‘Audio should operate without needing crutches’

The e4m Golden Mikes Radio & Audio Conference 2024 saw a panel of industry heads – Mantra Mugdh, Founder & Director, MnM Talkies Podcasts; Rajesh Tahil, Founder, Audiomatic; Anuraag Srivastava, Managing Director, Rainshine Entertainment; Gaurav Dagaonkar, Co-founder & CEO, Hoopr.ai sit for a panel discussion chaired by Nikhil Mirchandani, Former CEO, Vishal Bharadwaj Films & Founder, Hoop Entertainment – discuss various aspects of creating and distributing successful podcasts.

At the e4m Golden Mikes conference, Tahil spoke on the shift of podcasts to vodcasts, and the audio medium being integrated with the video especially during and after the pandemic.

“Newer markets tend to latch on to whatever is easier and more convenient. And in some ways, video, the omnipresence of YouTube, et cetera, is more convenient. But if you look at it in the long run, the key strengths that the audio medium has, that the podcast medium has, two people sitting on a couch and talking exploits won't reach even the extent of 1% of it,” he said. “Therefore, this is a minor diversion in the journey. We continue to be very gung-ho about why the core strength of podcasting and the core strength of being able to bring this plurality of content will result in long-term success.”

Mugdh highlighted the various genres of audio content and podcasts and which ones work the best, in terms of reach and listens. “Self-help is right on top. People want to be told how to live their lives. And that section has done well. Mythology works tremendously well, almost the top five of any top 10 podcasts would be the Gita Saar. Because in India, mythology is self-help for the young and restless.”

There is a vast variety of audio content catering to diverse audiences, some even being as niche as discussing the ins and outs of the aroma world. The panellists mutually agreed that good content works irrespective of the genre/topic.

In this regard, Srivastava shared, “If you're a creator with a slant or a talent of a particular genre, then you have to do what you have to do. If you happen to be one step above that or can do that or have the ability to do that, you also want to associate with other creators who you can work with and say, ‘for this year, I want to do self-help, but next year I predict the Ram Mandir being inaugurated and then I will do three religious shows’. Why is that the wrong way to think?”

“If I have a series of podcasts scheduled for December when there are certain cricket shows, why not? It's a little bit of that. I’m differentiating between creative and commercial and they can be married without really compromising beyond a point.”

The discussion then moved to the role and importance of music as well as sound effects while creating audio content of any kind.

“Music plays a very important role. The awareness of using copyright safe music is increasing. The last part is the sound effects part of it. I think it's a mixed bag. There are a lot of people who love using sound effects since it enhances the emotion. The flip side of it is where a lot of people believe that their content is sacrosanct. They don't want that ting-toong sound,” opined Dagaonkar.

“But if you're going to repurpose your content, like let's say you've done a 30-minute chat and you're going to cut it in four exciting 30-second gems, one could be motivational, one could be comedy, one could be an emotional story, you will require music and sound in it.”

Mugdh added to the discussion, “We invested in binaural microphones to record our own folly and sound effects. You're sitting and listening and there's a character that has entered in the scene and there's been a door knock, I guarantee you, you will get up and open your own door because the sound effect is so powerfully recorded. It makes you feel as if there's somebody outside your door. That's the power of folly. That's the power of sound effects. And how you can enhance a scene through music is exactly the way to do it. It will become almost a norm very soon.”

Mirchandi moved the session along by posing this question to Srivastava, “When you make a commissioned podcast, you can almost assure that it's profitable. How do you ensure commercial viability, on something that you might make that you funded it yourself? However low your cost barrier and your entry barrier might be, what is the way a podcast maker can go about trying to deliver some ROI on his investment?”

Srivastava answered how whenever they have made their own content, they have banked on the video model and monetized through the YouTube CPMs and so on.

“If you're making your own content, the IP is yours. Theoretically, you could stream it in as many places as you wish, in whatever formats as you wish. And therefore, it makes sense for you to therefore put it on multiple platforms and hope that those platforms will pay you something. That something right now is abysmally low. And therefore, unfortunately, they don't add up enough to a number, which really incentivizes decent or good quality content. It incentivizes an individual content creator who's sitting all alone from putting one out. But if you have to hire a small team and use good sound design, it's a struggle. The cost goes up beyond what you will monetize.”

Mugdh showed his excitement about the future of the audio medium. He said that he can't disclose the entities but there is work being done to bring the same format that incentivizes video content to the audio fraternity.

“I think that the world is going to go crazy. Similar format will be applied into the audio fraternity. All I say is my brethren of the audio community, believe in your medium.
Believe in audio. You don't need to piggyback on video productions just to run your audio content.”

The panellists then discussed the impact of prominent film stars on the success of projects. They debated whether having well-known celebrities genuinely contributes to higher numbers compared to projects featuring non-celebrities.

Tahil stated, “It has worked but it is a complicated question to answer because platforms have different objectives when they make these demands. Left to us, would we rather bring native talent on the show than a film star who's already doing 30 other things? I think all of us will agree. We would rather bring native talent. And native talent has worked for us much better and far superior. There's no question that it makes a difference but if the platform says that they want to put up a billboard with Mr. Bachchan's face on it, we have no argument against that.”

“What we want is that for the medium should be able to operate without needing some crutches, and we think it can.”

The session ended with the panelists discussing the importance of marketing audio productions with the same intensity as films, video productions or books.