WorldwideUKIrelandAustraliamore
media.info

Shout To Me promises to get listener voices on-air

By James Cridland for media.info
Posted 20 September 2016, 8.11pm edt





An interesting new product has found its way into my press release inbox - news@media.info - that promises to add many more voices of listeners on-air.

The product appears quite neat: listeners record messages, and the software performs speech-to-text conversion to allow radio stations to quickly read, categorise and select clips to air.

Clips can also be shared on social media, and used as geo-targeted audio push-notification on mobile.

The product was actually launched last year; but is now being promoted by audio sales company AdLarge Media. My guess is that the product will be funded by radio stations bartering airtime to sell, which is a popular way for US radio to pay for products and services.

A simple and straight-forward way to get audio from listeners - perhaps to enhance automated output - is certainly worthwhile looking at.

Doing a little research, it appears that you could reproduce some of the smarts of this service by using Google's Cloud Speech API. 24 hours of speech recognition per month costs around US$35 (£26; AUD$46). As an aside, that price means that you could run speech-recognition across your entire station output for a maximum of about US$1,100 per month. I wonder what you could do with that...

Press Release

ADLARGE MEDIA INTRODUCES "SHOUT TO ME," AN AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT AND REVENUE GENERATION PLATFORM THAT REVOLUTIONIZES THE CALL-IN EXPERIENCE

New York, NY – September 20, 2016 – AdLarge Media is proud to introduce Shout To Me, an audience engagement platform that supercharges traditional call-in lines and revolutionizes the way radio stations interact with their listeners. Shout To Me leverages sophisticated tools to intelligently process listener-recorded audio clips -- called shouts -- and make them available for radio stations to use on-air and online.

Listeners can record shouts using the station’s existing call-in line or smartphone application. Once recorded, the Shout To Me platform:

  • Instantly converts the audio to text, saving producers and screeners from needing to listen to each one
  • Intelligently categorizes and tags the shouts, so station staff can quickly find the best ones to use on-air
  • Provides tools to share the shouts online, on the station’s website, or via social media feeds

Broadcasters can also record their own shouts and, using Shout to Me’s advanced geo-targeting capabilities, push them out to mobile users to:

  • Enhance local advertising campaigns
  • Warn drivers about problems on the roadways
  • Connect with listeners at sporting events or concerts

“The more stations engage with their audience, the more they can increase the time that listeners spend and interact with the station, and that attracts sponsors and increases revenue,” said Jessica Sherman Senior Director, Affiliate Marketing for AdLarge Media. “Shout to Me connects radio stations directly to their audiences wherever they may be.”

“Anyone in radio programming knows listeners have always loved hearing their own voices on the air,” added John Coulter, Co-Founder of Shout To Me. "Our interactive audio platform enhances the listener experience and drives meaningful engagement with the listener’s favorite radio stations. Response during our rollout has been extremely encouraging and it became clear the next step was to partner with an industry-leading affiliate and ad sales organization. We feel very fortunate to be working with AdLarge Media, who shares our excitement and enthusiasm around the Shout to Me opportunity.”

“Shout To Me opens a whole new world of on-air and online sponsorship opportunities,” said Frank DeSantis, Vice President, Business Development for AdLarge Media. “It will definitely make an impact on radio station advertising as we roll it out nationally.”

For more information and to see a short video introduction, please visit the Shout to Me website. Radio stations interested in Shout To Me may contact Jessica Sherman at 646-759-8431 or jessica@adlarge.com.

James Cridland — James runs media.info, and is a radio futurologist: a consultant, writer and public speaker who concentrates on the effect that new platforms and technology are having on the radio business. He also publishes a free daily newsletter about podcasting, Podnews, and a weekly radio trends newsletter.