Love Radio and Podcasts? Audible Channels is Changing What’s Possible in On-Demand Audio

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First there was radio, then there were podcasts, now there’s Audible Channels upping the game regarding what’s possible in on-demand audio.

Audio comedy has existed for as long as the ability to record and broadcast sound has been around. The earliest ways to share stand-up comedy, sketch comedy, and even vaudeville came with the inventions of the radio and the phonograph in 1877 and 1880. The tools of transmission changed over the years; we now have satellite radio, and the vinyl album gave way to the CD and digital recordings, but for roughly 125 years, we listened to comedy primarily through some form of radio, and some form of album. If you wanted to be heard, someone had to hire you, or sign you to a distribution deal.

It took roughly 125 years for there to be a change in the way people listened to comedy and somewhere around 2004, podcasting became a thing. It’s been a little over a decade since the birth of the comedy podcast, and the ensuing explosion has literally changed the business. Anyone who could figure out some basic tech could have a podcast and find listeners. Podcasts have become an important way for comedians to help raise their profile, plug their projects, and earn revenue, and the few comedians who aren’t hosting a podcast (or two or three), are appearing as guests on someone else’s podcast. Of course, the downside to the free access to becoming a broadcaster, is that quality can really take a hit.

Audible has just released a new slate of all-audio comedy programming, and they may have just changed the on-demand audio game. Similar to podcasts, Audible’s new Channels platform offers new content, that is updated frequently, and you can access it right from your phone. You can stream Audible shows anywhere you can connect to the internet, or download the content and save it for later. It’s as easy as listening to a podcast. But that’s where the similarities end. While recognizing that it’s great to have a medium where anyone can participate, Audible wants to create a different level of programming, marked by high production values, A-list talent, proper editing, multiple voices and shorter run times.

Will Rogers, co-founder of Audible’s Rooftop Media is in charge of comedy content. “A fantastic thing about podcasting has been that the technical bar is really low. You can produce the equivalent of a radio interview, do it from the comfort of your own kitchen, and have comics talking interview-style with other comics,” Rogers explained. “Our aim is to enable comedians to expand the range of what’s creatively possible and to produce for comedy fans of spoken word audio programming that is dynamic, compelling and entertaining throughout.”

The key here is production. The basic comedy podcast model puts together funny people talking, interview or panel style. Although podcasters may sometimes play clips, there’s not a lot of editing. That’s not a bad thing, but it is limiting. “What we’re aiming to do is create programming that sounds different than a more straight ahead interview style program,” Rogers told us. An example of something that sounds different is Nick Offerman’s Bedtime Stories for Cynics which Rogers described as an “immersive twisted fairy tale universe.” Another program, Sounds Like America, combines “a very kinetic set of voices talking about a particular subject matter and weaving high end sound design and production qualities throughout.” Audible also offers Limelight, a series that weaves together material on a narrow topic from comedians in clubs all over the country, giving listeners the unique chance to hear a lot more local comics from across the country, all tied together with narration from a headlining comic. “It’s that type of programming that you’re going to hear more and more of as we start to roll additional series out.”  Audible’s content goes beyond stream of consciousness, beyond two or more comedians sitting and talking about their first blowjobs, or how high they were the night before, the state of politics or the latest viral video.

There’s also a difference in sound quality. The vast majority of podcasts are based on a Do-it-Yourself business model which usually means low budget, low cost, and low programming, and questionable sound quality. We’ve come to accept the rougher sound, even excuse it as charming, but nobody prefers subpar sound. Audible eliminates those problems completely. Imagine taking the buildings blocks set up by the podcast community and making them elegant, adding more creative elements, production teams and polish. We all love the rawness of podcasts, but it’s exciting to know that there are providers dedicated to improving the audio experience.

You get to keep the experience of having entertainment with you anytime, anywhere, but with actual programming value, curation, and selectivity. It’s next level, and it’s exciting. Imagine where we’ll be in another ten years.

Listen on Audible Channels, offering original audio shows, news, comedy and more, exclusively in the Audible app, which you can download right here! Read more about Audible Channels here, where you can get the best streaming and downloadable comedy audio on demand!

Read more from our partners at Audible here!