The Latest: Apple News+ joins the audio article trend (May 18, 2020)
By: Tesnim Zekeria
Tags: Journalism, Radio, Media, Audio, The Latest

The Latest: Apple News+ joins the audio article trend (May 18, 2020)

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THE NEWS

Apple is asking publishers on Apple News+ for permission to create audio versions of some of their stories. According to Digiday, publishers will be compensated 50% of subscriber revenue based on how much time users spend with the content (the same way revenue is split for written content). Apple will also cover all production costs and audio articles will be hosted exclusively on its platform.

SO WHAT

Apple is joining a long list of publishers and platforms that are producing audio versions of articles to reach audiences and retain readers. Audio articles are convenient and accessible, hence their appeal with readers. As The Atlantic’s head of partnerships Kim Lau told News Media Alliance: “Audio articles are about convenience and delivering content in a way that works best for our readers.”

For the past few years, a number of publishers and platforms have been investing in producing their own audio stories. Some, like The Washington Post and Financial Times, have experimented with text-to-speech AI services like Amazon Polly. (In 2017, the Financial Times built a “subscriber-only podcast player of audio articles.” The app shut down in 2018). HBR partnered with the audio news app Noa in June 2019 and has so far converted 50 articles into news narrations. Last fall, Google rolled out a new Google Assistant feature that uses an algorithm to deliver users a custom-build audio news stream. Google’s product manager of audio news told The Verge that the company hopes to foster an “audio web” ecosystem.

The New York Times made a significant investment in the space two months ago when it acquired Audm, a subscription-based audio news startup that produces audio articles for publishers including The Atlantic and The New Yorker. Since launching in 2016, Audm has acquired 20,000 subscribers to its app. Currently, The Times is using Audm to host “The Sunday Read” — a new segment of The Daily show that features read-aloud essays from The Times’ more recent archive to give listeners a brief respite from COVID-19 coverage (read our Q&A with The Times’ Theo Balcomb to learn more about the company’s audio efforts).

Zetland, a Danish digital magazine featured in NiemanReports, has taken the audio article concept further than perhaps anyone: It offers audio playlists on its app that start with a conversational podcast and transitions into audio articles. Zetland co-founder Hakon Mosbech says that these playlists function as a radio: users open the app, press play, and listen until the end of their commute.

Publishers have seen positive returns on their investments so far — which suggests either that listening to articles is a convenient or even preferred way for some audiences to consume their content. Mosbech told NiemanReports that the “average completion rate for an audio story is 90%.” HBR began working with Noa upon realizing that it was missing out on “busy would-be readers.” Maureen Hoch, editor of HBR.org, told NiemanReports: “If you don’t have the time to sit down and read a feature article in the latest issue of the magazine, we’re trying to deliver you something that makes it easier to get that.”

LOOK FOR

The creation of new and innovative publisher digital audio experiences. With more audio articles, publishers have the potential to expand their audio presences and build editorially curated audio news feeds (both on their apps and sites). Partnerships with audio journalism apps also present opportunities to capture new audiences. One reason HBR was excited to work with Noa, according to NiemanReports, “was the company’s potential to work with Land Rover and Jaguar to get their audio into connected cars” and curate content based on location.

Look specifically for how Audm fits into The New York Times’ audio strategy. While Audm will continue publishing audio stories for its partners, HotPod’s Nicholas Quah suggests that perhaps Audm will contribute to the creation of a Times-owned audio product. Bleacher Report’s Noah Chestnut takes it one step further and posits, “What if the NYT was just a play button?”

And finally, look for how audience responses to the usage of playlists, especially ones designed to evoke a radio listening experience. Playlists aren’t entirely new in the narrative audio space, but they are still a relatively fledgling experience. Smart speaker news briefings have been around for just over five years, while Spotify just launched Podcast Playlists earlier this year.