By Jodi Krangle
5
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The podcast currently has 256 episodes available.
“Essentially, what musicians really need to understand is that the power to find success in sync is extremely accessible, and it’s right there in front of them as long as they’re willing to go and get it. There is no gate, right? There’s no gatekeeper. There’s nothing that you have to do or have, and there’s no one you have to know. It’s really just about being willing, and being willing to learn the ropes and do the work. – Nismah Osman
This episode is the second half of my conversation with sync licensing expert and Music Licensing Mastery founder Nismah Osman as we discuss the social media grind indie musicians face these days, her advice for getting into sync licensing, and the hidden power of music in today’s world.
As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest audio chats will be about. If you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts.
(0:00:00) - The Future of Music and Technology
Our discussion continues as we talk about how AI is transforming the music industry, and Nismah’s thoughts on whether it can replace sync musicians altogether. “It’s quality over quantity,” she explains. “Sometimes, you know, you can have a hundred really, really not-so-great tracks, and you have a hundred of them, sure, but they may not have the same value as one piece of really high-quality content.” We take a look at some of the other industries that have been shaken up by AI and what it might mean for sound. “It’s nuanced,” she says, “and I think there’s good and bad and everything in between. And it’s going to be something that kind of shows its true colors over time.”
(0:07:39) - Opportunities in Sync Licensing
Nismah tells us about her experience as a musician and gives us an inside look at how social media and streaming platforms have changed the game for indie artists. “When I was on there,” she recalls, “I was witnessing and participating in the sheer amount of effort that musicians are putting into, you know, building these social followings just to try to convert them into streaming numbers.” She talks about how the pandemic transformed online gig work and helped her jump-start her music career, and the opportunities she’s found in writing music for sync licensing. “One of the many things I love about sync is that, really, there’s room for everyone,” she says. “The likelihood is really in your favor that you’re going to be able to find opportunities for whatever kind of music you make.”
(0:14:13) - The Significance of Sound and Music
As our conversation comes to a close, we talk about what it takes as a musician to make the jump into sync licensing, and her practical advice getting started. “The great thing is,” Nismah says, “most of the time, in my experience, you’re not starting from zero. You really do have a lot going for you. You just have to figure out what’s working, lean into those things, and then outsource the rest.” We also discuss the power of sound in today’s world, from lowering stress to building the soundtrack of our lives. “That’s why the music and the audio and the film industry are so huge,” she notes, “and why there’s such a huge demand, because sound and music and audio, it all matters, it all adds to that depth of life that I think everyone is really ultimately searching for, and it’s cool to be a part of that.”
Episode Summary
Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:
Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com
Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/
Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/
Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)
Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/
Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/
Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/
“I think people just kind of were, like, ‘Oh, hi,’ you know. They were supportive, they were nice, and, you know, they could tell I was a kid who had no idea what I was doing but was obviously passionate about music. I do remember one guy, though, telling me to make sure I went to college for something other than music and, at the time, I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll consider that.’ But he was really telling me, like, ‘I don’t know if you have what it takes.’ But I didn’t follow his advice. I ended up going to school for music, which I still am trying to figure out was a good or bad decision.” – Nismah Osman
This episode’s guest is a songwriter, producer, vocalist, entrepreneur, feminist, and more. She’s been writing and producing songs for herself and other artists since 2005. She stumbled into the world of selling her music for film and television in 2011 and has since cracked the code on how to fund your passion for music. Her music has been featured in such series as Love is Blind, Dancing with the Stars, and Temptation Island. Some of her other wins include a degree from Berklee, songwriting and production credits on hundreds of songs, and a chance to learn from songwriting legend Kara DioGuardi, and she runs a vacation rental business on the Jersey shore as a side hustle.
Her name is Nismah Osman, and she has a lot to share about how to make a living from making music these days. The industry’s certainly changed from even just five years ago. If you want to hear how Nismah does it, and how she’s helping other artists do the same, keep listening!
As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest audio chats will be about. If you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts.
(0:00:00) - Journey From Songwriting to Music Career
We start things off with a look back at Nismah’s early memories of sound, and how a songwriting convention in her small town led to her very first sync licensing gig. “Obviously I was the youngest person in the room,” she recalls, “and I had no idea what I was doing. But I showed up with my little you know CD, you know, demos that I burned the night before.” She tells us about some of the encouragement, and the warnings, she got from older musicians, and a chance meeting at the next year’s convention that, at age thirteen, became her first music deal. “To this day, I get royalty checks for that song,” she says. “So that was like the first taste of like, ‘Okay, I can actually do this.’”
(0:12:18) - Navigating Sync Licensing and Musical Opportunities
Nismah explains what sync licensing means, and the opportunities it presents for musicians. “The very short version of it,” she says, “is the music you hear in TV shows, movies, ads, et cetera. And there’s obviously a whole semi-complicated process for how you go about getting your music in those opportunities and on those platforms.” She talks more about that process and how a newcomer to sync might get started. “You proactively write music for these opportunities,” she tells us, “based on a set of criteria that generally work, and then you submit that music to, in the industry, they’re called music licensing agencies, and then those agencies receive opportunities from music supervisors.”
(0:18:24) - The Role of AI in Music
We discuss AI’s role in creating sync music and Nismah’s thoughts on whether it might someday replace human musicians. “I think, overall,” she says, “there’s a couple different pieces to the conversation. The first is that we’ve been using AI in music forever already.” She tells us how AI fits into her recording and editing routine, and the limitations of purely AI-generated compositions. “I think we’re a long way away from that,” she explains, “and the AI tools we have today, I just don’t think you’re gonna get the same level of context that a real human being can bring to the table.”
Episode Summary
Be sure to tune in for part two of my conversation with Nismah as she tells us more about her experience with streaming platforms, how the pandemic opened her eyes to the opportunities that a career in sound can provide, and the first steps she suggests for getting into sync licensing.
Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:
Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com
Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/
Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/
Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)
Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/
Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/
Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/
“That’s the big problem. That’s the whole thing. You know, if it’s not done right, then it will definitely not be sustainable, it’ll just end up in some drawer after two weeks. And we’ve seen that a thousand times, how these great sounds are made, and then, after a few months, a week, it’s kind of like what happened? It’s just disappeared.’” – Simon Kringel
This episode is the second half of my conversation with producer, sound designer, and co-founder of the sonic branding agency Unmute as we talk about the things to consider when building a sonic brand, what sets Europe and North America apart when it comes to marketing and brand building, and what new companies can learn from McDonald’s’ twenty-year-long sonic branding success.
As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest audio chats will be about. If you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts.
(0:00:00) - Exploring Sonic Branding in UX Design
The second half of our discussion begins with an audio clip of Simon’s work on Clever’s new brand, and he tells us the process behind its success, from incorporating natural elements to what he calls smashable design. “The whole idea of, you know, I call it smashable design,” he explains, “is so you can take things apart and they will still be recognizable on their own.” We talk about his work on brands ranging from streaming interfaces to telephone hold music, and why building an audio brand isn’t necessarily a one-and-done solution. “I think that’s an important point to make,” Simon tells us, “it’s that you cannot create a sonic identity for anybody just as one project.”
(0:19:21) - The Evolution of Sonic Branding
We talk about McDonald’s famous sonic logo, how it’s evolved and become more streamlined over the past two decades, and what we can learn from that process. “What’s amazing,” he says, “is that they’ve used it just consistently for more than twenty years and, of course, they managed to do all these variations and adaptations depending on whatever music is on the ad, but still, the core thing is being used consistently, consistently for so long.” Simon also tells us why, no matter which industry it is, excitement is key to building a successful brand. “You know you need to be excited about the new brand sound you have,” he adds, “otherwise it’s going to be difficult to fight for it.”
(0:24:38) - The Role of Audio in Branding
The conversation wraps up with his firsthand observations of branding differences between European and American markets. “I think what we’ve seen is that in North America,” he explains, “it has definitely been the ad agency who are the kings in this, and everything was, like, evolved around the ad agency and the creative.” We talk about why audio is so easily overlooked and how its subtlety can be an advantage for branding. “When we tell people about it,” he observes, “they’re suddenly like okay, they recognize the sound, but then it’s like, ‘I’ve never thought about it. It was just there.’”
Episode Summary
Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:
Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com
Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/
Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/
Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)
Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/
Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/
Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/
“I think we’ve all experienced how sound is kind of a last-minute decision in many creative projects or creative processes... That was actually the whole reason why we formed Unmute, because we thought, ‘Okay, we need to be the adults here and help brands understand the importance of this and the impact it has.’" – Simon Kringel
This episode’s guest is the Sonic Director and co-founder of Unmute. He began his career composing and producing music for bands and artists, and, later on, for TV and advertising. In 2014, he joined Chimney, a global creation agency, and soon became their head of music, working with a wide range of international clients. Recognizing the growing demand for a specialized sound agency, he co-founded Unmute with Daniel Schougaard in 2018, and their company has been on the rise ever since. It’s now collaborating with brands and agencies all across the globe, connecting them with their audience through sound, music, and audible experiences. He’s created award-winning sonic identities for such brands as Novo Nordisk, Carlsberg Group, Bank of Ireland, KONE, Volleyball World, and UCI, and he’s on a mission to make sure that brands are heard, not just seen.
His name is Simon Kringel, and there’s a lot we’ll be covering here, including using sound in product design, sonic branding as a design discipline, and the differences between North American and European branding when it comes to sound. That certainly isn’t all, so if you’re interested in how sound shapes our buying decisions and our user experience, you’ll want to check out this episode.
As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest audio chats will be about. If you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts.
(0:00:01) - Evolution of Sound and Branding
Our conversation starts with Simon’s early memories of sound, and how putting on an audio play of his favorite comic books awakened his enthusiasm for audio production. “We kind of played out the characters,” he recalls, “and, you know, with different voices depending on who you were, and we did some Foley and some sound design when a gun was being shot or glass is broken.” He shares his career journey as a musician and sonic branding expert and talks about the leap of faith that led him to Unmute. “I think it’s also just about,” he explains, “have you teamed up with the right people, and are you ready to take a chance and just go for it? I mean, what’s the worst thing that could happen?”
(0:14:11) - Sonic Branding
We discuss the nuts and bolts of brand design, and how a haphazard approach to audio branding can lead to more work down the road. “What we saw,” Simon says, “was that there was no structure in this, so the brands could not, even though they understand what they’re trying to achieve, see how to actually go about it.” He talks about the relationship between imagery and sound, and the process of crafting a sonic brand that works in harmony with the brand identity. “It’s really interesting,” he tells us, “how we can actually take a visual shape, or visual form or visual expression, and turn that into a sound where you intuitively hear the connection. That’s where the magic happens to us.”
(0:23:41) - Sonic Branding in Product Design
Simon tells us more about his recent branding work with the Denmark-based charging company Clever and offers a firsthand example of the creative process. “So they also, of course, wanted to create their own sonic identity,” he explains, “and it’s not just focused on the, on the marketing and the communication, but definitely also a lot of focus on their products.” He tells us about striking the right balance between familiarity and attention-grabbing, and making sure that the audio UX design is pleasing to the ear. As Simon puts it, it’s about “making sure that every time you interact with Clever, as they’re called, you feel at home, and you feel this familiarity and this sense of, you know, you build that sense of trust because it’s recognizable and, most importantly, it fits their brand.”
Episode Summary
Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:
Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com
Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/
Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/
Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)
Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/
Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/
Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/
“AI, at least right now, is really adept at iteration, but not so adept at innovation. So I think it’s really good at augmenting the creative process, yeah, inspiring, but not necessarily great at coming up with something with all the nuances that, again, at a subconscious level, we might pick up on.” -- Steve Keller
This episode is the second half of my conversation with audio researcher, creative consultant, and Sonic Strategy Director for SXM Media Steve Keller, as we talk about how algorithmic data is revolutionizing research, how the pandemic changed the way we relate to music and sound, and what we can learn from the movie Top Gun about the relationship between humans and AI.
As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest audio chats will be about. If you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts.
(0:00:00) – AI Benefits in Marketing Creativity
Our discussion picks up with a look at Steve’s work with the Journal of Psychology and Marketing and how AI-driven data is transforming the way we gather research data. “We’ve seen some results,” he explains, “where we’ve gotten really close to AI duplicating the results that we would get from a human panel.” We talk about one client’s clever strategy for using AI to decide what not to do, and we discuss what the latest developments in machine learning have in common with audio breakthroughs like vinyl records and MP3 files. “We have ways of researching to get to the answers,” Steve explains, “but you always have to start with the question, and I think sometimes we ask the wrong question.”
(0:09:36) – The Power of Music During the Pandemic
Since it’s been a few years since my last chat with Steve, we talk about how things have changed in the audio industry since the pandemic, and what the lockdown revealed about our relationship with music. “We would use music,” he says, “not just in terms of nostalgia, to remind us of happier times, but that music became this friend, particularly in lockdown, where it could help us experience the melancholy that was there.” Steve talks about the long-term benefits of adopting AI, and what he learned from a test of human vs. AI marketing. “We found that the real value of this,” he says, “was less about, you know, is AI a collaborator or a competitor, and more about how we manage talent in an age of AI.”
(0:21:43) – The Value of Human-AI Collaboration
We continue our talk about his study on our ability to recognize AI. “Folks were really all over the map in the analysis,” Steve explains. “The individual that we were pitching things to, he wanted to guess who the teams were. He got all of them wrong.” We talk about how that study led to a surprising example of an AI prompting humans for output, and he shares what he calls Maverick’s Maxim, named after the famous character from Top Gun. “[Maverick] said ’it’s not the plane, it’s the pilot,’” Steve tells us, “and so I think this speaks to the importance of humans being in the loop.”
Episode Summary
Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:
Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com
Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/
Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/
Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)
Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/
Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/
Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/
Mentioned in this episode:
Let's Chat over Zoom
Well hey there. First off, thanks for being here. Sometimes it feels like I'm just putting this out into the ether and no one's listening. But you are. So thank you. I'd love to know more about you though. I want to make this show the best it can be for you - so I'd love your thoughts on how I can improve things. And I'd love to set up a zoom meeting with you, if you're up for it. That way, I can ask you some of the burning question I have about what would make this show better for you and thank you personally for taking the time to listen. You're welcome to get in touch with me through the form at the bottom of the audiobrandingpodcast.com page, so we can set something up. I look forward to hearing from you!
“We should be hearing diverse voices. As I like to say, if the only time we’re hearing voices of color is in advertising to those segments, then we’ve not just segmented those voices, we’ve actually segregated them. So let’s lean into sonic diversity. You’ll create better representation and a better relationship for your brands with those communities at the same time, without having any negative impacts on your ad’s favorability or effectiveness.” -- Steve Keller
This episode’s guest is the Sonic Strategy Director for Studio Resonate, SiriusXM Media’s in-house, audio-first creative consultancy offering support to brands that advertise on the Pandora, SiriusXM, and Soundcloud platforms. He’s recognized as a leading authority on sonic strategy, blending art and science into award-winning creative content and sonic experiences for a variety of global agencies and brands. With a degree in psychology and business, and over thirty years of experience in the music and advertising industries, his research explores the ways music, sound, and voice influence our perception and behavior and his writing on the subject can be found in a very large list of publications.
His name is Steve Keller, and he and I first spoke in the very early days of this podcast, right before the pandemic started. I still consider his episode the most pivotal of this podcast, and he blew my mind on multiple occasions. He certainly does it again here, and you’ll get to hear it!
As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest audio chats will be about. If you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts.
(0:00:00) - Exploring Sonic Diversity in Media
As we start our conversation, Steve tells us about his early memories of sound, including a surprising childhood discovery he made about train whistles. “One of the things I found out from talking to one of the engineers,” he explains, “is that there are patterns in the whistles almost like Morse code.” We talk about the subtext of sound that’s often hidden in plain sight, and how our unconscious biases can limit sonic diversity, whether it’s the vocal range audio codecs are built around or the roles AI voices are assigned. “We live in a diverse world,” Steve says. “We should be hearing diverse voices.”
(0:11:27) - Navigating Bias in Sonic Diversity
“One of the things that we’re trying to promote,” Steve tells us, “is to make sure that the synthetic voices that are being created are diverse, that the training populations that are used in developing these voices, that there’s diversity there.” We discuss how the early days of telephone and radio created audio biases that we’re still working to overcome, and the role AI voices will play as they continue to evolve. “The majority of them said yes, they could tell a difference,” Steve recalls a neuro-based study he led on distinguishing between human and AI voices, “but when we tested it, it was a flip of a coin whether or not they’d get it right. And the AI voices have improved even since we did that test.”
(0:23:54) - Implications of AI in Advertising
Steve tells us more about his work with AI, including the murky legal questions surrounding how AI learns and, much like human writers, borrows inspiration from what it’s learned. “A similar thing can happen with AI if you’re using copyrighted materials in the training sets,” he says. “So the AI could be drawing from a phrase, and there may be a way to document that it drew from a particular phrase, and that violates copyright.” We talk about AI’s growing role in advertising and audio branding and the legal pitfalls of relying on AI-generated music when it comes to copyright laws. “Are they incorporating AI into some of their performance libraries,” Steve asks. “Because until we get a handle on what the training sets are, there’s the potential that there could be copyright infringement.”
(0:30:00) - Navigating Brand Trust in AI
Our discussion turns to the interaction of machine and human minds, and how new algorithms can collide with our old-fashioned brains. “We may have gotten more sophisticated in how we think,” Steve explains, “but emotionally, which is really the driver for us, we haven’t changed much in millions of years.” We talk about the rise of deepfake media, and how we might adjust to living in a world where seeing and hearing are no longer believing. “It’s easier to start from the default of ‘I can believe that,’” Steve says, “to the default of ‘I don’t want to trust anything.’ You know, as psychologists, we would say somebody who lives in that condition lives in a condition of paranoia.”
Episode Summary
Tune in for part two of my conversation with Steve as we talk about the hidden value of AI-powered audio branding, how social media algorithms have changed the way songs are written and performed, and who came out on top in a surprising study his company did on AI vs human marketers.
Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:
Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com
Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/
Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/
Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)
Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/
Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/
Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/
Mentioned in this episode:
Let's Chat over Zoom
Well hey there. First off, thanks for being here. Sometimes it feels like I'm just putting this out into the ether and no one's listening. But you are. So thank you. I'd love to know more about you though. I want to make this show the best it can be for you - so I'd love your thoughts on how I can improve things. And I'd love to set up a zoom meeting with you, if you're up for it. That way, I can ask you some of the burning question I have about what would make this show better for you and thank you personally for taking the time to listen. You're welcome to get in touch with me through the form at the bottom of the audiobrandingpodcast.com page, so we can set something up. I look forward to hearing from you!
“For all of us, we are gaining our trust, our stability, our hope, our aspirations, our inspirations, all come to us through the medium of sound. Video is important, right? But FDR was able to keep a country from going mad on the brink of fear and concern and anxiety by fireside chats over the radio during the war. And we still look to our presidents today, President Bush during 9/11, was able to speak to the audience through that bullhorn with that famous clip there to be able to say what he had to say. President Lincoln with his 272-word Gettysburg address was able to come and heal the nation there on that battlefield.” -- Micah Thomas
This episode is the second half of my conversation with audible storytelling expert and Storymore CEO Micah Thomas as we discuss the role of music in audio storytelling, how classic cinema inspired Micah’s approach to sound, and the changes the pandemic brought to his company.
As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest audio chats will be about. If you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts.
(0:00:00) - The Power of Audio Branding
Our discussion continues as Micah shares the process of scoring audible stories, and how it differs from traditional movies. “The music scoring is actually done,” he says, “as the very last step. We don’t approach anything from a music-first standpoint.” He tells us how it has more in common with silent movies and their live piano players, not to mention the movie The Truman Show, and the advantages of such a story-first approach. “When we come back to it,” he tells us, “it’s like playing the audio drama and the music under it as it’s going, which allows a very organic sense of music creation.”
(0:08:58) - Exploring Old-Time Radio and Storytelling
Micah elaborates on Storymore’s approach to narrative, and how he found inspiration from some of Hollywood’s old masters, from Bing Crosby and Cecil B. DeMille to radio noir characters like Johnny Dollar and the Shadow. “It’s all good dialogue on the page,” he explains, “and a good character that can bring it out. So I would say that got planted early and developed really well through the years.”
(0:13:31) - Sound, Content, and Branding
The conversation closes with a look back at the pandemic, and how it transformed both the sound industry as a whole and the careers of some of his voice talents. “The major change wasn’t operational,” he says, “because people, or our cast anyway, are already working from home. But for those that still worked a day job and would come home and do this as a side gig or something like that, this was an opportunity for them now to have much more time to devote to it.” We discuss why sound matters more than ever in today’s world, what he’s working on next, and how listeners can check out Storymore. “The experience is free, no subscription fees or anything like that. We wanted everybody to have access to a good story, so you can check it out wherever you find your favorite podcast.”
Episode Summary
Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:
Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com
Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/
Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/
Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)
Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/
Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/
Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/
“Early on in that we noticed that there are so many people in the blind and visually impaired community that are underrepresented in the respect of entertainment, both as an entertainer and as the consumer. The only products they have are descriptive videos on Netflix or something like that. And so they can’t get the exact same experience as the sighted world when they’re dealing with forms of entertainment. So we shifted our focus to the blind and visually impaired market, both as people who could assist us in making these audio dramas, our stories, more original, as well as sound-designing these things in a 360-degree or surround sound way so that those whose world is nothing but sound, they really could enjoy it in a way that was meant just for them.” -- Micah Thomas
This episode’s guest is a twenty-plus year content creator, armed with a Master’s Degree in Internet Marketing and a BA in Media Communications who’s found the right content to pour his energy into…sound. This father of six and husband of one has worked as a jack-of-all-trades in media but has become a master of audio and storytelling with his company Storymore. As a person with low vision, he has a passion for telling great stories in the best way he can, which led him to form a global group that’s disrupting the audio entertainment industry with its accomplishments. Chief among them is providing a platform that equalizes the playing field for those with visual disabilities.
His name is Micah Thomas, and our discussion covers a variety of topics, from audio dramas and music to how AI is changing both those industries. I think you’ll really enjoy his insights!
As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest audio chats will be about. If you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts.
(0:00:00) – The Power of Audio Entertainment
We start things off with a trip down memory lane as Micah recalls the radio plays and adaptations that helped inspire his career in sound. “The stories captivated me,” he tells us, “because of the voice actors and how real they sounded, and I think that’s the first time via audio that it actually brought tears to my eyes.” We talk about how Storymore uses sound production to bring stories to life for blind and visually impaired listeners, and we listen to a clip from the Storymore original suspense tale Barley. “We had one guy that said the sound was so good,” he says, “that ‘I had to literally turn my head. I thought someone was entering the room because I heard a door open behind me.’”
(0:12:47) - AI Impact on Audio Entertainment
The conversation turns to AI and how it’s opening up new creative possibilities while leaving room for a human touch at Storymore, and Micah shares with us both the cover art and a sound clip of the Storymore original mystery Alibi. “There’s just no way,” Micah explains, “at this point in time, especially, that AI can reach the levels and depths of emotion and her mental state that she’s in to provide this type of performance.” We also discuss the difference between audible dramas and traditional audiobooks, and the storytelling power of sound. “It allows you the opportunity to point your own cameras,” he tells us, “to make your own movie in your own head with your vivid imagination. Our sound and our voice acting team just provides the fuel.”
Episode Summary
Tune in for part two of my conversation with Micah as we talk about Storymore’s unconventional approach to scoring music, what he learned from classic cinema about the dramatic power of sound, and how the pandemic helped pave the way toward a new appreciation for voiceover.
Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:
Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com
Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/
Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/
Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)
Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/
Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/
Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/
“It’s definitely an important aspect of our lives, and we can start with a small thing, just, like, when you feel that something’s odd, just pause for a second and ask yourself what exactly is off. Is it the music? Is it the feeling? Is it, is there a physical need? Like, literally just pause it for a second and ask yourself this question. And it’s important, but not a lot of us are used to it.” -- Anna Bohuslavska
This episode is the second half of my conversation with transformation coach and inner guide Anna Bohuslavska as we discuss how both positive and negative emotions can be contagious, her experience with music’s healing power, and how sound can help restore our connection to nature.
As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest audio chats will be about. If you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts.
(0:00:00) - Power of Music and Voice Healing
The second half of our talk begins with Anna’s reflections on how music can spread emotions and connect us to one another. “The same happens at the concert,” she explains, “because, like, there’s a crowd and everyone really is in their emotions and you pick up on this emotion, and it’s like becoming one huge human being instead of every single one.” We also talk about the surprising impact vocal exercises can have on everything from building confidence to overcoming negative thought patterns, and her firsthand experience with its benefits. “Most of our way,” she says, “how we talk, our intonations, our high or low, everything is connected to the people around us, and it’s basically the habits that we picked up early in childhood and that we carry on in the life.”
(0:06:01) - Finding Connection Through Sound & Music
Anna also shares how her own experience with music and dance has guided the way she helps clients reconnect with themselves. “I took the dance classes,” she recalls, “I did all the moves, but when I now look at those old recordings, I see that I didn’t feel the music.” She explains how the power of sound can help guide our lives. “Ask yourself what exactly is off,” she explains. “Is it the music, is it the feeling? Is there a physical need? Literally, just pause it for a second and ask yourself this question.”
(0:18:35) - Inner Potential
Our discussion comes to a close as Anna shares her upcoming projects and community developments, and how we can get in touch with her. “I’m focusing on building my community,” she says, “and I’m working on launching my group program because I know that one-on-one is important for a lot of people, but there are a lot of people who need this sense of community.” She also tells us how sound can help us become our best selves: “I’m a strong believer that every single one of us has this inner potential to be the best person they dream of, and all it takes is to create the right surroundings.”
Episode Summary
Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:
Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com
Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/
Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/
Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)
Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/
Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/
Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/
Mentioned in this episode:
Invitation to chat over Zoom
Well hey there. First off, thanks for being here. Sometimes it feels like I'm just putting this out into the ether and no one's listening. But you are. So thank you. I'd love to know more about you though. I want to make this show the best it can be for you - so I'd love your thoughts on how I can improve things. And I'd love to set up a zoom meeting with you, if you're up for it. That way, I can ask you some of the burning question I have about what would make this show better for you and thank you personally for taking the time to listen. You're welcome to get in touch with me through the form at the bottom of the audiobrandingpodcast.com page, so we can set something up. I look forward to hearing from you!
“If you play on an instrument for a while, for example, every day for a week, for example, or something like that, you will start noticing that you have your own melody that you will play over and over again. And it could be that the melody changes while your emotion changes. It can be that, just the speed of the melody will change. But basically, you will have your own melody, and it’s interesting to see how it evolves through the time.” -- Anna Bohuslavska
This episode’s guest is a transformational coach and inner guide who’s helping women bring joy and fulfillment to their everyday lives. She’s a mother of two, a craft maniac, and a dance lover. She’s been passionate about psychology for as long as she can remember, and she’s been fortunate enough to learn from some of the greatest minds of our day while employing her own holistic approach to well-being. She seamlessly blends together coaching techniques, art therapy, mindfulness, and more.
Her name is Anna Bohuslavska, and our conversation is all about using sound for healing. If this is an interest of yours, I hope you’ll give this one a listen – it’s a very inspirational discussion!
As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest audio chats will be about. If you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts.
(0:00:00) - Inner Work and Music Therapy Evolution
As our discussion starts, Anna talks about how the birth of her son inspired her to learn more about the psychology of sound, and how her work led to a community of like-minded women. “That’s why I started searching for other sources of information,” she explains, “and I was happy to find an online community that was all about parenting, and I felt like this is what will help me.” We discuss sound’s ability to tap into our deepest emotions and memories, and music therapy’s role in boosting our mood and broadening our perspective. “It’s about listening,” Anna says, “it’s about moving under the sound, it’s all this spectrum. But it helps a lot, and the simplest thing that I advise every single of my clients is to just, like, know what different types of music move you in different directions.”
(0:16:44) - Musical Evolution and Personal Expression
We continue with the story of Anna’s journey from Ukraine and around the world to her home in Texas, and her secret to getting in touch with our own inner melody. “If you play on an instrument for a while,” she tells us, “you will start noticing that you have your own melody, that you will play over and over again, and it could be that the melody changes while your emotion changes... basically, you will have your own melody, and it’s interesting to see how it evolves through the time.”
Episode Summary
Tune in for part two of my conversation with Anna as we discuss how background sounds, even the sound of our own voice in our ears, can influence our daily lives, how vocal exercises can help forge a deeper connection with ourselves, and her advice for living life on your own terms.
Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:
Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com
Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/
Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/
Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)
Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/
Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/
Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/
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