Todd Cochrane: Podcasting in the Age of AI

Blubrry's CEO Todd Cochrane is back once again this week, and
this time he's got a new toy he's eager to share: The Thrive
bundle, Blubrry's first major foray into AI integration for
podcasters. We begin by going over what exactly the Thrive bundle
offers its users, including various AI-powered tools to help
podcasters with tasks like episode planning, production, social
media clips, and email.


For those who fear AI will run the world someday, worry not.
Anyone who's used the current suite of online AI tools certainly
knows they're not a replacement for human input by any means, and
the Thrive bundle isn't trying to be. Todd explains that the AI
tools are simply designed to streamline the podcast production
workflow, giving users a jumping-off point to help create show
notes, descriptions, and other metadata quickly. We do, however,
touch on the valid concern that people may attempt to create
fully AI-generated podcasts using voice data, or replace sections
of their podcasts with AI voiceover and pretend they didn't. The
Thrive bundle doesn't provide these tools to begin with, but Todd
also emphasizes the importance of full disclosure to the audience
whenever AI tools are integrated in any form, a sentiment we at
The Sound Off Media Company fully agree with.


We also discuss Blubrry's competition in the AI field, and what
makes the Thrive bundle stand apart in a sea of rushed-to-market
AI tools, from its price to its comprehensive toolkit. If you,
like me, are growing tired of paying for 6 different AI
assistants and using maybe 20% of each one, the Thrive bundle may
be the option for you.


We take a slightly different direction in the latter half of the
episode, moving to the topic of podcast discovery. Google's AI
integration for its search engine is already making it trickier
to find correct information quickly (see the "put glue on your
pizza" incident), and Todd believes having a rich suite of
metadata and SEO skills will continue to grow ever more important
as time goes on.


PROTIP: One of the podcasts Todd listens to on a regular basis to
stay on top of AI is The Artificial Intelligence Show.


A Transcript and video version of the episode is available on the
network page.


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Thanks to the following organizations for supporting the
show:


Nlogic - TV & Radio Audience Data Solutions


Mary Anne Ivison at Ivison Voice. - Make her the female
voice of your radio station.


Matt Fogarty Voiceovers - It's great to have Matt back for
2024 supporting our show. Make him the imaging voice for
your radio station by contacting him through his website.


Megatrax - Licensed Music for your radio station or podcast
production company.


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