Descript, the latest startup from Groupon founder Andrew Mason, has been building audio transcription and editing tools for podcasting. The company has announced $15 million in funding and acquisition of Lyrebird, another audio-tool startup out of Canada. That’s not all: Overdub, a new feature for Descript, allows people to “create ‘templates’ of their voices that they can in turn use to create audio based on words that they type.”
Ingrid Lunden reports for TechCrunch that the addition’s “non-technical emphasis” on “drag-and-drop tools” allows podcasters to engineer sound without the background training. Amidst today’s “fake news aided and abetted by technology,” Overdub’s voice-imitation capability evokes reasonable concern. Mason outlines the feature’s safeguards against foul play, adding, “Part of our role is to create awareness of the possibilities. Your voice is your identity, and you need to own that voice. It’s an issue of privacy, basically.”
Spotify’s Sound Up accelerator program has returned for its second year. Designed to “uplift and amplify the voices of women of color,” Sound Up addresses the problem of low representation in the space. Only 22% of American podcasts are hosted by women, and even fewer by minority women.
10 applicants were selected out of thousands for this year’s week-long class. Sessions concluded at Spotify’s New York offices with a competitive pitch session. At the end, “Christina Orlando, Janae Burris, Shayla Martin and SK” were awarded $10,000 each to fund their proposed podcasts, produced and featured on the platform.
“The women that come through these doors continue to amaze us with what they have to say,” reflected Spotify’s Natalie Tulloch. “The participants have unique backgrounds, personal stories, and pivotal experiences that others resonate with, and we’re thrilled to give them the chance to share it with the world.”
Supercast, a new platform “built specifically to help podcasters generate subscription revenue,” aims to rival Patreon within the podcasting industry. Podcast Business Journal spoke to founder Aidan Hornsby, who plans to simplify the process for creators to realize subscription revenue.
“As we dug into listener, download, and revenue numbers, we realized subscription podcasting is one of the best business models we’ve ever seen,” Hornsby explains. Find out why he thinks consumers will buy into the model, how it differs from Patreon, and exactly how podcasters will be paid in the interview.
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