Is Text to Speech the Way Forward for Producing Podcasts?


Podcasts are constantly on the rise with more listeners and marketers investing hugely in this audio format. As a result, content creators, advertisers, and media companies have increased their involvement in the podcast industry. This trend is projected to continue in the coming years with artificial intelligence innovations such as text to speech technology.


The podcast format has grown in popularity as the world has become busier. The listener can multitask while listening to audio content. According to recent research, 49 percent of podcast listening occurs at home, while 22 percent occurs while driving.11 percent occurs at work, and 8 percent occurs while exercising. A podcast's length usually allows for a deep dive into a topic or a prolonged chat between two people.


One of the most captivating features of listening to downloaded podcast episodes is that the listener has control over the playback option. It's much easier to set your own rhythm, rewind, and fast forward when listening to an interview podcast, particularly.


Listeners can dive into topics using podcast audio content without having to place a time to read or watch a video. Podcasts also provide articles in small portions, which are ideal for busy schedules.


The purpose of using text-to-speech technology to create an audio interface to content in textual form has therefore become a trend lately.


Text to Speech was once thought of as a piece of accessibility technology. It has, however, been put to a variety of interesting uses, ranging from automatic announcements to smart speakers, thanks to better and natural sounding voices.


To synthesize voice from sentences/words, text to speech apps often use a text to speech engine. Most operating systems have a text to speech engine built-in, although the fluidity and naturalness of the voices vary.


We’ll find out through our analysis how podcasts have shaped the process of storytelling and why text to speech technology can intervene in creating them.

How podcasts impact the process of storytelling


Podcasts have a youthful audience profile, which is one of the reasons for their growing popularity with marketers. Podcast listeners are 34 years old on average, which is younger than those who listen to broadcast radio (47) or network television (57). Furthermore, the percentage of 12-to-34-year-olds who listen to podcasts on a monthly basis has increased from 27% in 2017 to 49% in 2020.


Another great aspect of podcasts is how personal the experience is for the listener. Podcasts allow them to hear their own feelings directly into their earbuds, making it a very personal and intimate experience.


When it comes to podcasting, you connect to an actual host. They're also a lot more available on social media and via email than the typical media personality. Therefore, listening to a podcast is similar to hanging out with friends and participating in a conversation about a topic you're interested in. This developed relationship encourages listeners to always return.


Podcasts give conversations a new touch of reality by allowing people to not only hear what others are thinking but also to feel as if they are part of the conversation. It becomes similar to a private interaction between the listener and the podcast creator.

In fact, the more specific the story is to the person, the more likely it is to resonate with a larger audience. When people look for podcasts, they're more likely to find someone who sounds like them, has their perspective or is interested in the same topics as them. It gives an unprecedented opportunity for connection by distance.

Podcasts, in many aspects, allow a broader range of people to have a voice. The relative ease with which a podcast may be created allows a far bigger number of people to communicate their ideas with a wider audience.

Not only does this industry make it easier for more people to start their own podcasts about topics they're interested in, but it also allows podcast hosts to invite others from marginalized groups to share their messages. Those who have platforms have a responsibility to assist those who are struggling, whether it is the struggle to be heard or the struggle to get opportunities.


With all that being said, launching your podcast doesn't necessarily require the purchase of audio equipment that can be unnecessary. Since AI technology is now advanced, you can straight up produce a computer-generated voice from your text only. The only requirement is the initial writing process. Text to speech apps can do the rest.

Why Creating Podcasts Using Text to Speech is Worth A Try

Text to speech has become more accessible thanks to developments in machine learning and artificial intelligence. The best aspect for writers is that the technology is easy to use, and there are plenty of features to choose from.


Lately, text to speech voices are developed in a variety of styles. The voices are more natural as technology advances. It makes it simpler to identify a specific section of a written text, as you can select any part of your content to read out loud in order to customize it.


Indeed, with a wide range of text to speech customization options, your voiceovers can turn out the way you desire, by setting the tone, the speed, the accent, the background soundtracks, and much more. It is a key way to personalize your content as much as possible.

                    


With all that being said, launching your podcast doesn't necessarily require the purchase of audio equipment that can be unnecessary. Since AI technology is now advanced, you can straight up produce a computer-generated voice from your text only. The only requirement is the initial writing process. Text to speech apps can do the rest.

Why Creating Podcasts Using Text-to-Speech is Worth A Try


Text to speech has become more accessible thanks to developments in machine learning and artificial intelligence. The best aspect for writers is that the technology is easy to use, and there are plenty of features to choose from.


Lately, AI technology voices are developed in a variety of styles. The voices are more natural as technology advances. It makes it simpler to identify a specific section of a written text, as you can select any part of your content to read out loud in order to customize it.


Indeed, with a wide range of text-to-speech customization options, your voiceovers can turn out the way you desire, by setting the tone, the speed, the accent, the background soundtracks, and much more. It is a key way to personalize your content as much as possible.


When it comes to podcast creation, the conversion time varies depending on the length of your story. You can start listening to the audio, and you can change the computer-generated voice depending on the tone and gender you are looking for. To make it easier to hear, you can adjust the volume based on your preference. You may also share the link with your friends or on any social networking platform.


With the growing popularity of text to speech apps, automated voices definitely have various reasons to exist in the podcast creation process.

Recount your story without using your voice

 

As you're working on a sequential podcast that narrates a story, you'll need to choose a narrating voice, which will be your podcast's main voice, the one that gives the story its identity. You should consider the right voices carefully, as the options are varied and you can get to choose between male and female voices, as well as old and young tones to customize your speech as much as possible.

 

It's a good idea to give the actors in your story a vocal characterization. Will the narrator be timid and introverted, joyful, or authoritarian? The voice reveals a lot about the podcast's story and tone and can help bring your story to life. Allow your creativity to go wild with text-to-speech technology as you write your story.


The user interface of text-to-speech apps allows people to upload a document from their computer to the server and customize their preferences such as voice types and execution speed. The user experience is enhanced by greater voice quality. In fact, pausing, rhythm, intonation, and other features all have an impact on speech quality. Poor pronunciation and other types of degradation require much greater user effort for speech assimilation and increase the risk of misunderstandings.


Users with learning difficulties may find it beneficial to listen to an audio podcast at a slower tempo, but users who are accustomed to a faster learning process may choose to listen at a faster speed. A trade-off between reading speed and user understanding is found using speed reading techniques. Depending on the user's abilities, listening to podcasts at a quicker rate may result in faster information acquisition. Humans can normally understand speech played at a faster rate than normal, with speedup rates ranging from 1.2 to 1.8 times faster.


Make your content accessible to a wider audience


Another advantage of the podcasting format is that it provides an infinite amount of alternatives. Any topic a person is interested in can usually be found as a podcast on the internet. And it's easier than ever for a new podcast creator to deliver information about their topic on a podcast hosting service.


Text-to-speech apps can make writing and editing much easier by enabling the writer to hear their words read aloud without having to use their voice, which is a process that can work for podcasts as well as audiobooks, as you can find out here.


As a matter of fact, text-to-speech helps content creators repurpose their content. Their written thoughts can be turned into audio or a podcast. After a few revisions, a podcast can be turned into a video, which anyone can then upload to video streaming platforms.  All of this can help them reach out to new audiences.


The audience can consume content in a variety of ways when the creators repurpose it. They have the option of reading, listening, or watching the visual aspect of the stories.


Text-to-speech software allows writers to make content more accessible. According to the World Health Organization, there are 285 million people across the globe who are visually impaired and 39 million people who are blind. Therefore, it is necessary for writers to contribute to a more inclusive world by constantly recognizing the true value of accessibility.


While technology is making text-to-speech tools sound more realistic, they still can't capture the whole range of human emotions. This shouldn't prevent you from using these tools for the time being, however. The advantages clearly exceed the drawbacks, and artificial intelligence technology is definitely showing improvement steadily.