Thanks to high speed internet, smartphones and low-cost mobile data, almost everything in the world is now available on our fingertips. Unlike the good old days, the majority of people in today’s world do not need to step out seeking entertainment—be it watching a movie, playing a game, watching a match of any sport, et all.

Almost every form of entertainment is enjoyed through live streaming sitting at the cozy corners of living rooms—thanks to numerous over-the-top (OTT) media streaming services.

To be sure, streaming isn’t only video-related, there are other forms of entertainment formats—music and non-music—that are audio only. In the non-music audio entertainment segment, podcasts, audiobooks and audio series are the top three categories that gained popularity.

But, what is the difference? In this blog, we intend to define and explain the top three categories of the non-music audio entertainment industry.

What is an audio series?

An audio series is a dramatic adaptation of a long-form story—fiction or non-fiction—presented in episodic form that can only be listened to. Usually, a script is written based on a novel or a novella or a literary drama and then voice-over artists read out the script to narrate the story. Background sound effects are added before it reaches the listeners.

An audio series similar to a serial on the television, or a series on over-the-top (OTT) streaming platform, but without any visuals. Most of the audio series are equipped with such gripping storytelling that listeners can actually visualise the entire drama by listening to the series with eyes closed.

How and when did audio series come into existence?

It was BBC Radio 4 that brought the first episodic audio content back in 1978 by broadcasting the dramatic adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, a 224-page book. Seeing the success, radio stations across the world fast-followed BBC and episodic broadcast of audio dramas became popular globally, across languages.

The frenzy, however, started fading away in just about a decade. Post 1990, emergence of cable television as the most preferred form of entertainment pushed audio series, and probably all forms of non-music entertainment, to premature death slowly and steadily.

Next couple of decades are known as the golden era of cable television. But, that too, had to make ways for streaming services as the internet and smartphones proliferated. Today, entertainment is all about online streaming—both video and audio, both music and non-music.

Innovations, however, started making inroads in the 2000s as technology advanced, and the internet proliferated. Two notable innovations that positively impacted the non-music audio entertainment industry are: podcasts and audiobooks.

What is a podcast?

A podcast is usually an audio programme made available in digital format for download over the internet. In the age of high bandwidth, these files are often streamed online, instead of being downloaded. A podcast can also come in episodic form. Podcasts are shorter and more conversational, and are usually not serialised. Every episode of a podcast series usually has an ending. Podcasts can be monologue, a discussion, an interview, or explanation of one or more topics. Podcasts, these days, also come with supplemental video components.

The term podcast is a portmanteau of ‘iPod’ and ‘broadcast’ which was first used by The Guardian columnist and BBC journalist Ben Hammersley back in February 2004 in one of his articles for The Guardian newspaper. The term was used by the audio blogging community soon after. The term came because of Apple’s iPodder programme in 2004 that gave people the option to download radio broadcasts to Apple iPods. 

Podcasts gained popularity, primarily in the US, and made their way to devices other than Apple’s iPods, before the App ecosystem flourished. But, podcasts usually deal with one topic at a time. The sense of curiosity, which leads to long-term engagement, was missing.

What is an audiobook?

Audiobooks, another popular format for non-music audio entertainment, are real books read aloud. There is no dramatisation. It is just reading the printed text of a popular book. Sometimes, it comes in abridged form, which is a shorter version of the original book.

Interestingly, the term ‘talking book’ came into existence back in the 1930s when some governments brought a solution for blind people. It was only in 1994 when the Audio Publishers Association formalised the term ‘audiobook’. While there are a lot of companies that have ventured into the audiobooks segment, ecommerce giant Amazon’s Audible is the market leader in audiobooks segment globally.

Return of the audio series

Towards the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020, the pandemic caused by the deadly Coronavirus forced governments to enforce lockdowns. People had to stay confined within the four walls of their homes for days, weeks and even months. Companies were forced to shift to adapt work-from-home as a culture.

Truth is, the lockdown during the Covid pandemic did change a lot of things—both lifestyle and work. What was a compulsion during the lockdown became a preference afterwards. Staying at home longer resulted in excessive time on screen—on laptop and computer, on smartphone and on television. Consumption of digital content proliferated once again. 

Over a period, that led to something we call ‘screen fatigue’. The need for an alternative instrument for entertainment, or infotainment became obvious. 

At Pocket FM, we also started to experiment with possible innovations. Extensive research concluded that the ‘engagement’ factor was distinctly missing in the non-music audio entertainment industry. What we needed was to bring something to the audience that ensures gripping storytelling, coupled with engaging narration, that would keep the audience hooked.

Thus, the content needed to be presented in a serialised manner with every episode leaving the audience curious about what happens next. The idea was simple—keep it short and leave them curious.

The solution wasn’t very difficult to find. All we needed was to reinvent the wheel. So, at Pocket FM, we studied the success and failure of the oldest, yet most successful, form of non-music audio entertainment—audio drama. And then, we blended our learnings with the consumer behaviour of today.

Then, Pocket FM came up with audio series—the more sophisticated and modern form of audio drama that serves the entertainment needs of the listeners of a time when the world seems to be confined in the palms of people who are always connected.