YouTube Music’s TikTokification, lessons from the gaming industry, and upcoming audio events

From placing their bets on mergers with tech giants to investing in AI, Digiday captures the state of the current market. 

• The Snapshot: the executives from the companies seem to realize that AI is here to stay. Most of the execs pay homage to this by mentioning how AI tools can benefit their growth, either through fostering communities or through content creation. 

  • “The very nature of our platform will benefit from AI tools and content creation, and we’re uniquely able to enable creators to make things where worlds come alive, or digital twins come alive, in ways that were never possible before,” said Unity’s CEO John S. Riccitello.

• The Vibe: the companies recognize that a combination of the rise of AI and current economic conditions means they might have to consider new business models. 

  • “Generative AI drove significant upside and demand for our products, creating opportunities and broad-based global growth across our markets,” reported NVIDIA’s CFO Collette Kress on the company’s Q1 2023 Earnings Call.  

• The Lessons: for those of us in audio, there might be a few lessons here: 

  • Let go of the labels. We might consider blurring the lines between labels that define audio like podcasts, audiobooks, or music to create projects. This is likely to encourage innovation and collaboration. 

  • Use what we have. AI, however polarizing it can seem to be, can be a useful tool in audio creation and marketing. Riverside.fm posted a 3-minute video on using AI for production. 

  • Pivot. Quite simply, consider monetization and income sources out of the ordinary. For the independent creators, this might mean working with their resources to get creative about audience growth. 

• This was just a summary. Read the complete article by Digiday’s Alexander Lee here. 

Meanwhile, YouTube Stories will be discontinued, starting June 26.  

• Yoube Samples: the new vertical scrolling feed  on YouTube Music is reportedly called ‘YouTube Samples.’ Users have been reporting seeing this vertical feed popping up on their YT Music apps. 

• Bye, Bye, Stories: YouTube’s Stories feature, a direct copy of the Instagram Stories feature, is reportedly going away. TechCrunch notes that this feature might have lost its’ charm in the “wake of TikTok’s rise.” Essentially, TikTok’s vertical scrolling feed which allows users to sample content before diving in is gaining popularity. 

  • Earlier this year, Spotify also rolled out a similar feature for music, podcasts, and audiobooks on the app. 

• Hello, RSS:  YouTube also seems to be testing RSS feeds for podcasts. This will allow podcasters to publish audio straight from their podcast hosting providers, instead of manually uploading recordings to the platform. 

• Podcasting: The Black Podcasting Awards are accepting nominations until July 31. Creators can enter their work(s) in up to five categories. 

• Gaming: The TwitchCon is happening in Paris on July 8 – 9. 

• Audio: Recordical’s Meet the Creators webinar is happening on May 31. Disclaimer: yours truly is one of the hosts.