Audio Alchemist's mission to blend sound science and sound art to develop valuable sound strategies. (05:32) #8.3 An audio logo is to your ear like a visual logo is to your eye. However, research shows that audio assets significantly outperforms visual assets. (07:44) #8.4 How the power of sound shapes consumer perception and influences consumer behavior.(10:51) #8.5 What are your KPIs for audio? It's time to close the value perception gap by predicting and optimizing the value of audio through quantifying consumer perception, consumer behaviour and brand equity. (16:22) #8.6 The challenges with developing a valuable sound strategy are a) personal preference b) lack of measurement and c) choosing a sound tactic instead of a sound strategy. (35:02) #8. 7 Test! Test! Test! It's time to start measuring the impact of your audio assets, or how many more misfits can you afford? (38:54) #8. 8 Sound Science, the cross modalism case study of Propel: Flavor DJ - a sonic sensploration.(47:01) #8. 9 The future of audio is to harness the power of sound to make a positive difference in the way we hear and experience the world around us. (59:07) Steve KellerSonic Strategy DirectorStudio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXMwww.pandoraforbrands.com/studio-resonate#podcast #audioroi #audiobranding #sound #music #science #stevekeller #jasminemoradi #thepowerofaudioscienceai #pandoraforbrands #sonicbranding ##audiobranding #sthlmmusic #sthlmtech #nordimusictech #audioresearch #soundresearch #soundscientist Supported by STHLM Music City https://www.facebook.com/sthlmmusic/Recorded at the pod booth at the co-working space The Park Södra. https://thepark.se/en/vara-stallen/sodra/podd-i-podden/Music Amazilia Luciae by SkirkAmazilia Luciae by SKIRK https://soundcloud.com/skirkofficialCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Music promoted by FDL Music https://youtu.be/dMvG-OshvJwSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-power-of-audio-science-ai. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest today is the one and only Audio Alchemist Steve Keller, Sonic Strategy Director for Studio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXM the largest ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S. Prior to that, Steve was the Founder and CEO of iV, an audio consultancy based in Nashville. In this episode, Steve and I discuss the ins and outs of the psychology and quantification of audio. – how to harness the power of sound to shape perception and influence behavior in the new now.Listen to the entire podcast or vlog: The Power of Audio + Science + AI with Jasmine Moradi (https://www.jasminemoradi.com, Spotify, Apple Music & Google Play) Episode 8: Quantifying Audio ROI: - It's time to harness the power of sound by predicting, measuring and optimizing audio assets to shape perception and influence behavior.Soundbites#8.1Steve Keller's journey: from Beethoven to Audio Alchemist. (03:24)#8.2 An Audio Alchemist's mission to blend sound science and sound art to develop valuable sound strategies. (05:32) #8.3 An audio logo is to your ear like a visual logo is to your eye. However, research shows that audio assets significantly outperforms visual assets. (07:44) #8.4 How the power of sound shapes consumer perception and influences consumer behavior.(10:51) #8.5 What are your KPIs for audio? It's time to close the value perception gap by predicting and optimizing the value of audio through quantifying consumer perception, consumer behaviour and brand equity. (16:22) #8.6 The challenges with developing a valuable sound strategy are a) personal preference b) lack of measurement and c) choosing a sound tactic instead of a sound strategy. (35:02) #8. 7 Test! Test! Test! It's time to start measuring the impact of your audio assets, or how many more misfits can you afford? (38:54) #8. 8 Sound Science, the cross modalism case study of Propel: Flavor DJ - a sonic sensploration.(47:01) #8. 9 The future of audio is to harness the power of sound to make a positive difference in the way we hear and experience the world around us. (59:07) Steve KellerSonic Strategy DirectorStudio Resonate at Pandora/SiriusXMwww.pandoraforbrands.com/studio-resonate#podcast #audioroi #audiobranding #sound #music #science #stevekeller #jasminemoradi #thepowerofaudioscienceai #pandoraforbrands #sonicbranding ##audiobranding #sthlmmusic #sthlmtech #nordimusictech #audioresearch #soundresearch #soundscientist Supported by STHLM Music City https://www.facebook.com/sthlmmusic/Recorded at the pod booth at the co-working space The Park Södra. https://thepark.se/en/vara-stallen/sodra/podd-i-podden/Music Amazilia Luciae by SkirkAmazilia Luciae by SKIRK https://soundcloud.com/skirkofficialCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Music promoted by FDL Music https://youtu.be/dMvG-OshvJwSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-power-of-audio-science-ai. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve Keller is Sonic Strategy Director for Studio Resonate at Pandora (a subsidiary of SiriusXM, and the largest ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S.). Prior to joining Pandora, Steve was the founder and CEO of iV, an audio consultancy based in Nashville that specialized in the strategy, content, research and management necessary for successful audio branding initiatives. What role can sound play in a brands expression? What does a brands "voice" really mean and what opportunities are there to develop it? What are some of the best brands when it comes to leveraging a sound strategy?  Steve is recognized as one of the leading experts in the field of sonic strategy and identity. With a head for data and a heart for sonic expression, he actively engages in collaborative research projects, exploring the power of sound to shape our perceptions and influence our behavior. Recent experiments include an examination of the relationship between sound and taste (conducted with Oxford's Crossmodal Research Laboratory), an exploration into the existence of audio archetypes (conducted with Goldsmiths University London), demonstrating the effects of source bias on evaluations of music aesthetics and worth (conducted with Technische Universität Berlin), and how music, soundscapes and noise in healthcare environments affect patience outcomes and satisfaction (with Oxford's Charles Spence).  He is the 2017 recipient of the iHeartMedia Scholarship for Leadership in Audio Innovation, and is currently completing an Executive MBA through the Berlin School of Creative Leadership, where his thesis is focusing on racialized listening, the existence of a "sonic color line," and its impact on marketing and industry practices, particularly in the context of voice casting. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/success-made-to-last-legends--4302039/support.

Steve Keller is Sonic Strategy Director for Studio Resonate, Pandora's audio-first creative consultancy. He is recognized as one of the world's leading experts in the field of sonic identity, blending art and science into award-winning audio strategies and creative content for a variety of global agencies and brands. We discuss the importance of original composition, sonic branding, sonic logos, and the importance of sonic style guides and the increasing presence of sound design in personal branding, podcasting, etc.  Edited Version - Unedited available on Youtube 9/9/20 Original Music by Tom Orsi  

For Steve Keller, audio branding seamlessly blends together the three overarching passions in his life: music, psychology, and marketing. Steve had a passion for music from a young age but never considered it as a career. He became fascinated with and obtained his college degree in psychology. During what some may consider a “gap year” before he had planned to pursue a master's degree and Ph.D., Steve decided to go in a different direction and ultimately found himself producing music in Nashville, Tenessee. While there, he discovered his passion for marketing and advertising. In 2005, all three passions came together as he began to delve into the world of audio branding. Steve now works for Studio Resonate, Pandora's in-house consultancy for advertisers. In the first part of our conversation, we discussed Steve's three passions and some of the research he has done, as well as: Starting the audio consultancy iV (http://www.ivaudiobranding.com (http://www.ivaudiobranding.com)) How Steve and iV began developing the sonic identity for Pandora Measuring KPIs and return on sonic investments The importance of developing the sonic piece of brand recognition at the beginning of the branding process, not at the end Understanding the entire ecosystem of a brand How audio influences buyer behavior Steve's work with Studio Resonate Cross-modal hacking to influence consumers' perception of flavor not only with taste but also with sound (this part blew my mind!) How sound affects our body's release of dopamine and oxytocin How biases influence our decision-making processes You can find more information about Steve Keller at http://www.studioresonate.com (www.studioresonate.com), or you can follow him on Twitter at @AudioAlchemist_ (that underscore is important). You can also find him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevekeller1/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevekeller1/). This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/ (http://www.humbertofranco.com/)). Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here's the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 (https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453)  And if you like what you hear (and read!) - please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!