Audio Branding (Jodi Krangle)

In this interview, I’m speaking with someone who has a real knack for voice - Cynthia Zhai. She’s helped people from over 46 countries around the world improve their voices and speak with impact and conviction. If you’ve been wanting to improve the quality of your voice, this is the interview for you!

We discuss:

• Cynthia’s current living situation during COVID
• Cynthia’s background in singing and voice
• Falling into becoming a voice coach
• The development of her work - how do you change your voice?
• The realization people have had in the last year about the tone of a good voice
• If the tone of voice is low quality, then people won’t hear the content as well as they could
• Conveying emotions through our voices 
• The science behind an attractive voice
• The voice sends out vibrations and some frequencies are more attractive/easier to listen to
• The constriction of the vocal cords and how it effects voice frequency
• Stress’s effect on the voice
• Authenticity’s part in producing a relaxed voice
• The importance of breathing when it comes to voice
• How to breathe properly when doing any sort of speaking 
• The balloon analogy that gives a great visual for the proper way to breathe
• The importance of having proper voice quality for your brand
• Authenticity and relaxation and their importance for podcast hosts and guests
• Matching your voice to your brand
• Ways to improve your voice if you don’t like the sound of it
• The reason why your voice sounds differently to you than when you listen to a recording of it

You can find more information about Cynthia Zhai:

On her website: powerfulexecutivevoice.com

On her TED Talk: https://youtu.be/PcDerWSyccg

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE download – 5 Tips For Implementing An Intentional Audio Strategy at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

“So brands are trying to find a voice which is sympathetic, which is sincere, and we think music can play a big role in that. Because if you like music, you like it, you don't judge it. You don't question the intentions of an artist. You just love the piece of music.” -- Rajeev Raja

This week we continue my interview with musician, soundsmith, and BrandMusiq founder Rajeev Raja as we talk about no-contact business branding, sonic branding in the retail market, and the challenge of bringing the nuance of branding to musical logos.

Keeping the Brand Alive

We start the second half of the interview with a look at how the pandemic has changed the relationship between businesses and their customers, and how sonic branding can help preserve a sense of connection even in the absence of face-to-face transactions. “They've discovered that having a sonic identity,” Rajeev explains, “transmits an emotion which can actually keep their brand alive in the emotional dimension, and raise their emotional quotient and keep it there.”

The Subconscious Level

After that, we talk about the power of MOGOs and audio branding in the age of social media, the challenge and opportunity to differentiate brands using audio, and the influence it can have on a deeper, more subconscious level than most marketers consider. “When you create a sonic identity for a brand,” he says, “and wherever the brand is heard, it's not just about creating a jingle and saying hey, hey, hey, listen to me – it's also the feeling that you leave behind.”

Mapping Society’s Mood

We wrap up the interview by considering how many different aspects of our lives are being revolutionized by sound and the potential for sonic branding, from custom sounds in electric vehicles to healing sounds in hospitals, and how this new soundscape can reflect and even help improve the mood of our global society. "During Covid, I used to just play healing tunes on the flute, and started sharing it," he tells me, "and I started realizing the power, the honest feelings that you have. Close your eyes, listen to that piece of music, and it's like you put the worries of the world away for a while."

The Theory Behind MOGOs

If you’d like to learn more about Rajeev’s theory of MOGOs, check out his TED talk “The Enchanting Theory Behind MOGOs” at https://youtu.be/hBhREwd-LaM. You’ll get to hear him demonstrate the concept with a beautiful flute performance and learn more about how, as he puts it in the video, a MOGO, or musical logo, is “the shortest distance between a brand and the consumer's heart.”

Episode Summary

• How audio can help strengthen brand relationships
• Audio branding and the social media revolution
• The power of sound to make a subconscious impression
• How sound can change the way we see the world
• Rajeev’s Theory of MOGOs on YouTube

Connect with Rajeev

Website: https://brandmusiq.com/

The enchanting theory behind MOGOs | Rajeev Raja | TEDxSIULavale: https://youtu.be/hBhREwd-LaM

Follow Rajeev Raja on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rajarajeev/

Connect with Rajeev Raja on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajeev-raja-1b0b1649/

Listen to Rajeev Raja on Soundcloud:

“There are generally two things that I want to focus on when presenting the creative to a client. First, and I think the most important, is the why: what is the justification for why we have done this or why we've included this instrument, why we're including this long breakdown section, why this tempo, whatever it is.”  -- Eric Singer

My guest's first love in this episode was audio, but it took him a while to get back to it. He's been with Coupe Studios for sixteen years, and before that he spent time as a magazine editor, a photographer, and even a semi-pro football player. Now a partner at Coupe, he's focusing specifically on sonic branding and music for advertising and film. His name is Eric Singer, and I'm looking forward to hearing what he has to say about where audio branding is now and where it's heading into the future.

How does he let their clients know that their audio is important? How does Coupe Studios differentiate itself in a steadily growing audio-forward market? If you’re trying to decide why audio branding is important for your company, this discussion will give you a firsthand look.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

A Multisensory Experience

We begin the interview with Eric’s account of his earliest memories of sound, a Fischer-Price turntable that he used as a child to play the classic Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. As he puts it, its unconventional sound design and ambient effects “planted the seed for me in terms of a love of audio.” He goes on to recount his very first experience as a radio DJ during high school. “It was this multisensory experience,” he says, “where you're looking at the album art [and] you're reading the liner notes. The center of it was the music, but I loved talking about it just as much.”

Digging in Deep

Eric tells us about how he discovered his affinity for editing and production, and how it led to his role as an audio producer. “We have this extremely talented, dedicated team of composers and sound designers,” he explains, “and my job is to stay out of their way.” We talk about how he works with clients to help them understand and navigate the sometimes overwhelming process of finding just the right creative strategy. “There's no better way, I think, to emphasize the value in what we do than working collaboratively with the client or with the agency and really digging in deep.”

Flying Below the Radar

Next, we look at the process of building a sonic brand for a client, whether it's a new company that's starting from scratch or a major brand like McDonald's with an established audio brand. Eric explains that a new brand can offer more room to create a unique sonic identity: as he puts it, "it's nice in the sense that we can often get involved before they've really thought things through." We also talk about how easily audio is overlooked, and how that can sometimes be as much an opportunity as a challenge. "It's a tricky position to be in," he says, "but it's also kind of fun to fly below the radar."

The Emotional Aspect

“The second piece of it," Eric says about the two parts of creating a sonic brand, "is the emotional and the subjective aspects of it." We discuss how individual experiences and impressions, everything...

On this episode of the podcast, I am joined by the Co-Founder and President of Speak Write Now Communications. He is a serial entrepreneur and started his first business in 2001, an online music promotion portal with an internet radio station. He is an award-winning public speaker, corporate trainer and author. His books include 28 Days To A New Me, 7 Ways To Know You Should Lead and Find Your Voice: 28 Secrets To Help You Speak Up and Speak Out. He has a background in education, media, and radio. Through his training company, he works with leaders who need to deliver critical messages with confidence. He lives in the state of Maryland, where he has been featured on FOX and CW for his work around confident communications. His name is Robert Kennedy the Third and we had a great conversation that I know you're going to enjoy listening to. 

In this episode, Robert and I discuss:

• The problem of COVID- doing too much
• Robert’s introduction to voice
• How starting and operating 4 different vocal groups helped him understand vocals
• His transition into voice acting from teaching biology
• Robert’s first interaction with radio and how that popped back up when he transitioned into voice over
• Using sound/voice to build trust in business
• Voice of a Leader presentation
• Robert’s development of a 4 part assessment for voice analysis and use in leadership
• How you can use the assessment to adjust your own vocal style
• How to look at your intended result to change your vocal strategy
• How babies use their vocal patterns to communicate what they need
• Finding who wants what you have to give and how to use our voice to communicate appropriately 
• Different systems within different styles of leadership
• Understanding who you’re communicating with
• introverts and extroverts
• Morning routines

If you want to get in contact with Robert, you can find him at www.RobertKennedy3.com or www.SpeakWriteNow.com. He can also be found on social media on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/storytellersgrowthlab or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertkennedy3/. You can join the Story Tellers Growth Lab here: http://storytellersgrowthlab.com/. Here is the information for Robert’s book: 28 Days To A New Me: A Journey Of Commitment (2nd Edition) - https://amzn.to/3gutenk 

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my...

“With AI coming along, I sort of look at more things being added into the workflow over the last year or so. A lot of it is, like, transcription, but also, ‘how are we gonna title the podcast?’ Show notes being written, I’m a little bit leery of, but it is used to assist in the process to write better show notes. So, I think for a long time, a lot of people have skipped over that, and AI has allowed us to write better show notes. That doesn’t mean copy-and-paste them in because AI is not... AI is, it’s an absolutely horrible writer. And I think one of the things that, I know this will come up in our discussion today, is that when you see AI stuff just being copied and pasted, you know that it has been copied and pasted.” – Matt Cundall

If there’s one topic that has captured the collective psyche over the past few years, it’s AI. But while the topic is fascinating, the uses are endless, and figuring out where it best fits into your work process is another matter entirely. The group I recently assembled on Clubhouse to talk about AI in Podcasting included a lot of veterans in the area of audio, video, and podcasting. They include voice actor and owner of The Sound Off Media Company, Matt Cundill; founder of Home Studio Mastery, Junaid Ahmed; on-air host and technical producer, mastering engineer, and podcast and audiobook post-production professional at AR Media, Sean Savage; founder of Spoken Life Media, LLC and Podcast Hall of Fame Inductee Rob Greenlee; and long-time audio technology consultant and co-host of the Pro Audio Suite Podcast, George Whittam. Each one of them had valuable insights into what tools work best for them and what tools you might want to look into for your own production.

Considering where the industry is heading, it’s probably a good idea to learn as much as you can about all these new and time-saving options. I hope you find this discussion super helpful!

As always, if you have questions for my panelists, 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 Tools in Podcast Creation

Our roundtable discussion starts as Matt introduces himself and discusses some of the strengths and weak spots of AI software, particularly when it comes to making corrections. “These tools,” he says, “have really helped, but I think if you rely on it too much, one of the things that we found out is that you can just waste as much time just by having to make corrections.” Rob joins in and shares his thoughts on the competition between cutting-edge AI startups and the major brands that are now catching up. “Some of the larger platforms,” he says, “are adding greater AI capability to them, and it’s putting a little bit in jeopardy some of the standalone AI kind of services or tools out there.”

(0:11:30) - AI Tools in Podcast Post-Production

Junaid introduces himself as well, and he tells us about some of the latest breakthroughs he’s seen in synthetic AI voices and the business boom for the voiceover artists behind them. “When they introduced the professional voice,” he says, “like, if you go in now, you can actually use some of the celebrity voices for your own stuff as well, and they’re getting paid...

Here’s part two of my interview with producer and voice director, Jeff Howell. We talked about what specifically ad agencies are considering when choosing talent for a voiceover gig and the most important thing that will influence their decision.

We also discussed:

• How the dubbing work Jeff does has been affected by the COVID-19 shutdowns (during which time we recorded this episode)
• Why historically, dubbing has had a bad rap
• The difference in how people are receiving programming these days
• How Jeff chooses talent for dubbing
• How Jeff brings reality to a dubbing performance
• Why great actors often miss the mark and blow their voiceover auditions 
• How sound and audio have historically been on the back burner while the visual has been stressed more
• Why it doesn’t work when TV spots are pulled and run as radio spots
• How Jeff gets emotional performances from voice actors
• What has changed with promos during the COVID-19 shutdowns
• The PSA project Jeff is currently working on
• What else Jeff has going on right now

To learn more about Jeff and his work, you can visit http://www.jeffhowellvo.com or email him through his website to connect.

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here's the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and read!) - please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you're interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE Audio Branding Worksheet?

“As human beings, we like to praise others that we believe are doing a great job. The thing is to make the ask easy to answer. So if you say 'can you record a one-minute video,' they would do it – I'm sure they would all do it – but it would be heavier. The lighting has to be good, you cannot have a bad hair day, and so on, whereas in voice you just need to make sure that your voice is okay.” -- Dr. Ahmed Bouzid

In this episode, we continue my interview with Dr. Ahmed Bouzid, renowned speech technologist and Witlingo founder and CEO, as we talk about the Open Voice Network and the future of audio social media.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

Speaking Your Knowledge

We begin the second half of the interview by talking about how Witlingo and internet audio can help democratize creativity, allowing people who might shy away from posting videos and pursuing more restrictive forms of audio expression to nonetheless find their voice in online audio communities. As Dr. Bouzid puts it, “there are lots and lots of people who have lots and lots of knowledge, and the best way for them to share that knowledge is just to speak it.”

The Social Audio Thing

Our discussion focuses on social audio apps as well at the nonprofit Open Voice Network, the ethics of voice AI and social audio, and the power of major companies like Twitter and Facebook to shape the industry. “This social audio thing, I don't think we understand it really that much right now. I think we have the basics of it, but I think where it's going to go and what it's going to be in a year or two, five years, I don't think we really know right now.”

Finding Your Voice Online

“I think there should be mechanisms,” Dr. Bouzid says as we talk about the future of social audio. “It cannot be left to these private companies to dictate things that have massive consequences.” He goes on to tell us about his work with Witlingo and the versatility it’ll give users, allowing fans and creators to share content and feedback, and the interview wraps up on a lighter note as we discover a somewhat surprising hobby that we happen to have in common.

Episode Summary

• Witlingo and the ease of social audio
• The ethics and dangers of voice AI
• The challenge of an open audio future
• How Witlingo can bring users together

Connect with Dr. Ahmed Bouzid

Witlingo: https://witlingo.com/

The Fish & the Bird: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ahmedbouzid_voicefirst-sonic-sonicmarketing-activity-6818992542961438721-2Dvl

Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/didou/

Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmedbouzid/

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals

Brandee Sanders is an award-winning digital leader, tech strategist, multimedia storyteller, and data translator. She develops and accelerates her clients’ vision by working at the intersection of data, commerce, content, and creative. She’s worked with a dynamic variety of companies, including Silicon Valley startups, Emmy Award Winning studios, and more. She’s been featured in The New York Times, Condé Nast, New York Fashion Week, Etsy, TV Network, and Inc. Magazine. Currently, she’s Director of Marketing Operations at Appetize Technologies, Inc. and is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Data Science and Analytics.

In the first part of our riveting conversation (seriously, buckle up, folks!), we discuss what exactly Brandee means when she calls herself a multimedia storyteller and how she got into her line of work, as well as:

• Her background in the arts, including film, musical theater, and ballet and why she decided to move behind the camera
• Creating her own eCommerce business
• How she became successful, as she put it, “in spite of my ignorance”
• The three careers most people have
• How she began working in both storytelling as well as statistical quantitative data analysis in technology, operations, and marketing 
• Being featured in a LinkedIn case study
• What factors must be considered when piloting new ideas
• How you can’t have innovation without failure
• The importance of companies/brands putting themselves in the consumers’ position to consider how they may be perceiving things
• How brand building and sales activation come together in advertising
• How purchase intent can grow as much as 146% between pre- and post-exposure of sonic logos and music
• How early adoption of an idea pays off in the long run
• How critical sonic branding is as part of a marketing strategy
• How data can protect the valuable work people do

To learn more about Brandee, you can find her on social media: 

• LinkedIn: Brandee Sanders https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandeesanders/
• Twitter: @PlanetBrandy https://twitter.com/PlanetBrandee
• Her website www.brandeesanders.com

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here's the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and read!) - please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

“I was just thinking that humans generally like things that are new, but not that new, and you probably have the familiar tune. And then if you hear something clever, I think the biggest danger is cheesiness. But if you have something clever and, as Adam says, anchored in the brand, if it’s a tongue-in-cheek brand and it’s a tongue-in-cheek lyric, that’ll work and maybe it adds freshness rather than clutter.” -- Colleen Fahey

Recently, I had a conversation in a LinkedIn Audio Event with four very knowledgeable and talented audio branding experts about what companies can do to make the most of their audio brand over the holiday season. My panelists were Jeanna Isham, a sonic strategist, author, and audio branding thought leader with Dreamr Productions; Adam Pleiman, Creative Director and Grammy-nominated engineer with PLAY Audio Agency; Colleen Fahey, author and US Managing Director of Sixième Son; and John Sanfilippo, a veteran producer and sound strategist with his company, SoundWise.

All four had a lot to say about this subject, and we discussed what companies should have done before the holidays, what trends they were seeing in the area of audio branding, and what they thought companies could do with their audio branding to prepare for the new year. We exchanged ideas on moving beyond traditional holiday songs and instead harnessing a brand’s unique sound to make a distinct impression. It was a fascinating discussion and I think you’ll get a lot from 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. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House every Wednesday (check the schedule for times). Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, when new audio rooms are scheduled and what they'll be about, and it'll give you access to a resource called The Studio with lots of interesting sound-related mp3s, videos, educational pdfs, and exclusive discounts from previous guests.

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. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:00) - Audio Branding for the Holidays

We start off the topic of audio branding for the holidays with our panel of experts sharing their insights on striking the balance between familiar and novel holiday marketing. “They say that all the best ads happen at Christmas time,” Colleen notes, “but they run for the shortest amount of time because then they get cut down when Christmas is over.” We talk about some of the most memorable marketing twists on holiday advertising, from M&M ads to Frank Sinatra parodies, and what makes them stand out from the branding crowd. “I think that if you can find the heart of your actual brand persona and personify that into the holidays,” Jeanna says, “without going the cookie cutter, generic way, you will stand out and you’ll be a relief from what other people are listening to.”

(0:16:10) - Sound and Music in Advertising

The group continues to explore the power of sound and music during the holiday season, and how less can be more when it comes to making a holiday impression. “It’s very like positive, subliminal

“No, it’s true. No, you’re absolutely right. Yeah, it does trigger memories. I remember sitting in my bedroom in my parents’ house hearing certain songs like ‘Double Dutch Bus,’ that song from the early 80s, it triggers a memory instantly. Or Earth, Wind and Fire, playing my parents’ vinyl records, certain songs like instant memory of where I heard that song.” -- George Whittam

This episode’s the second half of my interview with audio engineer, podcast host, and all-around sound expert George Whittam as we talk about whether rooms or recording booths make for better audio, how podcasts became the new magazines, and George’s most and least favorite sounds.

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 www.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 if you’re getting some value from listening, feel free to spread that around and share it with a friend, along with leaving an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

The Blind Leading the Blind

As we start the second half of our interview, George explains how the needs of musicians and voiceover artists can lead to very different recording environments. “There’s no reverb,” he says about voiceover studios, “there’s no liveliness. It doesn’t help a musician who’s playing acoustically or singing to be singing into a dead void.” We talk about whether he prefers isolated rooms or recording booths for soundproof environments, and why isolation booths often have trouble living up to their promise. “A lot of these companies that make iso booths don’t understand the importance of actually having an acoustics expert,” he tells us. “There’s a lot of the blind leading the blind.”

Sounds, Textures, and Rhythm

We also discuss George’s experience with podcasting, both as a host and listener, and how it’s come to replace magazines as his source of daily news “With podcasts,” he says, “I find there’s less of the, ‘if it bleeds, it leads’ type stories and more, more real stories.” We also talk about the power of sound in our everyday lives, from the beauty of a piano piece or solo trumpet to the noise of leaf blowers and construction workers in the big city. “For me,” he says, “it’s always been about the sound, the textures, the rhythms, the way it’s recorded. That has always been what’s triggered an emotion in me.”

Why It’s So Important

The topic turns to audio equipment and how well smartphones can fill in for a studio when we’re out on the road. George tells us about the limitations he’s encountered in trying to make Apple products work with third-party hardware, including an audio interview that was never actually recorded thanks to a notification hiccup. “It makes me crazy,” he adds, “and this is why we’ll never recommend, and even an iPad Pro for real recording use. You cannot count on it.” As the episode closes, we talk about the importance of sound, from advertising to movies, from music to everyday life. “Sound is very, very attached to the emotions,” he says. “That’s, it is for me, so that’s probably why it’s so important.”

Episode Summary

• Whether isolation booths or soundproof rooms are better for recording
• Blocking out ambient noise, from city traffic to rural neighbors
• How to...

“I think there’s a responsibility to know that if you’re emotionally connecting people, if you know that we have the power to persuade, in a way, that is, that wields real results and real people, like let’s not manipulate, you know? Let’s make sure that that’s an authentic thing that needs, that you’re creating and you’re not driving something fake. You’re not driving, because it’s gonna be, it’s gonna be, they’re gonna smoke it out anyway at some point in time. It’s not gonna work.” -- Adam Pleiman

This episode’s the second half of my conversation with Grammy-nominated engineer, producer, musician, and Play Audio Agency creative director Adam Pleiman, as we talk about how he’s working to make the world sound better, about the surprising role ASMR played in Play Audio’s recent Sport Clip ad campaign, and the importance of honesty when it comes to consumers.

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 www.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 if you’re getting some value from listening, feel free to spread that around and share it with a friend, along with leaving an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

A Better-Sounding Place

The second half of our discussion starts as Adam talks about what he considers his evolving mission as an audio creator. “Our mission,” he says, “is to make the world a better-sounding place.” We talk about the boundaries he believes should be maintained for the sake of respecting his audience. “There are certain things,” Adam explains, “that we will draw a line on and certain things we won’t do because it would be irresponsible and hurtful to the industry.” He tells us how he brings all the different parts of a company’s brand and the audio resources at his disposal into a cohesive sonic identity, and how rewarding it is to see everything come together. “I mean,” he says, “it gives me goosebumps to think that it’s that much more effective when it’s all tied in across the board, you know?”

What No One Else Is Doing

We talk about one particularly recent and successful example, the now-famous ASMR audio spot for Sport Clips, and how the idea grew from its first inspiration to an acclaimed finished product. “It was an interesting challenge,” Adam tells us, “to go, well, ‘what’s unique? You know, what are you doing that no one else is doing?’ Do they have unique sounds? And what can we do to illustrate those to a listener?” We listen to a clip and talk a bit about the process of creating an authentic ASMR experience, and how it worked to bolster Sport Clips’ brand recognition. “The stats on it were outstanding as a brand lift,” he says. “Brand awareness had like a 15% jump. It was outstanding.”

The Ocean for Me

As the episode comes to a close, Adam tells us what he sees in store for the future of audio branding, and how, with the U.S. market historically lagging but quickly catching up, there’s a lot of opportunity for marketing innovation. “We’re on the growth side now in the States,” he says, “and we’re on awareness and an education push in the States. But once we get over that hump, it’s gonna be the same as the visual side.” He shares how he sees audio branding following the same trajectory as visual branding in decades past, and his sense of...

“So I got involved in YouTube first, uh, in ‘06, and then audio, I got involved in 2012. I started, like, paying attention in 2013, um, the summer of 2013. I really got heavily in podcasting ‘cause I saw the opportunity and what it could do for people. And like you said, I love voice. It’s a much more nuanced form of communication, but it’s so profound ‘cause, right now, um, even today, even though I think people should have a video component of some sort, when you look at people’s stats, the people that listen to audio are much more engaged in that show than the people that watch the video.” – Chris Krimitsos

This episode’s guest has been successfully growing Podfest Multimedia Expo from what started as a meetup at a local café in 2013 to an international conference with more than three thousand registrants. Content creators have benefited from his knack for community building as they build relationships, their podcasts, and YouTube channels through the platforms he’s provided. These experiences, whether in-person or virtual, are built on his experience as the creator of over two thousand live events in his professional career. As a trendsetter, he quickly identified podcasting’s popularity and responded with a 2017 documentary about the evolving medium called The Messengers: A Podcast Documentary. The film has been placed on YouTube for global distribution after having initially been released on Amazon, where he also had his book, Start Ugly: A Timeless Tale About Innovation & Change, hit #1 in the categories of Business Leadership and HR.

His name is Chris Krimitsos, and in this conversation, we find out more about how he decided podcasting would be such a big thing, what it takes to put together a conference of Podfest’s size, and where he thinks this medium will take us into the future. We’re all about sound here – and podcasting is definitely a part of that. So keep listening to learn more from this encouraging, community-minded, giant in the industry!

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 Audio Media Platforms

As our conversation starts off, Chris shares his early memories of sound, particularly hearing the nightly train in Long Island as a child. He recalls growing up in the early days of podcasting and talks about how YouTube, Bluetooth, and even the automobile industry all helped shape the course of podcast history. “That eight-year lag between [having] the Bluetooth device in the car and the Bluetooth on your phone to match up,” he explains, “it gave YouTube and on-demand video about an eight-year head start.” We discuss whether podcasting might eventually replace radio altogether, and its advantages over the increasingly commercialized streaming video landscape. “You might have some ads in the front,” he says about podcasts, “but you listen to a person’s voice and you’re not necessarily scrolling for the next audio show. You’re committed to that show for that half hour.”

(0:11:24) - Podcast Platform Dominance Conversation

Our discussion turns to which platforms are dominating the market these days and where podcasters should...

This is the third episode of a three-part series about sonic tactics, and it's been quite a journey. So far, I've talked about how animals use sound in the wild, from spiders doing wasp impressions to sperm whales whose calls can be deadly at close range, and how people in the past have learned to harness the power of sound on the battlefield, such as chasing off war elephants with the help of squealing pigs. We'll be taking a look in this episode at audio conflict as it exists today, and just what the future might hold when it comes to sound's growing potential for both good and harm.

One of the oldest and simplest uses of sound in modern combat is one that might seem familiar to exasperated parents: playing music too loud. When used on prisoners in captivity, such treatment can amount to torture, and it's been recognized as such by the United Nations. Loud music has also been used as a police tactic for dispersing crowds, where it's had more mixed results: protesters have proven just as likely to start singing along with "Baby Shark" or Frozen's "Let It Go" as they are to run away. There can also be a cultural element to such tactical music: South Korea spent more than two years blasting K-pop songs along the border, a move that outraged North Korea so much it threatened to launch missiles at the speakers. The music only stopped in 2018 ahead of a peace summit.

Audio technology is constantly changing, though, and now it can be used to hone in on more precise targets than ever before. In 2005 Howard Stapleton patented the Mosquito machine, a crowd control device that's aimed specifically at teenagers. As adults, we gradually lose our hearing thanks to the everyday wear and tear on our auditory nerves, and the first things to go are the higher frequencies. That means there are sounds children and teenagers can hear that, for the most part, adults can't detect. The Mosquito uses one of those sound frequencies – 17.4 kHz, to be exact – at 108 decibels, the same volume as a rock concert, to drive teenagers away from storefronts and public places.

But, much like those crowds singing along to the music they’re supposed to hate, the Mosquito frequency’s turned out to be just as useful to the teens it’s meant to chase off. Smartphone apps have been developed since then that use the same sound as a kind of secret ringtone, so students can use their phones in class without their teachers hearing them. Want to test your ears and find out if you have the hearing of an eighteen-year-old? Check out my blog for a link to the Mosquito tone, but be sure to use a pair of high-quality headphones. Some speakers can’t even play back such a high frequency:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrewnzQYrPI

As digital sound's become more and more important in our lives, our ability to direct and use it with laser-like precision has also grown. One of the most widespread and contentious uses of sound in the twenty-first century is the sound cannon or LRAD (el-rad) system, short for "long-range acoustical device." It uses interference waves to create narrow beams of focused sound that can travel up to five kilometers and was originally meant as a substitute for radio contact between sea vessels in an emergency. LRADs can relay public broadcasts, or, by switching on the siren and setting the volume to maximum, disperse crowds or subdue targets. It's been used around the world for everything from evacuation notices to scaring off animals to repelling pirate attacks on the high seas.

Over the past few years, the LRAD's potential as a sonic weapon against peaceful protesters has generated controversy, and questions have been raised about whether the sound beam – which, at up to 160 decibels on military-grade models, can be louder than a jet engine – might cause permanent hearing loss. Its merits as both an audio...

“The interesting thing about Napster was, you know, they built this really cool community and everyone had to upload their music to a server. So they controlled the servers. And because the music business doesn’t understand it and because it wasn’t their thing, they killed it. So the people who had designed that software were like, okay, then let’s just make every computer a server. And then like Gnutella and LimeWire came out and it was like, it almost destroyed the industry. They were able to take that technology and bring it back into like, well, ‘let’s just stream it to you now. We’ll stream it to you back from our servers.’ But then the artists paid the price on that.” -- Randy Sosin

This is the second half of my conversation with filmmaker, music video producer, and visual storyteller Randy Sosin as we talk about how artists can engage more successfully with their fans, how he’s working to overcome the bad reputation that NFTs have given blockchains, and his work in reinventing everything from music videos to concert performances for the digital-audio era.

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 www.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 if you’re getting some value from listening, feel free to spread that around and share it with a friend, along with leaving an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

A Whole Other World

The second half of our discussion starts with a look back at file-sharing apps like Napster and Limewire, and how the music industry missed an early opportunity to engage listeners and connect them more directly to the artists. He tells us how he’s using the blockchain to create just that sort of connection now: “As an artist, if you do something and sell it, like if somebody buys something, it goes directly to your wallet. It’s a fifteen-second transaction thing. And if you’re selling it for a hundred dollars or two dollars or whatever, you don’t have to wait.” We talk about the hit NFTs have taken in the news lately, and how he’s working to separate the pioneering technology and potential behind them from their mixed reputation “So I’m trying to make it more like digital scrapbooks,” he says, “and clips from videos and stems, because there’s a whole other world that I feel that’s out there.”

Wow, That’s Cheap

Our conversation turns to audio jingles, logos, and the industry’s ongoing reliance on licensed music from decades past. “They’re trying to tap into the familiarity,” Randy explains, “so that you’re watching that, you’re like ‘oh, I love Stevie Wonder and I love the Beatles.’ They’re just trying to get you to engage with the brand.” We also talk about the limitations of this strategy, especially since more than one company might license the same song for a commercial. “People are like ‘oh, you know that song and it was in this commercial?’” he tells us. “It’s like ‘no, it was in this commercial,’ and then they Google and it’s in both commercials. And then they’re like, oh, wow, that’s cheap.”

The Fan Experience

As our conversation comes to a close, we talk about the growing role of audio branding in the future of digital music, from fans interacting with music video elements to concerts where fans can use tokens to interact with the...

“And I carried that into engineering in college and was going to go into computers, but then kind of got into robotics. But through all of that, I was still doing college radio. And again, that was like backdoor access to, ‘Hey, can I use the studio in the off hours? Can my band record our CD here in the summer when the stations technically shut down?’ And then that got me into, well, I’m on-air talent now, which in college radio is, as Strongbad used to say, I can describe college radio in five words: dead air, um, dead air.” -- Brian Richardson

This episode’s guest is an engineer turned technical communicator who’s currently working as the Security Initiative Lead for Intel’s Data Center & AI Marketing team. He also produces DIY videos from his farm in Oregon, hosts events and panels for Dragon Con, one of the world’s largest pop-culture conventions, and is one of the co-founders of their in-house video team, commonly known as DragonConTV – and he certainly has some interesting stories to share about that.

But I know him best as the drummer and emcee of the band Play It With Moxie that we’ve been performing in together for over 18 years at a small music convention in Atlanta. His name is Brian Richardson and not only is he a very funny guy, he’s also extremely knowledgeable when it comes to helping techies share complicated ideas.  His answer? Infomercials! I’ll let him explain.

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. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House, at 2pm Eastern every Wednesday. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest Clubhouse rooms will be about. And 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. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

Dead Air, Um, Dead Air

We start off the episode with Brian’s early memory of sounds, from taking apart an AM radio to the first time he heard a lightsaber. “I vividly remember seeing Star Wars at the age of five in the theater,” he recalls. “And I don’t remember like the entire plot of the movie, but I remember it moving me and there’s a whole element of sound design in that like the lightsaber noise.” He tells us about how his fascination with sound and audio engineering led to band, then AV club, and then his first radio gig. “And then that got me into, well, ‘I’m on air talent now,’” he says, “which in college radio, as Strongbad used to say, I can describe college radio in five words, dead air, dead air.”

The Human-to-Nerd Interface

Brian and I talk more about his early years at Dragon Con, and how he helped create what’s become known as DragonConTV. “Once we got the whole DragonConTV operation up and running,” he says, “that’s a whole different story. But I ended up in this parallel track of like becoming sort of the, the human-to-nerd interface, whether it was on the technical side of things, or whether it was on the actual, like stereotypical nerd side of things.” Being the human-to-nerd interface, as he puts it, taught him about the subtleties of communication, and he realized that it’s an often-neglected...

“I really believe in developing the power of an audio brand as the Nike swoosh, as the Amazon arrow smile. Your audio brand should be as recognizable to your personal brand, to your business brand, however you’re leveraging your audio platform. It should be as good a quality, and people should invest in, and not have it be an afterthought. If you think about what people invest in personal branding and visual branding aesthetics, website branding and then, oh, ‘I want to start a podcast.’ And they never even consider that that’s an extension of all of that other investment that you’ve made.” – Traci DeForge

This episode’s guest is the founder of Produce Your Podcast, an award-winning full-service production and marketing agency, and is recognized as an international podcast expert, sought-after speaker, and media contributor. She’s the creator of the Podcast Management Academy, the industry’s only certified podcast manager training program, and co-founder of the Podcast Professionals Association. She’s also the co-host of the Ask Brien radio show on KHTS AM & FM in Los Angeles and has been featured on all three major networks along with CNN, CTV, American Express OPEN, and Radio INK, and is a member of the Rolling Stone Culture Council. Her name is Traci DeForge, and if you’re looking to take your podcast to the next level, you’ll want to hear what she has to say about 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.

(0:00:01) – The Love of Audio

We start things off with a look back at Traci’s childhood memories of sound, from calling Dial-a-Prayer to hear stories over the phone to listening to to the radio under the covers at night. “I used to sleep with an AM transmitter radio under my pillow listening to ghost stories,” she recalls, “and when my friends would come over for slumber parties. I would create these elaborate radio shows.” She tells us about how developing her first podcast in 2015 helped inspire her to create Produce Your Podcast. “There are going to be some other busy consultants and business owners,” she explains, “who are going to want to have podcasts, but they’re not going to want to do everything it takes to have it be a broadcast that represents the quality of their brand. And so that’s when Produce Your Podcast was born.”

(0:11:01) - The Power of Audio Branding

Our conversation turns to the differences between audio and video productions, and why just ripping the audio from a video production might not cut it in podcasting.“If you don’t really understand the true power of audio and audio branding,” Traci notes, “then you could get lost in thinking that ‘I’m just going to do a video podcast or video recording,’ or even a video webinar to a degree, ‘and I’m just going to grab the audio off of that.’” We discuss how the audio production works to bring the imagery to life for listeners, and how a podcast lacking that connection can leave its listeners cold. “That can be the point where an audience could fracture from you,” she adds, “because they don’t feel connected to the conversation. So they may stay through that conversation

“Loyalist College, they have their own marketing people, they had just done a visual rebrand, so it was the perfect time for a sonic – not even a rebrand, they never had any kind of sonic strategy. So that was very exciting. And they had this new young marketing team too, and they were really receptive to new ideas, and they had this agency on board that had done their visual rebrand and their overall rebrand, and they were great to work with too. So it was a longer process and it was more involved, but it was all the right people on board, so it did go very smoothly even though it took a bit longer. Whereas that real estate agent, that was also a great experience, but it was just a completely different thing because I realized I'm not really branding a business, I'm branding a person." -- John Sanfilippo

This week’s guest has had a storied career, from music to media and advertising, and then to their synthesis in audio branding. He founded the sonic branding and production company now known as SoundWise in 2012, and he’s worked with businesses big and small to bring their brand into the realm of sound. His name is John Sanfilippo and in this episode, we’ll be unpacking his journey into audio branding and how the industry has transformed into the powerhouse it is today.

One of the most intriguing aspects of our discussion was the creation process of a sonic identity, a signature sound so unique it resonates without visuals or words. We dove deep into the connection between voiceover and sonic branding communities, reminisced about early sound experiences that have left a lasting impression on us, and even ventured into the iconic album Thriller by Michael Jackson. All the while, John expertly guided us through the process of using a brand's media, touchpoints, and environments to craft a compelling and recognizable sonic identity.

John also shed light on the nuances of audio branding for different-sized companies and the importance of understanding the emotional core of a client. We chatted about the creative push that comes with fresh ideas and the importance of integrating non-musical elements into audio logos. So, tune in, get comfortable, and let your ears guide you on this exploration of sonic branding.

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 access to a resource called The Studio with lots of interesting sound-related mp3s, videos, educational pdfs, and exclusive discounts from previous guests. And 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. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:01) - The Power of Sonic Branding

John shares his journey of how he got into audio branding and how it has evolved over the years. “The industry is very interesting right now,” he says, “because there are so many people doing it, but there isn’t anybody necessarily flying the plane. You know, there isn’t like one sort of authority figure saying this is how it is now, which I think is probably a good thing.” He explains the process of creating a sonic identity that is so distinct and consistent that it could work without visuals or words and shares his tips and insights on branding with sound today and about what the...

Sound is a subject I’m very passionate about, and it’s more important than we think. When I started this podcast I wanted as many people as possible to know that their audio shouldn’t be an afterthought. But as I spoke with people about this topic, I learned that I had a lot to learn about it too. Every guest on this show has shared valuable information about how sound shapes us, and I’ve been fascinated by the depth of these conversations. I hope you have too.

There’s a lot to unpack here, and the samples featured in this episode really just give you a basic overview. I’ve included links to each of the episodes here so you can go back and listen to any that intrigue you. Ultimately I’m on the same journey of discovery that you are, and it’s a journey that we’re taking together.

It Seems Like Magic

We start things off with a look back at my Episode 19 interview with sonic strategy director and audio alchemist Steve Keller, and his amazing work in using sound to change the way our brains perceive different flavors. From there we revisit Episode 81, an interview with Jim Kennelly and Sam Ufret of Lotas Productions, and the trends they’ve followed in the voiceover industry after Covid-19.

Steve Keller: https://www.sxmmedia.com/

Jim Kennelly and Sam Ufret: https://www.lotasproductions.com/

“Hey Jodi, it’s Marie Hoffman. I just listened to your podcast with Jim Kennelly and Sam Ufrent, and the excitement and positivity that they brought to the podcast about the future of voiceover and synthetic voices and AI was palpable. I felt like I went to four years of college in your thirty-one-minute podcast. Thank you so much for airing this, and keep up the good work!”

— Marie Hoffman, Voiceover Artist

The Timbre of Your Voice

We continue with audiologist and parent coach, Dr. Lilach Saperstein’s interview in Episode 79, and the subtle connection between our sense of hearing and emotional relationships. Then we jump back a little further to Episode 71 and Hamish MacDonald, the managing director of Squeak-E-Clean Studios, and how he conveys the true value of sound to his clients and partners. After that, we check in with casting director and coach Mary Lynn Wissner in Episode 36, to talk about how sometimes the best voice for a job isn’t the one her clients expect.

Dr. Lilach Saperstein: https://allaboutaudiology.com/

Hamish MacDonald: 

“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

• Music’s influence on our lives, and how it can help us overcome past traumas.
• Anna’s journey from Ukraine to Texas, and the cognitive impact of creating music.

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...

This is the second part of my interview with Emily Rose Giddings. This episode is a continuation of our conversation about music and sound and really dives into what she does to help her clients embody their own sound as well as what’s involved in training your voice for video/speaking.

Listen in to our continued conversation about:

• What it means to be “performing a script”
• The difference between a good actor and a great actor
• How to shift your mind to creating the environment to speak well
• How imagination comes into play with voice acting
• Voice acting in different realms 
• The importance of having emotion behind your voice acting
• My process for changing my voice to match the purpose of the voice acting I’m doing
• The mingling of emotions to create the “correct” voice for each project
• Acting theory
• The process of mixing real life experiences with imaginary ones
• What’s involved in confidence coaching
• Why people think they need confidence
• The fallacy about “getting there”
• The importance of clear goals and what you need to do to achieve them
• Taking feedback gracefully
• How Emily works with her clients
• Emily’s ideal clients
• How her past with marketing has impacted the people she works with
• What Emily is currently working on - something for coaching and something for her music
• The struggle with touring
• How Emily connects with her audience- social media scheduled performances

If you are looking for more information about Emily Rose Giddings’ coaching opportunities, you can find those here:

Website: https://www.emilyrosegiddings.com 

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/confidentcreativeentrepreneurs 

If you’re looking for more information about her band, you can find that here:

Zigtebra: https://www.facebook.com/zigtebra 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/Zigtebra

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE download – 5 Tips For Implementing An Intentional Audio Strategy at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/ 

“Persuading hospitals and manufacturers to adopt better alarms aside from the standard is to persuade them that this is important and that it’s cool to do so, and that this is what everybody is doing and it’s a selling point for you if you’re using better alarms or more safe alarms or your false alarm rates are lower. Because that's a key problem with the whole alarm problem, it’s this very high false alarm rate, so there are a number of ways in which you can persuade people to change their practice. But they're not necessarily what you think.”-- Professor Judy Edworthy

Recently I had the chance to moderate a panel in The Power of Sound club on Clubhouse about sound in healthcare called "Alarms are Killing Us," and it was quite the discussion. My panelists came from all sectors of the health industry and included Dr. Joseph Schlesinger, Dr. Elif Özcan, Professor Judy Edworthy, and Professor Michael Schutz, who’s been featured as a guest on this podcast.

We talked about how sound has a profound effect on us, for better and for worse. Hospitals have been described as "beeping hellscapes,” which isn't surprising, considering how many machines there are in the typical hospital and all the noises that they make. But do they really have to make that much noise? And do they have to make the same noises that they've been making since the 1950s (when there were a lot less of them)? When does an alarm become too alarming? What effect does all that sound pollution have in an environment that's supposed to heal us? How can we fix it? Do notifications need to sound like alarms? Join my expert panelists and me as we discuss how the medical soundscape got so bad, and what we can do to change things. This is an important topic for all of us and I hope you'll get a lot from it. Let's hope that new standards are adopted widely – and soon!

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

Too Many Alarms

We start the discussion with an introduction from each of our panelists and their thoughts about solving the medical alarm problem. “People have difficulty talking about sound,” Judy says as she tells us about her team’s early challenges in overcoming preconceptions about hospital sounds. “They have difficulty describing what the sound should be like. We didn’t have a set of metrics against which to evaluate any new set of alarms.” Dr. Özcan agrees and tells us about her hands-on research into just how many sounds, most of them false alarms, exist in a hospital setting. “We measured up to 12,000 alarms in one unit,” Elif says, “and that’s too many alarms for anyone to handle.”

Sculpting a Better Sound

Dr. Schlesinger introduces himself next, and he relates his own firsthand experience as a doctor and how the number of false alarms can not only affect the staff but how the patients perceive the staff's response to them. "What's the perception of the quality of care,” he asks, “if we seem lackadaisical to these alarms?” Michael tells us about how he met the rest of the group, and he describes his work in researching and creating a better soundscape in hospitals. As he puts it, “what I’m doing a lot of is looking at sort of the nuance to see how we can sculpt the sound to make it better.”

A Culture Shift

The first question for our group concerns the resistance...

Judy Rodman has spent over 50 years in the music industry. She’s been a top session singer, recording artist, stage and TV performer, songwriter, studio producer, public speaker, and coach. Judy teaches singers and speakers globally both from her office and online. She’s a published author, hosts the podcast All Things Vocal, and is currently working on a 12-module course in vocal training.

In the first part of our conversation, we spoke about a variety of topics, including: 

• How Nashville is doing amidst the COVID-19 shutdowns (during which time this episode was recorded) 
• Judy’s recommendations for how Nashvillians can proactively live through the challenges of the circumstances surrounding COVID-19
• How Judy first developed a love for voice
• Judy’s background in music growing up
• Judy’s first paid gig
• How Judy transitioned into being a vocal coach
• Recording jingles as a staff member of the Pepper Tanner organization
• Making up copy for a funeral home
• How Judy started doing work writing longer copy
• How taking voice lessons and learning to sing helps songwriters
• The importance of silence and pauses when reading copy
• The one question we have to ask ourselves when we communicate
• Using our imaginations to anticipate others’ responses to our communication
• Different ways of articulating in varying contexts

You can find out more about Judy and access all she has to offer at www.judyrodman.com. Check out her podcast All Things Vocal on your favorite podcast app.

You can also find Judy on social media:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/judyrodmanvoice
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/judyrodman
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judyrodman
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/judyrodman

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here's the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and read!) - please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

Imagine you’re a child and you’re riding in the back seat of a car at night. You watch the trees passing by you through the window, and then you close your eyes so you can feel the vibrations through the seat. All the while the engine softly rumbles all around you, surrounding you like a blanket. Over half of parents surveyed said they’ve used “dream drives,” taking their children on a drive at night just to help them fall asleep. But what if you’re driving an electric vehicle? Would it still have that soothing rumble?

Last year Nissan partnered with Tom Middleton to find a way to preserve this timeless experience in the Nissan LEAF, an electric car that would normally be completely silent. To help the LEAF sound and feel more like an old-fashioned car, Middleton created an ambient album of combustion engine sounds called the “Nissan Leaf Dream Drive” that’s available on Spotify, Google Play and other platforms. To learn more about it, just click the link below:

https://www.edelman.com/work/nissan-dream-drive

This isn’t the first time sounds have been added to electric vehicles to make them seem more familiar, and it won’t be the last. A new EU law mandates that by this July all hybrid and electric vehicles will need an “acoustic vehicle alert system” to make sure pedestrians can hear approaching vehicles. Those sounds are required to resemble a gasoline engine, and to scale up and down with the vehicle’s speed. A similar “quiet car” law will take effect in the United States this March, after a six-month extension.

Electric cars are just one example of how new technology is changing many of the sounds we take for granted, and how we’re working to bring those sounds back in new ways. You may have heard of the “coconut effect,” especially if you’re a fan of old westerns or a certain Monty Python movie. Whether it’s coconut shells clapping to imitate galloping horses, or the squealing tires during every car chase, or whirring, beeping computers, there are sounds in movies that we just expect to be there. It turns out that many of the sounds we take for granted in our lives work much the same way.

If you’ve ever had a cell phone call drop – and who hasn’t? - you could probably tell after just a second that the line’s dead. But how did you know? Though we don’t usually notice it, there’s a slight background hum added to digital telephones called a “comfort noise.” It’s only there when the line’s open, and when that hum stops we know that the call’s ended without even really thinking about it.

That hum was just a side effect for landline phones, but we’ve become so used to it that, even though modern phones don’t really need it, we’ve added it back in. Smartphones also do this with buttons that click when you press them, even though you’re just tapping a screen, while haptic feedback gives your hand a slight jolt with each click. It doesn’t need to do that, but it wouldn’t feel right for us if it didn’t. From rumbling vacuum cleaners and clicking car locks, from satellite radios with fake static to potato chips meant to crunch with each bite, a surprising number of sounds around us are intentionally designed to enhance our lives. For a closer look at some of them, check out this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZOpDve8ARA

As digital technology expands and replaces older, mechanical sounds with silence, it turns out that at least some of those background noises, whether it’s the rumble of a car engine or the hiss of a phone line, are still pretty useful. Sound remains an important part of our lives, and in many ways the audio industry is now working to replace and improve upon those missing sounds.

Most of us aren’t that comfortable with things being too quiet. Having

“I would say that the core driver has always been trying to enable more folks to engage, more people to be able to express themselves. So when I go back and look at all the things in my life, that seems to be the theme." --  Dr. Ahmed Bouzid

This episode's guest is the founder and CEO of Witlingo, a McLean, Virginia-based company that builds tools for publishing sonic experiences, from Alexa Skills, Google Actions, and Bixby Capsules to Microcasts and social audio products and solutions. Before Witlingo, he was the Head of Product at Amazon Alexa and the Vice President of Product at Genesys.

He holds twelve patents in Human Language Technology, is an Ambassador at The Open Voice Network, an Editor at The Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective (SERRC), and was recognized as a "Speech Luminary" by Speech Technology Magazine, as well as among the Top 11 Speech Technologists by Voicebot.ai. His name is Dr. Ahmed Bouzid, and if you have any interest in the future of voice and technology, this will be an enlightening discussion. 

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

Better Than Computers

Dr. Bouzid starts the interview by recalling his formative years in Casablanca, and his memories of waking up to the sounds of chickens on his family’s villa. He goes on to tell us about his work as a software engineer and how computers still have a long way to go to catch up with human language skills.  “Language is a very fascinating problem to solve from the technological perspective,” he explains, “one of the hardest problems in artificial intelligence.”

Teaching a Machine Manners

We take a deeper look at the paradox of machine learning versus the human brain, how people have evolved around the use of language in a way that computers haven't. "Some people say that we are wired for language," he tells us, "that it's something that we are born with." Even something as seemingly simple as being polite can be almost impossible to program into a computer since it depends on so many cultural and social cues that we don't usually think about.

The Fish and the Bird

Next, we talk about Witlingo and the challenges facing voice-first systems like Alexa and Siri.  Dr. Bouzid explores one of those challenges with a story he calls the Fallacy of the Fish and the Bird that illustrates the temptation to judge a new product using the same metrics that we used for the older ones, even when they don’t make sense. As he put it, “the metrics of the fish don't apply to the bird, and, also, there are a lot more fish than there are birds.”

Thinking Like a Bot

The first half of our interview focuses on the advantages and limitations of chatbots, the uncanny valley that an almost-human voice system can fall into, and his approach to making AI voices and voice-first interfaces more accessible. “I subscribe to the school of thought that says we should not try to have the bot emulate the human being,” Dr. Bouzid explains. “The conversation between a human being and a bot is different than a human being to a human being.”

Episode Summary

• Dr. Bouzid’s early childhood in Morocco
• Why humans are better at speech than computers
• The challenges of teaching an AI language
• Witlingo and the metrics of voice-first software
• How we talk to and interact with voice AI

Connect with...

“I agree that humans will always want to work with humans and that we’re gonna always favor it in a lot of ways, especially because of the spontaneity, the creativity, the vibe. Kids love to use the word vibe, but we want the vibe and AI doesn’t have the vibe. Kids are really good at detecting AI, really good at it…. They pick it out way before their parents. So they’re really tuned into it. So I think that’s what’s going to keep it at bay in terms of being a true creative tool for really a long time.” – Sean Savage

This episode is the second half of my Clubhouse discussion with voice actor and Sound Off Media Company owner Matt Cundill, Home Studio Mastery founder Junaid Ahmed, podcast producer and AR Media host Sean Savage, Spoken Life Media founder and Podcast Hall of Fame Inductee Rob Greenlee, and long-time podcaster and audio technology consultant George Whittam, as we discuss the future of AI, what sets machine and human learning apart, and building your own AI clone.

As always, if you have questions for my panelists, 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 and the Future of Technology

The second half of our conversation begins as we talk about the impact of AI on everything from social media to politics, and what that might mean for its future. “I interviewed David Pogue earlier this year,” George says, “and he’s done a tremendous amount of AI research and experimenting, and he’s like, it hasn’t yet swung an election that we know of, so maybe we shouldn’t be too worried. But it’s just something to think about, and I think about it all the time.” The topic turns to AGI, or Artificial General Intelligence. “That day is coming,” Rob tells us. “I don’t know if it’s five years from now, ten years from now, that it surpasses, you know, the ability to think and process information, um, better than a human, but I think it’s coming and once that happens, it’s going to change everything.”

(0:06:44) - Ethical Implications of AI Use

We talk about the ethics of AI usage, and whether there’s any practical difference between how AI models are trained and how children naturally learn. “Even if your older brother is telling you ‘don’t copy me,’” Junaid notes, “guess what? Your younger siblings are still going to copy them. There’s no lawsuit against that. You know, that’s how human beings are literally taught.” George describes his experience with feeding an AI all his writing content to help it learn his writing style, and we discuss the prospect and legality of such AI ‘clones.’ “If you went and scraped pretty much all the work that you’ve done and voiced,” Matt says, “packaged it up to create an AI model, you then can own the licensing of that AI voice and be paid for it. But if somebody else went and did it, the answer would be no. But, as we’ve discussed, some people are out there doing it and saying ‘tough beans.’”

(0:17:45) - AI Usage and Ethical Concerns

The conversation turns from creating new content with AI to revisiting old content through the lens of machine learning. George talks about old recordings and the potential to restore them and add sound elements that have been...

“Well, if you want sound to go further, you don’t... Some people say it throws sound or something like that. It doesn’t, sound moves on its own. It’s a wave, but what you can do is control the dispersion of it. So if you’ve got your garden water hose and you put it on spray, it’s the same amount of water coming out, but it goes, it sprays out in all different directions, or at least quite a bit. And then if you twist it and make the setting where it goes straight out, okay, it will be more concentrated in that area. So basically what you do is you just take that acoustical power and you funnel it into different directions. So you might think it goes further, but it just makes it louder in that particular area.” -- Steve Irby

Each Wednesday at 2 PM Eastern Time I host a weekly Clubhouse called The Power of Sound, where we talk about everything related to sound, such as music, podcasting, voiceovers, public speaking, audio branding, voice interfaces, social audio, and, of course, digital audio. If you’d like to drop by, just check the schedule for The Power of Sound to see what’s coming up. Just lately we had a conversation (and everyone here knew that the room was being recorded so I do have permission) called Audio Electronics Explained, where we discussed the science of sound and audio equipment.

My fellow panelists in this discussion are Kicker’s founder and president Steve Irby, and audio engineer and AudioSigma founder Fernando Eid Pires. They answer questions about how our audio experiences are crafted through the innovation of the hardware we use. If you’ve ever wondered how speakers create the sound you love, or have questions about how audio interfaces work, or want to understand what audio specifications are really saying, they can help you. Both of them understand the nuts and bolts of audio gear and are sure to have the answers you’re looking for!

As always, if you have questions for my panelists, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, visit www.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 if you’re getting some value from listening, feel free to spread that around and share it with a friend, along with leaving an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

A Thing of Its Own

The Clubhouse chat starts off with Steven and Fernando introducing themselves and telling us how they got their start, and about Kicker’s role in the audio industry.  “GM is our biggest customer,” Steve explains. “We build for a number of other automakers: Toyota, Subaru, Ford, and different ones as well.” Fernando talks about his firsthand experience with digital audio, from his early days as a student in Brazil to his work today on the PodMobile device. “It’s quite different engineering for audio than anything else,” he says, “robotics, or industrial computing applications. Audio is quite of a thing of its own: I love it because it’s a blend of art with those exact engineering-type things.”

The Illusion of Sound

Steve goes on to explain how sound works, and how everything from modulation to subtle volume shifts plays into the illusion of 3D audio in the car. “If you were sitting at a concert or in a club or you’re listening to a band,” he explains, “they’re generally in front of you. So a lot of the things that we do is designing for the sound to appear to come from the front of the car.”...

“And so many people don’t pay attention to the sound that they are exposing themselves to. And, like, whenever you go to, I want to say, a large restaurant, high action, high volume, and you have to yell at the person next to you, and you have to yell your order to the server. And then finally, whenever you walk outside of the restaurant, you're finished, grab hold of yourself, you feel better because all that noise is gone. But you're thinking ‘oh, I just came out of the restaurant, so the food must have been good. We must have had a good time.’” -- Alan R. Brunton

My next guest is the founder of Cymatrax Inc. He's been immersed in music for a long time and has owned and operated Allegro Data Systems, a company that archived magnetic tape recordings and remastered recordings for such clients as Southern Methodist University and Scripps Institute of Oceanography. His diverse background also includes producing a television program, being a restaurant consultant, and business administration. Now he studies epigenetics, consciousness, and quantum physics. He's focused on sound and the use of cymatics and has developed a software application to reduce stress in people's lives and raise the human potential. His name is Alan R. Brunton, and you won't want to miss all the twists and turns in this discussion.

As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  And if you have questions for me, visit www.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 if you’d consider it, I’d love to hear what you think of the podcast! You can leave a review (that I’d love to feature on future podcasts!), either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page.

Christmas Melodies

As the episode starts, Alan tells us about his earliest memory of sound and shares a heartwarming Christmas story with a surprise twist that ended up being thirty years in the making. We go on to talk about how his father's life as an inventor helped guide his own path. "I just decided," Alan says, "that I needed to challenge myself to look at and do the hardest thing that had to do with music." He credits his family's reputation for ingenuity and determination for inspiring him to find new ways of seeing the world and new uses for some of the things in our lives that we might take for granted. "That's the way I was raised," he explains, "into 'okay this is made for this, but how else can you use it?'"

Music of the Mind

Alan tells us about cymatics and the relationship between audio frequencies, neurochemistry, and the human mind. “We understand in epigenetics,” he says, “that every single cell has receptors, and those receptors are influenced by four environmental influences: chemical, heat, light, and sound.” He explains how reducing noise pollution and adjusting the audio frequencies of a given sound can have dramatic effects on the brain, and the research he’s done with the University of New England on audio treatments for PTSD and autism. “Their head of research,” he says, “is going to be helping us with so many more grant proposals and submissions so that we can actually do clinical trials.”

Everything Slows Down

“The brain is much more capable and competent,” Alan reminds us as the interview continues, “than what we give it credit for.” He explains how what we call white noise in digital audio is actually filled with random audio frequencies, and how, just like a computer, the brain can struggle with trying to handle too much data at once. “And that's exactly what is in digital audio,” he explains, “with all of these...

So much has changed about our world, from one century to the next, even from year to year. Just imagine taking someone even from the 1980s and dropping them into the world we live in right now, much less someone from a hundred or two hundred years ago. But all the way back through history, as far back as the dinosaurs and even much further, there are sounds that we’d still instantly recognize today. Let’s take a closer look at that timeless world of sound and what can happen when we start to add our own sounds to it. Composer Pauline Oliveros (pronounced “Oh-lee-vehr-ohs”) defined the word “soundscape” as “all of the waveforms faithfully transmitted to our audio cortex by the ear and its mechanisms.” The soundscape of the Earth can be divided into three layers, and those three layers happen to reflect the history of the world itself and how much it’s changed.

First there’s “geophony,” sounds that come from natural forces like rain or wind. It can be as dramatic as an erupting volcano, or as gentle as a stream. These were literally the first sounds in the world. One of the most familiar sounds today started billions of years ago as the Earth cooled and water vapor began to condense into rain. That rain fell for centuries and soon became another familiar sound: the sound of the oceans lapping the shore.

Then there’s “biophony,” which is the sound that comes from living things. This is where things get really interesting and complicated. It’s pretty much impossible to imagine a forest without thinking of the birds chirping in the treetops. Whale songs literally fill the ocean, echoing from continent to continent. Just within this past decade we’ve even discovered that mice sing to each other at frequencies too high for our ears to pick up. Check out my blog for a link to a video clip of a male lab mouse literally singing to his mate.

https://youtu.be/ZS4Chf9yh8s

This makes mice one of the very few mammals to have their own mating song – unless, of course, you count people. That brings us to “anthropophony,” which is all the sounds that human beings make. For a long time the only sounds that we could add to this soundscape were our own voices. But then we began to use tools. We started singing, clapping, and creating musical instruments to invent all sorts of new sounds never heard before. But we also invented tools and machines that are quite loud without meaning to be, machines that make noise instead of music. We call that sub-layer of sound “technophony.” Traffic jams, airplanes, subways, construction work, these are the sounds that we usually think of whenever we think about life in the city. Those sorts of sounds are becoming a big problem for the rest of the soundscape, a problem we now call noise pollution.

There’s a link on my blog to Cedric Engels’ fascinating video “Sound Ecology: A Better Sounding Planet” that offers a more detailed look at each layer of sound.

https://youtu.be/Vtfro7tzXDg

Noise pollution, that loud, messy layer of sound that our modern world creates, can disrupt the biophony that makes up the rest of the natural world. Animals aren’t just listening to their own species, but to every sound in their natural environment. Each species carves out a spot for its own unique voice. Cicadas, crickets, frogs and birds have each developed a distinctive acoustic bandwidth so that, even though they all share the same environment, they aren’t shouting over each other. You’ll also find a short video on my blog of a dawn chorus of birds in England. Notice how, even with all sorts of different animals singing at the same time, you don’t have any trouble telling which one is which.

https://youtu.be/r6_LYIdYxz4

Noise pollution drowns out that natural bandwidth, making it harder and harder for animals to hear each other, to attract mates or even hunt for food. In the ocean, where the soundscape is much louder and even more important, sound pollution from ships,...

“I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was my first introduction into user experience, right? Like a UX or user experience. It’s exactly that. It’s like I could put a microphone out in a storm and then all I get is like, you know, wind distortion and then the gain dipping every time there’s a thunderclap or something, you know, and it just sounds completely, you know, just different levels of noise and it’s not exciting. It’s not interesting at all.” -- Chris Hegstrom

This episode’s guest has had a rewarding and winding journey through the UX sound industry. After a ten-year break to work in product sound, he’s returned to video-game audio. Or was the decade of video game audio before that the exception? Only time will tell. Either way, he’s been creating and presenting audio communication for brands, experiences, products, intellectual properties, and other forms of media for over twenty-five years. A music synthesis major at Berklee College of Music, he got his start doing live sound for Blue Man Group, transitioned to audio for interactive media during the dot-com bubble, and eventually found his way into Triple-A video games by 2001.

For the next eleven years, he designed sound and audio systems for games such as Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Star Wars: Episode 3, Burnout Paradise, God of War 3, and Kinect Adventures. In 2012, he found himself at Microsoft on the incubation team for HoloLens, where he worked on audio experiences and systems that would solve perceptual issues as well as immerse and entertain users. He then transitioned onto the UX team and worked on the sound palate for the HoloLens OS.

In 2015, he left Microsoft to start his own company, Symmetry Audio, delivering product and experience audio for Google, Unity, HBO, and Technicolor as well as a number of smaller, local Seattle clients.   Amazon offered him a job as Senior UX Sound Designer in 2017, and he worked there for the Devices and Services group, creating sounds for Fire TV, Alexa, and numerous product endeavors across the company. In 2020, he worked exclusively on Amazon Glow, creating the sound palate and overall audio vision for the product before it was eventually shelved at the end of 2022.

He’s currently the Audio Manager at Insomniac Games, overseeing a team of internal and external sound designers on Wolverine. He hopes to inject some of his UX audio knowledge and process into the games industry by helping his team build connections and solve problems with audio.

His name is Chris Hegstrom, and he has plenty to share when it comes to solving problems with audio.

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. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House every Wednesday (check the schedule for times). Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, when new audio rooms are scheduled and what they'll be about, and it'll give you access to a resource called The Studio with lots of interesting sound-related mp3s, videos, educational pdfs, and exclusive discounts from previous guests. 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. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the

“Audio has this very interesting quality of embedding itself in your head. We all know about those earworms: 'oh gosh I can't stop singing this song.' Imagine you have a nice jingle, it's a way for the brand to get into the heads of folks, I'm not saying that's a good thing necessarily, but that's an indication of the power of audio, where it just goes in. Now, let's not forget all of us, all human beings, the first nine months of our lives we're in the dark and we're just listening." -- Ahmed Bouzid

This episode’s the second half of my discussion with Ahmed Bouzid and Jenn Dudley in The Power of Sound Club on Clubhouse about Easy Options for Marketing with Digital Audio, as we discuss sound’s psychological potential, the surprising audio spaces Ahmed and Jenn have helped their clients discover, and how artificial intelligence is changing the audio landscape in a variety of ways.

As always, if you have questions for my guests, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  And if you have questions for me, visit www.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 if you’d consider it, I’d love to hear what you think of the podcast! You can leave a review (that I’d love to feature on future podcasts!), either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page.

Listening Creatures

As the second half of the discussion starts, we talk about how sound sets the mood for visuals, and how some surprising movie trailer edits help demonstrate that. As Jenn describes it, it's "the idea that you can take a different track of music and put it under the same visuals and you can end up with a very different result.” Ahmed observes that our connection sound goes all the way back to before we were born, and that “we started as listening creatures more than seeing creatures.” “And I think that manifests itself,” he adds, “in many ways in our lives.” They both go on to describe how audio opens up new elements of SEO and algorithmic content and new channels of communication. “You can start with a podcast,” Jenn says, “and you can use that audio in other places, you can run a transcript, and then you have text and collect things from your audience. And there are easy ways of doing that."

Delivering the Message

Ahmed continues his list of top ten ways that audio is more engaging than video, and shares the story of one new audio strategy a client helped him discover. “Here's one that the customer dropped on me,” he says, “and that is an audiobook. We were talking and they were brainstorming with me an audiobook for their company." Jenn agrees with him and adds that “at the end of the day, I think anywhere that you’re sharing your message, almost always there’s an opportunity to either deliver that message in an audio format or in a companion piece so you’re giving your audience a different way to consume it.”

Getting the Most Value

“People tend to be really focused,” Jenn recounts from her own work with business clients, “and, again, they come to us to do a podcast, but they’ve started to branch out.” We take a look at how audio can strengthen written and visual marketing strategies, giving customers more opportunities for engagement. “It’s getting the most value out of the effort you’re putting into any of your marketing efforts,” Jenn explains. As the Clubhouse chat comes to a close, we also talk about how artificial intelligence has revolutionized audio’s ease of use, whether it’s automated translations, synthetic audio text on demand, or even summarizing written content. “Everybody’s become a commodity,” Ahmed says. “Audio is where folks can

“My now retired business partner, who was the head composer for this company for years and years and years, he put that perfectly, and he said, I remember he talked to a young composer. He said, ‘Look, at the end of the day, it’s the difference between art and craft,’ said, ‘when you’re making your own music and you’re doing your own thing, it’s art, it’s art for you. You’re the artist and you’re making it and you can make it whatever you want, whatever you want. But when you’re making something for a brand, it’s a craft. You’re being hired to make a specific thing.’" -- Jack Bradley

Can you hear a brand? This week we continue to explore the world of audio branding with our audio expert and executive producer Jack Bradley. In the second half of our conversation, we talk about how the creation of music for a brand is a delicate blend of skill and ingenuity, between time constraints and client expectations. The sonic branding landscape has evolved drastically amid the pandemic, with the boom of podcasts and TikTok reshaping how we perceive branded music. We explore what this means for brand recognition when this happens and how a deeper understanding of a brand can lead to a refined, recognizable audio identity. Issues of negotiation, payment, and licenses in sonic branding are also touched upon, revealing the underlying complexities of this booming industry.

We also delve deeper into the converging worlds of AI, remote work, and audio-first social platforms. With AI-generated music, who holds the creative rights? How is the rise of influencer musicians impacting the industry, and how is the potential for more branded content shaping the future? Jack also takes us behind the scenes, sharing the best online audio resources and offering a sneak peek at some of his current sonic branding projects.

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 access to a resource called The Studio with lots of interesting sound-related mp3s, videos, educational pdfs, and exclusive discounts from previous guests. And 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. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:00) - Audio Branding

We explore the difference between art and craft when it comes to audio branding. As Jack puts it, “When you’re making your own music and you’re doing your own thing, it’s art, it’s art for you. You’re the artist and you’re making it and you can make it whatever you want, whatever you want. But when you’re making something for a brand, it’s a craft.” We discuss how clients will often pay for an audio brand and then neglect to use it effectively, as well as the challenge of having to work within the constraints of time and budget. We also explore the role data plays in decision-making, and how quickly the branding situation can be changed if the numbers just don’t match up.

(0:05:46) - The Impact of Sonic Branding

Jack talks about the pandemic and how it changed the sonic branding game with the explosion of podcasts, remote work, and TikTok. “For us,” he explains, “like, we now have a whole arm that does audio post, and I would say 85% to 90% is remote, is done through Zoom calls.” We...

“It’s interesting that you say that because, you know, you’re back to what we were talking about a second ago with why people don’t have their own song brand or why they don’t do that, because all of my clients are early adopters. It takes courage, right? Even back in the days when I was doing it, I called it the theme shop, where we would come in and do it, write a song for the organization as a team building thing. And I can’t tell you the number of times I talked to a CEO and they’re like, ‘Oh, this is such a great idea.’ And they’d phone me back an hour later and say, ‘Oh, the team won’t do it.’ And it’s like, well, who’s in charge and, and what’s the point? The point is for them to feel discomfort, for them to try something they’ve never tried together and see how that will bring them together and find out, you know, what the common ground is. I mean, that’s the whole point.” – Lowry Olafson

This episode is the second half of my conversation with songwriter, keynote speaker, and founder of SongBrand Lowry Olafson as we discuss what sets sound apart from other forms of advertising, why Lowry isn’t worried about audio AI, and what sonic branding can bring to a business team.

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 Impact of Sound in Advertising

The second half of our discussion picks up as we talk about the hurdles in building a strong audio brand, and the power of sound to create an immediate impact. “You know, if the fin came out of the water and there was no soundtrack, that wouldn’t happen,” he says about the movie Jaws. “We haven’t even seen the fin yet and you’re already on the edge of your seat because of the sound.” The topic turns to the uses he’s found for AI in his work, and we discuss some of the most memorable marketing campaigns in recent years and how they rely on sound rather than imagery. “You can create any emotion,” he says about sound, “and you can’t do that with a two-dimensional thing.”

(0:04:51) - The Power of Sound in Marketing

We talk about whether AI can replace human composers, and Lowry explains why he prefers to handle the creative work himself. “There are probably threats,” he jokes, “I should probably be worried. But I’m having way too much fun and you know I’ve got my hands full with doing what I’m doing.” He tells us about some of the difficulties marketing teams can face in trying to build an audio brand, and why he thinks sound matters. “I want it to have a lifespan of twenty years,” he explains about the song brands that he creates for clients. “Or, you know, I want it to be something that they’re going to be so glad, like, ‘This will be the best money I’ve ever spent,’ right? That’s how I see this.”

(0:12:21) - Creating Music and Audio Branding

Our conversation comes to a close as we talk more about his client work and his own musical career, and how each one informs the other. “I write a lot of love songs and heart songs,” he says, “I like writing inspiring songs. There’s a cool video called ‘

“I mean there’s a foundation that needs to be put into place. You don’t just say I want this, I want that, you know send me this, send me that. And then you have the people that are very sophisticated and they want like crazy experiences within their marketing and their advertising. So it’s kind of like two ends of the spectrum. You’ve got the people that know so much and wanna take advantage of every new technology. And then you’ve got the people that didn’t even want a sound logo and now they’re behind the times a bit. And they want to get caught up and they want to get caught up today. And I think that it’s that balance to show them that it’s a very iterative process.” -- Audrey Arbeeny

As some of you know, I host regular weekly Clubhouse rooms on Wednesdays at 2 PM Eastern Time. We talk about all sorts of things related to sound, including voiceovers, public speaking, podcasting, music, audio branding, voice AI, sound in social media, and especially digital audio. If you’d like to drop by, you can check out the schedule for my House, The Power of Sound, to see what’s coming up. We recently had a fascinating discussion (and everyone here knew that the room was being recorded so I do have permission) called The Power of Digital Audio, where talked about what digital audio means, how it’s reshaping our online lives, and how AI fits into the voiceover industry.

My fellow panelists in this episode are WitLingo founder and CEO Ahmed Bouzid, podcaster and Dreamr Productions founder Jeanna Isham, sound branding professor and Audiobrain founder Audrey Arbeeny, and audio alchemist and sonic strategy director Steve Keller.  We start things off by getting to the heart of what we mean by “digital audio” and talk about the marketing push into podcasting and social audio spaces, how digital audio hardware from smart speakers to custom vehicle soundscapes are changing the role of sound in our lives, and how the role of machine learning can be as subtle as speeding up recording sessions or as dramatic as creating whole new voices from scratch.

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 www.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 if you’re getting some value from listening, feel free to spread that around and share it with a friend, along with leaving an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

Hearing the Authenticity

As we start the Clubhouse chat, Ahmed introduces himself and tells us how he defines digital audio. “For example, podcasting that you can listen to from your desktop or from your mobile smartphone,” he explains. “I think, that would be an example of digital audio.” We talk about how digital audio can foster a greater sense of connection and listener engagement than traditional audio and mass media. “When you hear that, you can hear their enthusiasm. You can hear their authenticity.”

Talking to the Companies

Jeanna introduces herself next, and we talk about how COVID helped change the way people relate to sound in a way that, for Jeanna, seems oddly familiar. “We actually went back to an original idea,” she says. “going back to having just that radio in our kitchen or in the living room and everybody would gather around and listen to the radio. So it’s kind of like, in my opinion, it’s a full circle...

This is the second part of my interview with Nick Crane. We are diving into the different changes and challenges that culture brings to creating the perfect sound and how music connects us.

In the 2nd part of this interview Nick shares:

• How he uses emotions to bridge the gap between himself and his clients when it comes to talking about their overall vision for their piece
• The challenges that different cultures bring to the table when choosing the right sound
• How music communicates within different cultures 
• A project he had to create for a brand that was relating to multiple types of people
• How he takes feedback and changes sounds accordingly 
• His project with TikTok and how that was different than others
• How money affects musical choices with brands
• His current projects

You can find Nick Crane at www.racketclub.tv, and on Instagram - www.instagram.com/racket.club.music.

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE download – 5 Tips For Implementing An Intentional Audio Strategy at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

“I can go back to when I was sixteen, and I was at a movie theater and I was watching a really great scene in a movie where the violinist was, like, moving his bows, you know, the camera was like panning around him. And I got to the end of that scene, and, like, he lifts his bow up, and I started clapping in the theater. And I realized that that film had just totally taken me out of the movie theater and put me in, like, a concert hall. And I was like, ooh, I want to do that. I want to basically use sound to bring people to another world, and I pretty much at sixteen decided I wanted to be a film composer.” – Sherene Strausberg

This episode’s guest is an Emmy-nominated art director and a unique creative, combining her experience in film, music, and sound engineering with graphic design and illustration. She creates animated videos for her clients at the company she founded almost ten years ago, 87th Street Creative. She knew at the age of sixteen that she wanted to be a film composer, and, after ten years of pursuing that while also working as a broadcast engineer at National Public Radio, she changed careers, first to graphic design and then to motion design. Motion graphics returned her to her true passion of how sound and moving images together can immerse the viewer and listener. Combining this with her desire to work with clients who believe in sustainability and social justice, 87th Street Creative has worked with nonprofits and businesses that help make the world a better place.

Her name is Sherene Strausberg, and our conversation covers a range of topics, from how sound enhances visuals to the role sound plays in helping her clients promote their brands. Whether you’re an ad creative, have a company that’s looking for an innovative way to reach your clients, or you’re just interested in the power of sound, we could all learn a thing or two from her experiences.

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) - From Film Scoring to Animation

Our discussion starts off with a look back at a pivotal memory in Sherene’s life, the moment when, as a teenager, she realized she wanted to work in sound. “I was watching a really great scene in a movie,” she recalls, “where the violinist was, like, moving his bows. You know, the camera was panning around him. And I got to the end of that scene and like he lifts his bow up and I started clapping in the theater and I realized that that film had just totally taken me out of the movie theater.” She shares her journey from the Indiana School of Music, where she studied music and played piano, to working in Hollywood as a film composer. “What you learn in school,” she says, “is a very small piece of the puzzle, and learning how to manage client relationships, how to find work, how to manage projects and manage the funds and fees and all the financial sides of it, I mean, none of that I got out of

“Through our research, we also found that anything beyond four notes, if we were to create a pattern that had more than four notes in it, that it started to sound too much like a jingle and just out of place for an automobile. Automobiles really just had single-tone dings, and so we knew we couldn't stray too far from that, or we would start sounding too much like a cell phone or something out of context." -- Sean Beeson

This episode continues my interview with Jon Brennan and Sean Beeson, formerly of Sonic Signatures.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

Keeping Your Brand Current

We begin the second half of the interview with a look at what might happen when a product or company changes, and how an existing audio brand can be impacted by something as simple as a new speaker design.  “The more specific you're intentionally creating audio for something,” Sean explains, “the more often you have to go back and fix things when something changes.” Jon tells us about the detailed audio guidelines that Sonic Signatures uses to help guide their clients through such changes and offers an important tip about making sure that your sonic branding is up-to-date.

A Human Touch

The episode continues with a firsthand look at the work Jon and Sean have done for such clients as Union Home Mortgage and KeepTruckin. We start with Union Home Mortgage’s sonic logo, how it combines technological innovation with a warm, human touch to reflect the company’s brand, and the process used to create its distinctive sound. As Sean puts it, “we continued to make the harmonics richer by layering sounds that really only serve to... add to the overall richness and brilliance.”

Listening on the Road

We then listen to samples of the audio interface Sonic Signatures designed for KeepTruckin's vehicle monitoring devices and discuss how they met the challenge of creating distinctive sounds based on chimes and mid-range tones that the fleet drivers would recognize right away without becoming distracted or irritated. “We kept having the sounds get closer and closer to the sound of a car,” Sean says, “because that's what the drivers are trained to hear.” We talk about the research that goes into such an innovative audio interface, and wrap things up with a peek at their upcoming projects.

Episode Summary

• How business and product changes can affect an audio brand
• Sonic branding and conveying the essence of a business through sound
• Vehicle interfaces and creating a safer, more pleasant user experience
• Upcoming audio projects and how to get in touch with Sonic Signatures

Connect with the Guests

Website: www.sonicsignatures.io

Follow Sonic Signatures on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sonicsignatures

Connect with Jon Brennan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonbrennan/

Connect with Sean Beeson on LinkedIn:

“All news music doesn't have to have trumpets and trombones, and all trains don't have to just ring, you know, or honk. And all appliances shouldn't always sound like ‘beep beep beep,’ you know, chip sounds instead of having a tune that would make people remember them better and maybe like them better.” -- Colleen Fahey

This week’s guest is a creative executive with deep experience in branding and marketing at multiple touchpoints. When she learned of Sixième Son, a sonic branding agency that had created over four hundred brands, she approached them about expanding to North America. She opened a sonic branding agency in Chicago at the end of 2012 and, in 2017, co-authored the book Audio Branding: Using Sound to Build Your Brand. Since those days, her team has led Sixième Son's sonic branding initiatives for Atlanta, Michelin, Huggies, Merrell Footwear, USAA Insurance, Sparkling Ice drinks, a hospital, a news network, an AIDS treatment, and many more. The North American business now operates out of New York, Toronto, and Cleveland, as well as Chicago. Throughout her career, she's been a creative director for leading brands in the US, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Raised in Madrid, she speaks fluent Spanish, conversational French, and a courageous-but-embarrassing Portuguese.

Her name is Colleen Fahey, and if you’ve always wanted to ask questions about audio branding from one of the oldest premier companies in the business, you’ll want to hear this interview.  I have no doubt Colleen will blow our minds with her observations about the audio branding landscape.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available. And if you’d consider it, I’d love to hear what you think of the podcast! You can leave a review (that I’d love to feature on future podcasts!), either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page.

An Elegant Idea

The episode begins with Colleen’s earliest memories of sound: she tells us about leaving the U.S. at the age of four to live in Spain, and how the sound of the ocean liner’s horn as they departed literally shook her from head to toe. “It somehow also got into my psyche too,” she tells us, “because it was almost like a book had closed with that sound.” We then talk about a pivotal moment in 2011 when she first learned about sonic branding, as she attended the Audio Branding Congress at Columbia University. “I was struck by how elegant the idea was that these people were so excited about,” Colleen explains, “how elegant the idea of having a sound that repped the brand from every angle.”

The Value of Your Brand

Next Colleen tells us about writing her first book, and the importance of, as she puts it, “an audio brand that fits your brand, that communicates your values, that gets attention and really becomes a brand asset that lasts for years.” We talk about the power of early audio marketing in transforming Hawaii from a little-known territory into a tourist destination, and about avoiding the cliches and sonic codes that commercials have created. “A brand needs to stand out,” she says, “be recognized and differentiate, and the music has to help you differentiate in a way that's appropriate to the value of the brand.”

Using Your Ears

We go on to talk about mood boards, what exactly they are, and how they helped

AI and Podcasting - Talking to Computers

“I’m sure one day you won’t be able to tell the difference, and maybe it’s not a bad thing, because everybody wants to be at their best. You know, we wear nice clothes and put on makeup and everything else, and, you know, maybe one day you’ll do the same for your voice, so you won’t sound tired or hung over or whatever...” -- Carl Robinson

This episode's guest is the co-founder and CEO of Rumble Studio, a startup that helps creators, agencies, and brands create podcasts ten times faster and easier using cutting-edge voice technology. Rumble Studio is the first and only company to record asynchronous guest interviews using conversational AI, which allows anyone to create audio content at scale, no skills required. He's the host of the Voice Tech Podcast and has interviewed more than one hundred experts in the field of voice technology. Earlier in his career, he led a product team at a chatbot startup and became a published voice AI data scientist.  His ambition is to democratize audio content creation so that businesses large and small can establish a presence on the audio channels of the future.

His name is Carl Robinson and you’ll want to hear what he has to say about podcasts and the state of audio in general.  The future of sound is already here, so, let’s get to 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 www.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 if you’re getting some value from listening, feel free to spread that around and share it with a friend, along with leaving an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

The People Behind the Curtain

Our interview starts with Carl's earliest memories of sound, the video-game chiptunes and sound effects that helped define his childhood. He tells us how his career began with voice technology and, as a result, soon segued into podcasting. We discuss his early work with healthcare chatbots at a time when they relied much more on human guidance: as he puts it, "I was one of the many people behind the curtain." Carl tells us how the idea came to him that podcasting could be automated to scale using voice technology, and how underutilized it was at the time. "That was around the time," he says, "when Alexa and everything was taking off so it was a great time to have that realization."

Wearing Your Best Voice

Carl tells us how he finished his work in Beijing and moved to France to help develop machine learning models in the earliest days of voice interface. He spent much of his time, he says, talking to computers – or, as Carl explains, "dreaming of talking to computers because there wasn't that much talking to them." He tells us about the pioneering research into simulated emotional tones and how he's working these days on voice transformation, apps that process and change a person's inflections, accent, and even who their voice belongs to, in real-time. We talk about some of the companies that are on the leading edge of that process, such as Sanas.AI, Veritone, and Respeecher, and how one day we may see choosing our best digital voice as casually as picking an outfit to wear to an...

“I think the biggest mistake most people, most businesses make when they go into that project is they think it’s a story about them, but the reality is it’s a story about your customer and how you help them in their story. And that’s the way we try to frame it. With the narration, with the visuals, with the music, from the story. It’s really trying to connect with that viewer on, ‘What is the problem you’re having?’ Why are you reaching out to this company in the first place? What has piqued your interest?” -- Mark Wonderlin

This episode is the second half of my interview with business filmmaker, marketing expert, and Mosaic Media Films founder Mark Wonderlin as we discuss the importance of storytelling when it comes to video marketing, the different social media strategies for local versus global marketing, and about Mark’s philosophy that “the most expensive video is the one that doesn’t work.”

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) - Different Types of Marketing Videos

The second half of our conversation starts as Mark shares his memories of a powerful video he recorded about a cancer patient, and the crucial role sound played in bringing her story to life. “I worked on this project personally,” he recalls, “and, you know, still to this day, like seven years later, I mean, it’ll bring tears to my eyes.” We discuss the two kinds of marketing videos, brand promos and testimonial videos, the different approaches he takes to each one, and how social media has upended some of the old rules. “The thing about TikTok,” he says, “is that people’s attention spans are just getting shorter and shorter and shorter because there’s just so much content out there.”

(0:09:26) - Digital Marketing and Social Media Strategy

We also talk about how Mark’s social media strategies can vary depending on both the company and their customer base. “So, like a B2B company is not gonna really perform really well on Facebook,” he notes, “just because of the pool of the audience there, whereas a B2C company will do better because they’re consumer-based products.” He explains the different approaches between social media videos and more traditional advertising campaigns, as well as what they have in common. “It’s just a matter of the targeting,” Mark explains. “So the better you’re targeting, the better you’re going to be.”

(0:19:53) - The Impact of Sound in Media

Mark also shares his thoughts about the explosion of AI in the industry, particularly AI voices and how commonplace they’ve become on social media lately. “There’s this one AI voice company I’ve heard,” he recounts, “and it’s weird because they were showing samples of it, like, on a podcast or a YouTube video, and I hear that voice all the time now on YouTube.” We discuss whether virtual voiceovers can save a client money, and why he thinks human artists shouldn’t be written off just yet. “You save money on the front end,” Mark says, “but you’ll lose on the back end because people are just bouncing. They’re leaving because they’re turned off by the non-professionalism of the...

This is the second part of my interview with Eric Seay. We dive into more about how audio varies for different brands. Eric also walks us through his entire process for creating an audio brand. This second part of our conversation is just as intriguing as the first and I can’t wait for you to dive in!

In this episode, we explore:

• How to create audio branding for a company that just has a feel
• The different phases of developing an audio brand
• How many companies and brands have thought about their audio branding
• How audio branding has become more normalized
• The background needed before writing the actual audio
• How AudioUX decides what each brand needs for their audio branding
• What Eric does with each brand
• How psychoacoustics comes into play
• Best practices for sounds
• Universal sounds versus location specific
• Generic sets (sounds) versus Premium sets (sounds) and how that drives sales
• Sounds creating experiences
• Where UX came from and the importance of the user experience
• Working with the UX teams with each brand
• The new platform for audio branding
• Having apps work together with their audio
• The parts of different experiences that should have differences with audio
• Making sure everything sounds the way it should once everything has been created
• How audio branding has changed
• The need for comfort with sounds now with COVID
• Sound types and their unique skills in different apps/devices
• How sound affects what we want
• The evolution of audio branding with each brand
• Check out the case studies on the website

The best way to contact Eric Seay and AudioUX is through their website at https://auxnyc.com/. You can find AudioUX on more social media platforms @aux_nyc (Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter).

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE download – 5 Tips For Implementing An Intentional Audio Strategy at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

“It certainly adds another sense to sight, you know, and most of the people that I talk to, you can see a logo, but sound really helps you to feel a logo.” -- Dr. David Allan

My next guest is a professor of marketing at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has a BA in communications from American University, an MBA in marketing from St Joseph's, and a Ph.D. in Mass Media & Communication from Temple University, and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Legal Studies in Entertainment Law from the University of Southern California. He's a prolific writer with three books – Super Sonic Logos & This Note’s for You, both on Business Experts Press, and Hit Play, on Sentia Publishing – as well as three book chapters about music, advertising, and marketing, six music case studies, and a multitude of journal articles.

He also hosts two podcasts, Marketing Musicology and The NFT PHD, and spent over twenty years in radio as a DJ, program director, and general manager.  His name is Dr. David Allan and he knows a thing or two about sound marketing.  Stay tuned, because you and I are about to be schooled.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

This is Your Classroom

We start the episode with a look back at Dr. Allan's childhood memories of sound and the radio DJs who helped inspire him. He tells about his very first stint as a college DJ and how a storied radio career took an unexpected turn towards academia. “He hands me a textbook and a syllabus,” David recalls a surprise conversation one morning with a college department head, “and he says ‘this is your classroom. Good luck.’” The opportunity inspired him to go back to school and earn his Ph.D., and he explains how some of his friends at the time questioned his decision to trade a high-paying radio career for a new start as a marketing professor. “’I make a lot of money,’” he remembers telling them, “but I'm not going to make it for a long time, and on some level, it's not going to be worth it."

A Perpetual Learner

Dr. Allan tells us about the process of writing his latest book Super Sonic Logos, and how the early days of the COVID pandemic turned out to be an unlikely blessing, from drawing his attention to smart speakers, audio logos, and the prevalence of sound in our online lives to the practical issue of being able to find and interviewing so many audio experts. “Everybody was home,” he recalls the process of interviewing famous industry composers and sound gurus, “and everybody had a lot of time to talk.” He reveals the one interview question that always gets a surprising answer from his guests, and how much he learned from them about the audio industry.  “I'm a perpetual learner and I'm highly intellectually curious,” he explains, and then adds, “more curious than intellectual.”

Getting Better Every Day

Just what sort of companies need a sonic identity and branding strategy? “Most of the people that I talk to that are in the business,” Dr. Allan recounts from those interviews, “think everyone needs one, and then they're very quick to point out that they shouldn't have one if they think it's just a logo.” We talk about the evolving role of sound in modern media, from the vital role...

Have you ever thought about how quiet the world of television and movies can be? If two characters are eating at a restaurant or working in an office, we don't have to worry about trying to hear them over the sound of clinking glasses or crinkling paper, or anyone else who might be making too much noise in the background. Cinematic sound tells us just as much of the story as the images, and unless they're part of the story, footsteps and rustling clothes aren't usually something we want to hear coming from the speakers.

Movies are filmed in the same noisy, unpredictable world we all live in, though, and life doesn't come with a mute button, though it'd be nice if it did. So how do they do it? The right microphone, soundproofing, and studio environment all go a long way, of course, and a talented sound editor, such as my own editor Humberto Franco, can work wonders in post-production. But there's only so much that can be cleaned up or kept away from the microphone: everything we do makes some kind of sound. That’s why prop masters also use something called "silent props," or "noiseless props," to take the everyday noise that we can't get rid of completely and turn it into a different, more soothing kind of sound.

One prop master whose TikTok videos earlier this year helped bring the idea of silent props to the public eye is Scott Reeder, who’s been working in Hollywood for over three decades. For recording a conversation during a game of pool in the show Friday Night Lights, without having the actors pausing for each shot, he came up with the idea of repainting soft plastic racquetballs to look like pool balls. When the camera needed to show one of the shots, he swapped the prop balls with the real thing and then switched them back.

If you’d like to check out Scott’s mixture of movie-making insights and punny dad jokes, you can find the link to his recent video on creating silent horseshoes here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhv6GfDP4ok

When it comes to recording cinematic dialogue, there’s a surprising amount of unintentional sound that needs to be hidden from the microphone. UK filmmakers Robert Carr and Richard Scott, who run the YouTube channel The Film Look, talk about the challenge of filming an authentic restaurant scene, and how masking the sound of a glass being set down on a table, which is usually about the same height as the actor’s microphone, can be as simple as discreetly placing a cushion on the table, or as involved as having a stagehand hiding just below the frame to take the glass from the actor.

In a later video, they demonstrate a do-it-yourself approach to concealing sound, using neoprene rubber and glue to create and attach soundproof pads to everything from the bottom of a coffee mug to the soles of an actor's shoes. If you want to learn more about the art of indie filmmaking and cinematic audio, I have a link to The Film Look's "Indie Film Sound Guide" video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6MEJd_rGvI

But when it comes to bigger productions, the silent props are more likely being bought rather than built, and they're sold by pioneering prop master Tim Schulz and his company Prop TRX, the only dedicated maker of noiseless props. From paper bags made from coffee filter fabric and gift tissue that hardly makes a sound to clear rubber ice cubes that don't clink against the glass, his storefront's becoming popular not only with filmmakers but with curious people who just want to see what the fuss is about.

There’s a video link on my blog to a wonderful interview with Tim Schulz about how he creates his silent props, as well as a link to Prop TRX’s homepage so you can take a look for yourself:

“People are actually tuning in from their phones or, like, listening on Spotify or whatever while they’re shopping. And they actually measured how conscious people were of what they were spending. So yeah, it’s just really fascinating. It influences us in so many ways that I don’t even think we’re conscious of.”

“Oh, absolutely. I totally agree with that 100%. You know, they play music at sporting events, they play music, you know, virtually everywhere you go. It’s a component of everything. You just have to stop and listen to really be able to identify it. And yeah, now it’s got me wondering if I’m getting music piped into places I’m walking in. ‘Why am I so hungry right now?’ You know? ‘Why do I want to have pancakes?’" -- Chris Stone

This episode is the second part of my interview with longtime podcast producer, podcast host, and live streamer Chris Stone as we talk about the versatility of podcasting, some of the most memorable interviews he’s produced, and how sound impacts our lives in some surprising ways.

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) - Impactful Podcast Episodes and Audience Engagement

The second half of our interview begins with some of Chris’s most memorable podcast productions, such as a powerful interview with author and Afghan veteran Thomas Schueman. “We got some feedback from that show,” he says, “that, really, you could tell people were impacted by that and it kind of made us change a little bit of the direction of the show.” The conversation turns to the versatility of podcasting and the importance of planning ahead, even when the episode itself is unscripted. “I think there are people that need to understand,” he explains, “like, if you want to take this seriously, you have to, you have to, you know, be excellent. And that means you know, have a pre-call.”

(0:12:00) - Podcast Episode With Bret Michaels

We talk about another unforgettable interview he produced with musician Bret Michaels and the challenge he faced of working around Bret’s demanding tour schedule. “I had to route him in through my mixer,” Chris tells us, “and kind of pull him in and I was, like, spinning plates and doing all kinds of wild stuff here to just kind of get him in. Well, we got him in and it was a fantastic interview.” Our conversation turns to his earliest memories of sound, and his dad’s passion for the trumpet. “You know, music is just in my DNA,” he says, “it’s just a part of everything. It’s why I got in the music business, why I started playing bands, it’s… it’s really why I do everything.”

(0:18:05) - The Power of Sound in Podcasting

Chris shares his thoughts about what makes sound so important in our daily lives, and its hidden value in podcasting. “No one listens to an audio podcast because it sounds so good, right?” he explains. “They listen to an audio podcast because of what you’re delivering to them, and no one is going to receive what you’re delivering if they can’t hear you clearly and understand you.” We also discuss how sound is used to influence everything from social media to shopping...

“I was just looking at a LinkedIn post. And they’re talking about branding and strategy, and everything in there was visual. There was nothing about sound, nothing about texture, nothing about taste. And it all goes together in the brand and brand perception. But sound is so strong compared to sight. It directs. It helps direct sight. It helps interpret what you’re seeing.” -- Laurence Minsky

This week’s guest is a professor of advertising and social media marketing at Columbia College Chicago. His unique perspective, shaped by his early exposure to diverse music and a family deeply rooted in advertising, has fueled his success in the industry, and in our interview, he retraces his journey from being a music enthusiast to a respected advertiser, sharing captivating stories of his early interactions with sound and music. He’s an advertising, branding, and marketing consultant for many of the world’s leading brands, and the co-author of numerous best-selling marketing books, including a personal favorite of mine, Audio Branding: Using Sound to Build Your Brand.

His name is Laurence Minsky, and this is a conversation I’ve looked forward to sharing for a long time. If you’re interested in the power of sound, there’s a lot of great information in store.

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. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House every Wednesday (check the schedule for times). Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, when new audio rooms are scheduled and what they'll be about, and it'll give you access to a resource called The Studio with lots of interesting sound-related mp3s, videos, educational pdfs, and exclusive discounts from previous guests.

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. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:01) – Embracing the Power of Sound

We begin the episode with a look back at Laurence’s early memories of sound and his dad’s love of classic rock. “He took me to as a really, really young kid to Led Zeppelin,” Laurence recalls, “where I was, like, in the tenth-row center, so there was the stereo sound you’d hear” He also shares his first foray into audio branding, and how he discovered his enthusiasm for sound. “I was a psych major,” he says, “and I wanted to combine my interest in psychology, my interest in not just music but, you know, media and my interest in writing into one career. And advertising was it, since I knew about it.”

(0:11:27) - The Importance of Sound in Branding

We also discuss the power of branding, and how negative brand awareness can even overcome our firsthand impressions. “I read some research,” Laurence says, “about a large brand and pizza and, you know, in a blind taste test it scored off the charts. But then, when they put the company name on the pizza, it scored below the floor, you know, as if it was awful.” The conversation turns to the unique power sound has over visual marketing to shape a brand. “What is the definition of the brand?” he asks. “How does it get defined? What does it look like? That’s really more...

Here’s the second part of my interview with casting director and coach, Mary Lynn Wissner. We talked about common mistakes she sees voice actors make and what she suggests voice talent do to differentiate themselves.

We also spoke about things like:

• How voiceover work is about so much more than having a nice voice
• How Mary Lynn helps producers open their eyes to possibilities they hadn’t considered when hiring talent
• The difference in sound when adults do kids’ voices versus when kids do kids’ voices
• What changes in the industry Mary Lynn predicts coming out of the COVID-19 shutdowns (during which time this episode was recorded)
• What the process looks like when Mary Lynn finds talent for producers
• The additional roles voice talent are having to take on 
• The coaching Mary Lynn is doing currently
• Mary Lynn’s VO Pros classes
• What Mary Lynn is currently working on and how she structures her workdays
• Mary Lynn’s Voiceover Self Direction app and how voice talent are using it to learn tips and tricks, gain confidence, and prepare for auditions

You can find out more about Mary Lynn and Voices Voicecasting on her website www.voicesvoicecasting.com, or you can email voicesvoicecasting@gmail.com. You can also check out The Voice Over Self Direction app on the App Store (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/voice-over-self-direction/id731453256?mt=8) or on Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jah.vvc).

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here's the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and read!) - please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you're interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE Audio Branding Worksheet?

“I think, right now, I’ve noticed kind of two opposite trends. I don’t know if they’re opposite, but they’re very, very different. On one hand, I feel like my clients, my clients, they want to talk to their audiences for a longer period of time. They want to engage in a more conversational way. So, you know, they want to find the proper tone. We’re talking about a vocal identity. We’re talking about, they want to explain what they stand for. They want to detail their offers.” -- Valentin Fleur

This episode’s guest has fifteen years of experience when it comes to driving innovative brand marketing strategies and communication campaigns. Before joining Sixième Son he was a Group Account Director for Havas Paris and worked on such high-profile accounts as Mercedes-Benz and Parc Astérix. He partnered with Sixième Son for a retail brand before opening Sixième Son’s office in Canada and supervising their strategy efforts for both the North American and European markets. He manages brands all across the Americas, such as Royal Bank of Canada, Interac, Orient Express, and United HealthCare.

His name is Valentin Fleur, and with his extensive knowledge of audio branding, he’s the perfect person to talk to about the current state of audio advertising, where he feels the industry can innovate, and what might be coming in the future. So stay tuned!

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. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House every Wednesday (check the schedule for times). Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, when new audio rooms are scheduled and what they'll be about, and it'll give you access to a resource called The Studio with lots of interesting sound-related mp3s, videos, educational pdfs, and exclusive discounts from previous guests.

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. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:00) – The Power of Sound in Advertising

The episode starts with Val’s earliest memories of sound, from the sounds of nature in the Alps to Jimi Hendrix and the Cure on the radio, and how his creativity drew him both to advertising and exploring the power of sound in branding and behavior. “It’s funny how sound moves us in so many different ways,” he explains. “When I think about sound and when I explain what I’m doing, I tend to say that music is pure emotion and it can manage to connect you on so many different levels.”

(0:15:11) - Sonic Brand Evolution and Trends

We also talk about sound in advertising and how important it is to build on a core brand when it comes to sound branding. Val shares the insights he gained from his work on State Farm’s famous audio brand, and how he uses voice archetypes to guide his brand creation process. “It was this very interesting approach to sound,” he says, “and I knew from talking about the way sound affects us and gets to us, that sound was an important component to brand messaging and brand expression.”

(0:20:09) - Impact of Music on Shopping Behavior

The conversation turns to the...

“You have to create this environment that the person’s comfortable in, that’s a big part of it. And I don’t actually like to use the word interview, especially when I coach people or advise people who are starting podcasts. You don't ever want to use the word ‘interview’ because interview implies question answer, question answer, question answer, whereas a conversation is a back and forth, it’s people sharing ideas.”-- Joe Pardavila

My next guest has produced over ten thousand hours of audio content over the course of his career in podcasting and terrestrial radio. He was a radio personality and producer on the legendary New York City radio station, 95.5 PLJ, where he was part of the iconic Scott & Todd in the Morning. He studied Sketch & Improv Comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade and was a founding member and actor in the New York-based sketch comedy group Clip Show. The group performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and the People’s Improv Theater, and their video sketches have been featured on Funny or Die and the Huffington Post. He’s also the co-director, writer, and producer of the award-winning horror satire The Witches of Bushwick and currently serves as the director of podcasts for Advantage Media Group/ForbesBooks.

His name is Joe Pardavila and, as you can probably tell, he’s spent much of his life understanding good audio and good conversation. His book Good Listen talks about the secrets behind creating compelling conversations and powerful podcasts.  Sounds like he’ll fit right in here, so let’s get to it!

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

In Love with Radio

As the interview starts, we talk about Joe's early memories of sound and how he used to stay up late at night as a child to secretly listen to sports news on the radio, "I would be in my bedroom underneath my blankets," he recalls, "listening to my little radio till 3 o'clock in the morning to see what the Mets had done." That radio under the blankets, he says, was a lifeline in the days before the internet and news on demand, and it changed the way he thought about sound, media, and particularly the power of radio.  "That was sort of my connection," Joe says, "to the way I fell in love with radio."

Opening Up the World

Joe goes on to tell us how he came to work for WPLJ and Scott & Todd in the Morning, as a college internship turned into a surprise job offer. "I didn't have to think twice about it," he says. "I was like 'sure, who needs school?' And then that sort of opened my world up." He quickly progressed in his newfound career and, as he explains, "I ended up running the morning show by the time the morning show was blowing up in 2019." We talk about his mentors and how they influenced his career, and how a mentor can sometimes be just as valuable for the mistakes they teach you to avoid as the advice they offer. "One thing people don't realize about mentors and mentorship," he notes, "is it's not only the good things you can learn from your mentors. It's also the bad things."

Good Listening

Next, we talk about his foray into podcasting and writing his first book. "I was like 'I want to do podcasting,'" Joe reflects, "'but I don't want to do the same thing I'm doing on the air.'" His first podcast ended up being a...

This is the second part of my interview with Jim Kennelly and Sam Ufret. In the first part, we discuss their business, Lotas Productions and how both Jim and Sam got into this industry. In this second part, we dive more into the industry of voice overs itself and where we see this industry going in the future.

We discuss:

• Being open to diversity in voices
• How Jim and Sam use their best judgement when casting voice overs
• Being aware of who else may benefit from your services and how voice overs can increase your reach
• The return of the jingle 
• The increased reach of where voice overs can be found
• The goal of the voice over being an emotional impact
• How we’re really at the infancy of voice overs and audio branding
• How close we are to having AI and synthetic voices everywhere
• Asking the question- “is there something to this?” when finding out how to make synthetic voices sound natural
• When synthetic voice will be used in the future
• How synthetic voice not actually taking jobs, just adding to your portfolio
• How the future of AI looks like separate voices for advertising different products
• The future of conversational design
• New tech coming to voice overs
• Globalization of voice overs other industries
• Clubhouse and its part in the globalization of the voice industry 
• New technology when it comes to voice auditions 
• Personalizing this industry and giving/getting real feedback
• Designing for the newest generation of voice producers

If you want to get in contact with Lotas Productions:

Company Website: https://www.lotasproductions.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lotas-productions/about/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lotasproductions/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LotasProdsVOs

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LotasProductions/ 

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider giving this podcast an honest review? You can do that here: https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding. And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE download – 5 Tips For Implementing An Intentional Audio Strategy at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/ 

“That’s right, yeah, and to me, that’s one of the most important steps in the whole process is this research, brand assessment. And then you bring that research and assessment to life in the mood board, and that is what allows you to create something that is so customized to this brand, that it only works for this brand.” – Jon Brennan

This week’s guest is a lifelong audio producer who loves to help brands communicate effectively through sound. He regularly produces voiceover and sound design for brands like Tide, Downy, Cascade, Henkel, Dell computers, and more, and he’s led the creation of such audio branding identities as Amazon Alexa, Hostess, Boomchickapop, and Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey.

His name is Jon Brennan, and since our last conversation, episodes 126 and 127, he joined Sixième Son, a world leader in audio branding, as a senior account executive, where he managed the creation of audio identities for Fortune 500 companies and brands. After two years, Jon returned to lead his own audio branding agency Sonic Signatures in 2024. He enjoys using his love of music and audio to entertain and inspire others, and we’ll be talking a lot about how companies can and should work audio branding into their marketing plans. While Jon has worked with some very large companies in this capacity, the Fortune 500 aren’t the only ones who benefit from this kind of strategy.

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 in Sonic Branding Industry

As our episode starts off, Jon tells us about a recent experience with sound, and how it sparked bittersweet memories of his late uncle. “I distinctly heard my uncle’s voice,” he recalls, “and his characteristic laughter coming from the other room, and it’s just like I just thought my uncle Tom was there for a minute and it actually moved me to the point that I just got totally choked up.” He describes his work with Sixième Son and such clients as Boomchickapop and Hostess, and the reason for his return to Sonic Signatures earlier this year. “Going back to my own agency,” he explains, “I’m able to be the creative director, I’m able to write concepts as well as tap other very talented composers to write concepts as well, and I’m just very fulfilled when I’m able to have that creative energy.”

(0:16:56) - Effective Sonic Branding for Regional Companies

We take a closer look at some of Jon’s recent ad campaigns, and he tells us about a particularly memorable sonic branding project for Fireball Whiskey. “You’ve got the dragon who sounds like a demon,” he says, “but then you’ve got this angel choir that is hanging out high above him in the audio spectrum... and so together it makes this disruptive sound that is also very memorable.” Jon talks about how remote...

“An intro video needs to let people know, ‘Hey, this is who the show’s for, and this is what you’re about to see, what you’re about to witness.’ And that audio is a huge component of it. It has to really, just, it has to just feel right. There’s really not a way to explain it, even though that’s kind of my job here on a podcast is to explain it. But it has to feel like, ‘Oh, wow, this,’ without saying, ‘Oh, I really love the beat here,’ or ‘I love this guitar solo here.’ It just has to all just blend together, to kind of say, ‘Okay, boom, the show’s about to start. And this is for me.’" -- Chris Stone

In the world of podcasting and live streaming, Chris Stone stands out with over twenty-five years of experience in the music industry. Chris’s journey began with the transformative power of his co-hosted podcasts, which propelled him to help others achieve success in creative, financial, physical, and spiritual aspects. Since then, he’s founded Cast Ahead, a consultancy that empowers entrepreneurs, influencers, thought leaders, and businesses to amplify their stories and extend their reach.

His expertise extends to producing content for prominent speakers, developing and producing podcasts like Sales Influence and The Big Ticket Life, and co-hosting the Amazon Live show Dealcasters alongside Jim Fuhs. This show has become a trusted authority in live video and podcasting, and Chris’s belief that everyone deserves to be heard drives his mission to integrate podcasting and live streaming into business strategies, thereby educating and attracting a broader audience.

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) - Podcast Community and Production Insights

We start the conversation off with a look at Chris’s work on Cast Ahead and simplifying the podcasting process, as well as the secret to an impactful intro video. “Most people,” he says, “they want a podcast, but they just want to be able to show up, turn on their cameras, flip their microphone open and do a show, and that’s what we do for them.” He tells us about his “station identification” approach to intros and why the opening moments of a podcast are critical, and the often-overlooked value of a podcast in networking with guests and the audience. “The most underrated component of podcasting is the ability to network,” Chris explains. “You know, and I think totally a lot of these people, like you said, [who are] smarter than you, smarter than me, [that] I just can’t believe I’ve had on our show.”

(0:10:53) - The Importance of Audio Quality

Chris shares his process for finding the right music for a podcast, and how he incorporates both the host and brand into his decision. “He’s got a belt buckle,” he says about one podcast client, “he drives a truck and, you know, he serves a very particular type of entrepreneur and business leader, and so I’m not going to put something that sounds like Taylor Swift underneath his intro video.” We discuss how bad audio is costing celebrities their listening audience, his advice for boosting sound quality in a home studio environment, and the...

“We typically think about music as a listening experience, playing an instrument, dancing. And I think that’s like a narrow view of seeing, of looking at this concept of music. And that was one of the inspirations. What I wanted to do in this book was to show that there’s another way of thinking about music that’s completely different from this, let’s say, three main ways we think about music. So if you step a little bit outside these traditional associations we have with what music is, you can find that, as we talked about, sound can affect plant development, it can influence the growth, the health of the plant. It can alter our sense of taste, enhance or diminish their own flavors. It can impact our moods. It can uplift us, calm us, energize us… and, well, audio branding uses that a lot, because emotions sell at the end of the day.” – Pavle Marinkovic

This episode is the second half of my conversation with writer and audio branding consultant Pavle Marinkovic as we discuss how music can influence our shopping habits, the latest research into sound’s effect on our cellular metabolism, and whether plants prefer Vedic chants or rock music.

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 Influence of Music on Plants

As the second half of our discussion starts, Pavle tells us about sound’s effect on plants, including an experiment in India that found plants prefer Vedic chants and classical music over rock. “The plants grew taller,” he explains, “they had bigger flowers, and they had more flowers than the rock condition, and they also saw that the plants were growing towards the speaker.” He talks about the discovery that music can affect the growth of microorganisms such as E. Coli, and the dramatic difference that simply playing the right music made at a waste-treatment plant. “After a year of using this classical music,” Pavle says, “they were able to save ten thousand euros in the cost of transporting this sludge, so they reduced the amount of sludge produced by these sewage treatment plants.”

(0:16:30) - The Power of Sound and Music

We discuss the use of sound in shaping public behavior in recent years, from dispersing riots to chasing away loiterers, and how music can influence our behavior without us even realizing it. “For instance,” Pavle notes, “you can use the tempo of the music to make people either shop more, faster or slower, because they would unconsciously adapt to the sound cues that were at that moment happening.” He tells us why he believes sound is more important than we realize, and the growing research into music’s health benefits. “We think of music as a listening experience,” he observes, “playing an instrument, dancing, and I think that’s like a narrow view of looking at this concept of music.”

(0:24:24) - Exploring Music’s Impact Across Industries

Our conversation closes as Pavle tells us about his latest audio branding projects. “I’m always, always writing about music,” he says, “I’m also consulting on audio branding with people who have some, let’s say, problems with how to strategize about creating a...

How are you listening to this podcast right now? Maybe you're sitting at your computer or hearing it on a smart speaker, which probably means that you're listening with one app while keeping busy with a few other things. You might also be using a tablet or an MP3 player, which lets you stay on the move while you're hearing the show. But what's really become popular over the past few years is listening on your phone. Just this past month, almost 24 million podcast listeners used their smartphones, compared to 17 million for everything else put together. One thing all these choices have in common is that they let you keep busy while you're listening. And in today's fast-paced world, digital audio, particularly podcasts and audiobooks, is becoming a cornerstone of our daily lives.

Multitasking isn't always a good thing. We might feel like we're being more productive when we multitask, but over the years studies have shown that we really do better when we're focusing on just one task at a time. If you're curious to find out just how well you multitask, here's a link to a short test:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-8JdsNWZiM

At the same time, audio does have some advantages of its own. Our brains are finely tuned to listening to each other, to hearing a speaker's tone and pace, their inflections and the mood they're expressing beneath their words. Reading is still a pretty new trick when it comes to our brains, which means written words might not connect as quickly or deeply as hearing them spoken aloud. And while reading lets us consider the words more carefully and go back over them more easily, digital audio leaves us free to keep working, to go running or driving, to live our lives while we’re listening.

Just recently I had Summurai founder Tal Florentin on the show, and his company is at the forefront of this digital audio revolution. Summurai is a content management service that takes written articles and condenses them into short audio snippets for people on the go. Here's a link to a video with more information:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG8dn9K71mU

Even so, digital audio doesn’t leave much room for distraction. If you’re listening to a podcast on your way to work, that means you’re probably not listening to anything else right at that moment. This can make audio branding and advertising much more effective than other forms of online marketing; nearly 70% of podcast listeners report that podcast ads made them aware of new products and services. And that audience is quickly growing in the US: more than a hundred million Americans now listen to at least one podcast a month.

Audiobooks are also becoming more popular, with one in five Americans having listened to one within the past year. While the first vinyl book recordings were made in 1932, and the first books on tape released in 1975, the industry’s grown in ways that could hardly have been imagined back then. George Saunders’ 2017 novel Lincoln in the Bardo, for instance, has been adapted into an audiobook with a cast of 166 Hollywood actors, and last year an Audible adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman featured its own all-star cast. Audio dramas have also experienced a revival over the past few years, with authors penning exclusive works meant to be heard instead of read.

While the freedom to listen and multitask all at once might be a selling point for audio content, sound can create a more powerful connection than just one of convenience. The act of learning something new triggers the reward center in our brains, much the same way as eating our favorite food or winning a game. And storytelling isn’t just part of our history, it’s how most of us learned to read: we grew up listening to our parents and...

“Social media, if you want to be on all of the places, it’s a best practice to have your voice be represented in those places. But, also, the content is representative for that place. People go to Instagram with an expectation, they go to YouTube with an expectation, they open up your audio podcast with an expectation of a more immersive experience. So there’s different ways and there’s different ways that you need to be putting your information in the post. And so you can’t just take something that somebody gives you and just, that’s the same content that goes into TikTok, into Instagram, into YouTube.” -- Chris Stone

This episode’s the second half of my Clubhouse chat with Livestream Universe founder Ross Brand, Cast Ahead’s Chief Content Entrepreneur Chris Stone, Favorite Daughter Media president Sara Lohse, and Red Hat Media CEO Larry Roberts, as we talk about the future of social media content creation, the most useful AI tools currently available, and whether AI can help save a marriage.

 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) - AI Content Creation and Personalization

As the second half of our chat begins, the panelists share some of their less-than-ideal experiences with trying to coax ChatGPT into an authentic writing style. “I have never in my life said the word delve,” Sara recalls, “but ChatGPT wants me to ‘delve’ into every topic.” We also take a question from John, who shares his experience with running a 100% AI podcast from start to finish, and Larry talks about his experience writing a hybrid-AI book and the process of crafting each chapter. “I think the exercise you’re going through,” Larry says, “is what we as content creators need to do so that we understand these tools and we understand how these tools can complement what we’re doing.”

(0:08:36) - Maximizing AI in Content Creation

Chris adds his thoughts on the importance of human oversight when it comes to AI, and we discuss whether AI could eventually render human creativity obsolete. “I think everyone pretty much agrees here that using AI is something that we need to do,” Chris explains, “and I look at it more of like assistive intelligence or administrative intelligence.” We talk about the clerical work AI can handle for us while retaining our authentic voices. “I think everybody here,” Ross says, “and, and pretty much anybody who’s competitive in this space, their biggest competitive advantage is themselves.”

(0:20:01) - Content Creation Tools and Strategies

As our talk comes to a close, Chris shares how AI can help us keep up with and customize our content across a range of social media platforms. “People go to Instagram with an expectation,” he explains. “They go to YouTube with an expectation. They open up your audio podcast with an expectation of a more immersive experience.” Finally, we take a question from a listener about the best AI tools currently available, and we ponder whether AI can even improve a marriage. “It can definitely help you write poems and happy anniversary sonnets,” Larry says, “and, I mean, it can make you sound and feel like you...

“I was, like, on tour, I spent twenty hours driving all over Ohio, talking to different places. And I work from home, so I don’t drive a ton. And now I was, and I was listening to all these podcasts, and I was amazed how many times I had to ride the volume knob because somebody would be talking, and then somebody would come in and they’re much, a much lower volume. And then normally, even in a quiet room, you might be able to get away with that, but not when there’s now noise from the tires and the atmosphere. And I was just like, wow, there’s a lot of really bad audio out there. And there are tools, there’s Auphonic, there’s all sorts of things you can do to make things level. And that’s the other one besides the whole reverb room and the dog barking and things like that. Some of the stuff you can’t avoid, kids are not really... A three-year-old doesn’t care that daddy’s recording a podcast, but you can still try to bribe them with cookies or something to be quiet while you’re recording.” -- Dave Jackson

This episode is the second half of my conversation with pioneering podcast host, consultant, and School of Podcasting founder Dave Jackson, as we talk about building and growing your podcast, why now may be the best time in years to start a podcast, and Dave’s podcasting tips for beginners.

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. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House every Wednesday (check the schedule for times). Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, when new audio rooms are scheduled and what they'll be about, and it'll give you access to a resource called The Studio with lots of interesting sound-related mp3s, videos, educational pdfs, and exclusive discounts from previous guests.

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. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:00) – Podcasting Fundamentals and Evolution

We begin the second half of our discussion with Dave’s strategies for growing a podcast, and, most importantly, figuring out why it exists. “Is it to position myself as an expert?” he asks. “Is it part of a marketing plan of my company? Is it cheap therapy, which it is at times? You know, I just want to get the word out. I’m creative and I want to do my art man, you know that kind of thing. So you’ve got all those reasons.” Dave also shares the lessons we can learn from celebrity podcasts, the perils of what he calls "room-verb", and how AI is continuing to transform the industry. “By the time we’re done with this interview, there’ll be yet another piece of AI where you upload your audio and it’ll make a newsletter for you. It’ll transcribe it, it’ll do your laundry. It slices, dices, and makes Julienne fries.”

(0:13:05) - Microphone Upgrades and Audio Quality

Dave talks about his podcasting hardware and software tips, and about striking the right balance between recording the best sound at the moment vs. editing it in post-production. We also talk about how having the right microphone can be its own confidence booster. “Sometimes it’s not so much that you know your...

This is my interview with Dr. Lilach Saperstein. Lilach is different from most of the guests I have on this podcast. She’s into the science end of sound as an audiologist, specializing in helping parents deal with hearing loss in their children. Our conversation runs the gamut of talking about the science of sound to chatting about how sound affects our everyday life. She is such a wealth of knowledge and I’m sure you’ll learn as much as I did!

In this interview, we discuss:

• The newest lockdown happening in Israel
• Lilach’s background that led her to audiology
• Her draw to the medical field
• The integration between education and connection and the medical aspects of audiology
• The basics of hearing - what exactly is it?
• All the different causes of hearing loss
• The processing of what you hear
• Putting meaning to what we’re hearing
• Things moving within your ear and how it brings emotional connection
• The connection of our senses
• Typical aging of our hearing
• What sounds we tend to lose with age
• The options available if you’re losing your hearing
• Managing your environment
• Noise induced hearing loss
• Avoiding loud noises over an extended period of time
• Protection if you’re going to be exposed to loud noises over an extended period
• Using headphones correctly
• Accessibility of content for people with hearing loss
• Not overlapping music and voice at the same time
• Creating a positive experience for listeners and consumers of content
• Speech as humans’ primary means of communication
• The tie between hearing and smell
• Properly placed sound effects 
• Cultural sensitivity to different cultures and the emotions evoked with sound
• Not talking too fast and yet not too slow
• When writing copy that will be spoken, say it out loud as writing it to avoid over usage
• Trying to get people’s attention in those first 3 seconds
• When tinnitus is a problem
• What tinnitus actually is and what simple solutions we can use
• Calming your nervous system

If you want to hear more from Lilach:

• You can contact her through her website if you want to talk about her own online practice or just connect with her.
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/allaboutaudiologypodcast 
• Website: https://allaboutaudiology.com/ 

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE download – 5 Tips For Implementing An Intentional Audio Strategy at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

“I’ve said this quite a few times, but it still rings true: I think that the superpower of sound is that people think about what they see, but they feel what they hear. And that is magic, I mean, that is transformative. That is what turns audiences into fans.”-- John Taite

This week's the second half of my interview with content entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and Made Music Studio EVP John Taite as we talk about his work for such clients as Turner Classic Movies and Panera Bread, the future of social audio, and finding the emotional core of a sonic brand.

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 www.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 if you’re getting some value from listening, feel free to spread that around and share it with a friend, along with leaving an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

Your Brand on Mute

As we start off the second half of our interview, John talks about how digital audio, social audio, and even the metaverse are changing sonic branding. “There’s been such a seismic shift,” he says, “to, you know, sound on social platforms, or audio-first platforms, or audio-only platforms, and the conversation we have is ‘is your brand on mute?’” He tells us how he works with clients to understand the essence of their brand and how that brand can be expressed through sound: “you really do have to go through a sort of peeling back of the onion to understand what a true core brand sound is.”

Oboes and Death Metal

“We often say that we're an emotional connection company," John explains. "That's at the heart of everything we do: how do we make human beings actually feel something about a brand?" We discuss Made Music's approach to helping people express their ideas in music and finding their sonic brand. "You're not sort of putting somebody who's not musical," he says, "in an awkward position of saying, like, 'I think my car sounds like, you know, oboes and death metal.'" He talks about his inspiration and the creative process behind Turner Classic Movies' award-winning "Where Then Meets Now" audio branding campaign, and what AI and the Metaverse might mean for the future of audio. "It's bringing personality and emotional connections," he says, "to, you know, a purely digital space."

Keeping It Interesting

As our interview comes to a close, we talk about how much more competitive the audio industry's become over the past few years. "Sound and music are always going to have, you know, an important role to play," John notes. "I think everybody is looking to have an element of that enhanced emotional connection." He tells us what he's working on now and some of his most memorable projects. "There are never two jobs that are the same," he says. "there's never a client that's the same, never a challenge that's the same, and that's what keeps it interesting and keeps us looking to the future."

Episode Summary

• How digital audio, social audio, and audio-first apps are changing the industry
• John’s approach to working with clients and creating their unique sound
• His award-winning work on reinventing Turner Classic Movies’ sonic branding
• How audio branding is becoming an essential part of brand...

Here’s the second part of my interview with technologist and teacher, Chip Edwards. In it, we discussed the shift made when moving from a visual interface to voice technology and how that affects a brand’s capability to connect with its audience as well as the user experience.

We also talked about: 

• What an invocation name is and how it parallels a domain name
• How Chip is helping blind individuals get their blogs out on voice devices
• How spelling doesn’t matter with an invocation name, but rather the sounds in that name
• The crossover between voice technology and the internet of things (IOT)
• How cameras in our refrigerators can tell us when we’re low on milk and even order it for us
• Privacy concerns with advertising and marketing
• How giving up some of our privacy allows us to experience many conveniences that we wouldn’t be able to otherwise
• How Google is benefiting from providing us with “free” Gmail service
• Siri, KFC, and other voice imprints
• How we’re able to add emotion and other levels of humanness to voice conversion technology
• How individuals who are unable to speak are utilizing text to speech technology to communicate

To find out more about Chip and his work, check out the following social media platforms:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cedwards/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChipEdwards4
• Create My Voice on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CreateMyVoice
• Create my Voice on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CreateMyVoice/

You can also take a look at the company’s website www.createmyvoice.com.

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here's the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and read!) - please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you're interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE Audio Branding Worksheet?

“Why not brand the sound so people know that they’re with a certain bank? Why not make it a little bit more ‘here’s your money’, which is a little bit more successful sounding, versus ‘don’t forget your card,’ which could be a little bit more alarming sounding. But you don’t want a bank to sound like a perfect human being. You don’t want an ATM to sound like a perfect human being saying ‘Hey, Jodi, you forgot your ATM card,’ you know.” -- Laurence Minsky

This episode’s the second half of my discussion with author, branding expert, and media marketing professor Laurence Minsky, as we talk about the role of human voice in a world of AI, how companies can stand out in an audio-first world, and the prospect of an audio-driven, screenless future.

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. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House every Wednesday (check the schedule for times). Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, when new audio rooms are scheduled and what they'll be about, and it'll give you access to a resource called The Studio with lots of interesting sound-related mp3s, videos, educational pdfs, and exclusive discounts from previous guests.

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. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:01) - The Importance of Sound in Communication

The second half of our conversation starts as Laurence talks about the growth of audio-first devices and how much more convenient sound can be for consumers. “It’s getting easier and easier to put sound into everything,” as he puts it. We also talk about the increasingly blurry line between human and AI voices, and what role each might play as AI continues to evolve. “Your ears will pick up that something’s not right,” Laurence says. “So maybe in some situations that might be okay, but probably not for most connections and communications that need and want some humanity involved.”

(0:09:24) - The Common Misconceptions of Audio Branding

We also discuss the different techniques employed by visual branding, and how audio branding is starting to catch up. “You know,” Laurence explains about both visual and sonic logos, “What kind of font are we picking? What kind of color? The same kind of consideration should go into an audio brand.” The topic also turns to the prospect of a world where most of our devices are run by sound rather than by sight. “People get more comfortable with sound and talking to their computer,” he says, “as opposed to typing at their computer and Talking to their phone, not to a friend on the phone. I think that’s one of the few things we don’t do on our phone these days is actually talk.”

(0:20:06) - Voice and Audio Branding Impact

“How do you stand out,” Laurence asks, “when all you’re being, all you have, is sound, when you’re just being heard, that’s it. There’s no visual at all.... that’s part of what audio branding helps solve.” He explains the value of sonic branding in our increasingly audio-first world and the opportunities it offers to companies with a

“It’s one of the rare things. I know, Jodi, you know it ‘cause you’re, you’re literally like an ambassador of Podfest, but, um, it’s unusual when you share it with people like, ‘hey, the education could be some of the best you’ve ever seen.’ And they’re like, ‘Oh, okay. I hear that all the time.’ It’s like, no, no, no. People prepare all year to showcase what they’ve got at Podfest. So, it is an embarrassment of riches, which I’m really blessed that, I would say, 90%, you know, you can’t hit a hundred all the time, but I would say nine out of ten are just stellar. And then there are people we give a shot to, and then we give them feedback after. But overall, our batting average is pretty high as far as the quality of the content you’re going to get at Podfest.” – Chris Krimitsos

This episode is the second half of my conversation with producer, speaker, and Podfest founder Chris Krimitsos as we talk about Podfest’s transformation from a local community event into a worldwide convention and virtual conference, how to balance video content and audio-first audiences when it comes to podcasting, and the impact digital audio’s made on his life and his family.

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) - Podfest and Public Speaking Experiences

The second half of our conversation starts as Chris recalls how the pandemic helped Podfest set a world record for virtual attendance and grow into a global phenomenon. “It’s really incredible,” he says, “to see that people will show up when Podfest is there in different countries now, and that’s because of the COVID experience, because of the virtuals that we did.” He tells us about the variety of guests and shows in attendance, and how much they have to offer. “People prepare all year to showcase what they’ve got at Podfest,” he adds. “So it’s an embarrassment of riches, which I’m really blessed that, I would say 90% - you can’t hit 100 all the time - but I would say 9 out of 10 are just stellar.”

(0:05:50) - Effective Podcasting Tips and Strategies

Chris offers his tips for a good public presentation and some advice on putting even the most unscripted podcast moments to good use. “The person went on a thirty-minute rant, and you didn’t even ask the question,” he says, “let’s say the interview is done, the person leaves right, go back and rerecord a question to a ten-minute segment of that rant. So now you have a video short that you can promote.” We talk about ways to help podcast guests look and sound their best, and the balance between creating good video and compelling audio. “Even the people that are video podcasts,” Chris notes, “they have to be very conscious when they’re talking because it’s very easy to go into a visual. And then the audio people, when you strip the audio, they’ll have no idea what you’re talking about.”

(0:15:24) - The Power of Audio Books

Our discussion comes to a close as Chris shares the importance of sound as well as some of his upcoming projects, including this year’s Podfest. “There is something that sound brings to the table that you can’t get in the other mediums,” he...

“We are loyal and loyalty is very common in business, but it’s what he calls ‘polygamously loyal.’ And essentially what that means is exactly what it sounds like: we’re loyal to a handful of brands.”

Austin Franke

This week’s guest is the founder and behavioral strategist at Woo Punch, a brand communications consultancy. As a brand design and advertising consultant, he helps brands construct and establish memory structures in their customer’s brains over time. As a mission consultant, he leverages behavioral science to help business owners pursue the long-term good of their company, their employees, and their customers without sacrificing their personal lives. And as a writer, he exposes the lies of business gurus with empirical evidence that debunks their claims. He has a simple message: customers don’t really think about brands. Advertising’s primary purpose is to remind customers, consciously and unconsciously, that brands exist.

His name is Austin Franke, and we’ll be getting into the nitty-gritty when it comes to getting and, most importantly, holding a potential client’s attention. How does this work? And how can we make it work better without being sleazy? In this episode, we’ll find out!

Making Your Own Music

We start off the show with a look back at the sounds that influenced Austin as a child, from his piano lessons in kindergarten to his uncle’s career as a musician. He recalls how he discovered the beauty of songwriting and creating his own music while learning to play the guitar, and the impact that jazz had upon him: “When I listen to jazz it just literally transports to me another place, and I don’t know of any other genre that’s ever really done that for me.”

Seducing the Subconscious

Next, we talk about how the study of behavioral science changed the way he sees marketing, and how it challenges the conventional wisdom of trying to create brand loyalty. We discuss the book Seducing the Subconscious by Robert Heath and just how many decisions we make during the day happen on a purely subconscious level. “I’m very intrigued by the idea,” he explains, “that most of our decisions happen without us ever knowing that we’re making them.”

The “Mad Men” Myth

Austin tells us about how Professor Byron Sharp created the term “polygamous loyalty,” and showed that brand loyalty doesn’t really create growth so much as result from it. We talk about “the ‘Mad Men’ myth” and how Don Draper’s persuasive approach to advertising is a good example of how not to advertise in this day and age. As Austin explains it: “we know that the goal of advertising is essentially to remind customers you exist when they are ready to buy.”

Disruptive Geckos

The first half of our interview concludes as we talk about how difficult industry innovation can really be. We take a look at the insurance industry as a case study in marketing disruption, and how Geico’s famous gecko completely changed the rules when it came to insurance advertising. “Geico disrupted an entire industry,” he says, “and I think the insurance industry is the best example I can think of right now that really leverages audio assets.”

Next week we’ll continue with a look at how social media has changed advertising, the future of Clubhouse and online communities, and how Woo Punch is helping clients build distinctive brand assets.

Episode Summary

• Music, songwriting, and the power of jazz.
• Behavioral science and the truth about marketing.
• A look at polygamous loyalty and debunking the Mad Men myth.
• Understanding the real goal of advertising.
• How the Geico Gecko transformed the insurance industry.

Connect with Austin:

Website: 

“I just want to try to take a more thoughtful, mindful approach to helping artists think for themselves and become self-sustaining. Because the industry is going to change. The things we’re talking about right now are going to be either way more relevant or way less relevant ten years from now.  But I want you to be able to gain the tools and frameworks for kind of going through and saying ‘Hey well, how do I talk to this label? How do I pitch this label.’ And being like ‘Hey a better idea is, let’s flip the lens and put your hat on in a way that allows you to think about what behooves them and what their objectives are.’ And that’s maybe a better pitch.” -- Casey Cavaliere

This episode’s guest is an American record producer, musician, and artist coach. His creative work ethic has been sculpted by a career spanning over two decades with his band The Wonder Years, including multiple Billboard chart-topping releases, extensive global touring, and the mentorship of music industry heavyweights. His mission outside of the studio and the stage is to help educate and inspire a new generation of independent artists by teaching them how to think critically about the way they market, promote, and brand themselves and their music.

His name is Casey Cavaliere and I think you’ll find him incredibly inspiring. I know it’s tough out there for musicians right now, but the best is yet to come, and this discussion will help demystify what it takes to be a working musician.

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. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House, at 2pm Eastern every Wednesday. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest Clubhouse rooms will be about. And 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. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

Can We Plug This In?

We start the show off with a look back at Casey’s memories of sound, and the big impression that his dad’s role as a bass player in a classic ‘70s rock band made on him as a child. “And I was like ‘Dad, can we plug this in?’" Casey recalls. “He’s like ‘honestly, I don’t even know if it still works, but I guess we can try.’ And we did, and boy did it still work” As he puts it, “I just didn’t stand a chance after that.” He tells us about living his lifelong dream as a professional musician, and how the thought of it being his career still leaves him in awe. “I still can’t believe it myself,” he says, “but it’s been, you know, the better part of two decades in a band from Philadelphia called The Wonder Years”

Your Own Shiny Object

Casey talks about the most rewarding part of his career as a musician and how it’s led him to help other artists who are just starting out. “I wake up every day,” he says. “and still have such gratitude to see the impact that we’ve been able to make, even in our little sub-world of punk rock and alternative music.” We also discuss the impact online platforms have made over the years, and how, as he puts it, artists should look past this or that “shiny object” to find their own value and approach to...

“You set the tone for your podcast by how you sound and how you interact with the audience. So there are a lot of elements to it, you know, obviously preparation and planning and practice, all those things." -- Dan Friedman

This week continues our Clubhouse discussion as voiceover artist and sound engineer Dan Friedman answers questions about voice training, keeping listeners engaged, and overcoming stage fright.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

An Audio-Driven World

We continue the Clubhouse chat by talking about how subtle changes to pitch and tone can change a listener’s impression of your voice, and the challenges and successes that artists coming from different audio industries, such as radio and lecturing, can find in voiceover work. “Because we are in such an audio-driven world now,” Dan says, “it is really important that if, especially if you're running a podcast and you want more listeners, or you want listeners to stick with you, you have to be compelling enough that they are going to want to continue to listen and to tune in every week.”

Getting Out of a Rut

Dan warns us about some of the traps of voice rehearsal, how easy it can be to get stuck in a loop of negative self-criticism when listening to your own voice, and some creative ways to break out of that vicious circle. "One of the most fun and extreme things to just really get out of your rut," he suggests, "if you realize you're in a rut, is to do your script as a cartoon character." He explains that once you've done so and then immediately switch back to your regular voice, you'll probably find that the performance feels fresh again and you can jump back into it with a different energy.

They Want to Hear You

“If you think about it,” Dan says, “communication is a connection between somebody making sound and somebody listening to sound, and if you're trying to make sound and spread that connection out to a hundred people, that connection's going to be pretty weak.” We wrap the Clubhouse chat up with a look at the challenges of public speaking and different strategies for overcoming stage fright, such as imagining an individual that you’re speaking to or even focusing on one person in the audience rather than trying to talk to everyone at once. “Most of the time when you are up there speaking to a roomful of people,” he assures us, “those people are there because they want to hear you.”

Episode Summary

• How inflection can change the impression you make
• Keeping your listeners engaged
• Tips for breaking out of a voice performance rut
• Public speaking and overcoming stage fright

Connect with Dan:

Website: https://sound4vo.com/

Connect with Dan Friedman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danfriedmanvo

Follow Dan Friedman on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sound4VO/

Follow Dan Friedman on Twitter:

It's hard to believe it's been almost two years since the very first episode of Audio Branding. We've featured over forty exciting guests since the show started and talked about everything from audio branding (imagine that) and healing harmonies to machine learning and the sounds of the planets and stars. In this episode, we'll take a look at podcasting itself and some of the tools I use for my show that might be helpful to anyone thinking of starting their own podcast.

Just so you know, some of the links I'll be sharing are affiliate links, but you're welcome to check out the websites without my affiliate codes, if you prefer. Either way, they're a good place to start when it comes to creating your podcast empire.

With over a hundred million people in the U.S. alone listening to podcasts just last year, plus over twelve million in the U.K. and thirteen million in Canada, the audience and market influence of podcasting is only getting bigger. More than half of the people listening to digital audio, now listen to podcasts, and that audience is more attentive than ever before: podcast listeners devote on average thirty percent of their listening time to podcasts.

If you have a brand, a product, or even just a message that you want to share with the world, podcasting is becoming one of the most effective ways to reach your audience. It fits into all the corners of your multitasking life because you can listen while you’re taking a walk, driving to work, washing the dishes, whatever.  But there are some basic things you need to consider when you’re ready to put your podcast out there.  For instance, where do you start when it comes to hosting your podcast? There are all sorts of options, and my show uses Captivate.fm for its hosting services.

Not only do they offer marketing information on the site for promoting your podcast (Mark Asquith and his team really share some stellar information), they charge by the number of downloads per month rather than the number of podcasts. While a lot of other hosts charge per podcast, you can have as many as you like on Captivate, which can really come in handy if you ever want to start a new podcast while keeping your old podcast’s episodes archived. You can also create podcasting networks and even share ads within that network – an option that previously has only been available for content creators with very deep pockets. I highly recommended them, and you can find a link to them on my blog:

https://www.captivate.fm/signup?ref=jodikrangle

Of course, there’s also the matter of recording your interviews, especially if you’re working on the go or, like me, you’re often interviewing guests from all over the world. Cloud-based audio software and interview services have come a long way just over the past few years, and the interviews on my show are recorded using Squadcast.fm, a browser-based remote service with stellar audio quality that can host up to four people in a session.

Each speaker’s audio track is separated into a high quality .wav file, as long as you make sure echo cancellation is turned off (and to make that work, everyone involved, needs to be wearing headphones – just so you know!). The service also just added video recording this year. There's a link to them on my blog too, and it comes with a free seven-day trial:

https://squadcast.fm/?ref=jodikramps1

Once you have your podcast recorded and hosted, you’ll probably want a website for it, not to mention an app for people listening on their mobile devices. Why not?  There are quite a few different ways to go for hosting web and app content, but this show uses SupaPass.com since it specializes in podcasts. It offers a free trial too, and a...

Here’s the second part of my interview with vocal coach, Judy Rodman. We talked about how Judy helps her students gain access to their full array of vocal possibilities and the importance of determining intention when approaching a vocal piece.

We also discussed: 

• How people often have breathing problems they don’t even know about
• Understanding breath for voice versus breath for life
• How Judy uses anatomy and imagery to teach about breathing
• The importance of speaking from your heels as opposed to the balls of your feet
• Where exactly you should power your voice from (this might surprise you!)
• How adjusting arm movement can make a difference in public speaking
• How Judy uses a backscratcher to help her students gain more control over their breathing
• Pulling power versus pushing power
• How the eyes matter in vocal control
• Why we cannot yawn without dropping our jaw (try it sometime 😉)
• How the positioning of our first cervical vertebra (C1) affects our vocal ability
• The number one way people can best care for their voices
• The little-known secret of how pineapple juice can help our voice
• How miming can help you imitate character voices, accents, and dialects
• The course in vocal training that Judy is currently working on

Check out www.judyrodman.com to learn more about Judy and access all she has to offer, including her podcast All Things Vocal. 

You can also find Judy on social media:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/judyrodmanvoice
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/judyrodman
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judyrodman
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/judyrodman

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here's the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and read!) - please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

During my last episode about sonic tactics, I talked about the different audio strategies that animals have developed for hunting prey and escaping predators, whether they're orcas using tail slaps to stun schools of fish or moths evading a bat's sonar with their clicks. As it turns out, some of those strategies are surprisingly similar to the sound tactics we've been using on the battlefield for centuries. This week I'll be delving deeper into how those same sonic strategies have played an important role throughout the history of war, from ancient Roman war pigs to inflatable army tanks.

Since animals already rely so much on sound to survive, it may be no surprise that one of the first uses of sound as a battle plan was to try and scare off the other side’s animals. Perhaps the most fearsome mount ever faced in antiquity was the war elephant: they were the tanks of the ancient world, massive and nearly unstoppable during a charge. But elephants are skittish, and it didn’t take long for their enemies to stumble upon a sound that would send even the bravest pachyderm running: the squeal of a pig. “War pigs,” as they came to be called, were sent stampeding among the approaching war elephants to make them panic and trample their own riders. To counter this gambit, elephant trainers began to raise pigs alongside their war elephants so they’d grow accustomed to the sound.

The idea of using sound to evoke fear among the enemy isn't limited to animals. One of the most distinctive sounds on the battlefields of ancient Japan is the kabura-ya (kah-burr-ah-yah) arrow, which literally translates as "turnip arrow." They're often called whistling arrows because, thanks to their hollow, turnip-shaped heads, that's just what they did. The sound of a kabura-ya flying through the air was believed to dispel evil influences, and they were used as signals to announce each army's arrival on a battlefield. While their use by samurai started to fade after the twelfth century, such arrows were also used by bandits to signal their approach all the way through the twentieth century.

Want to hear what one sounds like? There’s a video link on my blog so you can listen and imagine that ghostly whistle just before a battle, or while walking alone in a forest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maMnRvJVih8

While the sound of a kabura-ya arrow relayed honest, if unsettling, information about an approaching army or nearby bandits, wartime audio strategies often involved using sound to confuse the listeners. Just as some animals use sonic camouflage to disguise themselves, ancient armies learned to use sound to conceal their numbers and deceive their enemies. One of the oldest and most famous accounts of audio misdirection is the Biblical story of Gideon, who, around three thousand years ago, used horns, torches, and a scattered group of three hundred soldiers under the cover of darkness to trick an enemy camp into thinking they were under attack by a massive army and retreating.

That’s a strategy we’re still using today, even as we’ve replaced horns and torches with speakers and spotlights. During World War II, a top-secret group of American soldiers officially known as the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops arrived in Europe. They were nicknamed the “Ghost Army,” and their ranks included artists, architects, actors, and other creative professionals who could think on their feet. Their goal was to trick the German army into thinking their thousand-man unit was, in fact, an army of more than 30,000 soldiers, and draw their attention away from the Allies’ actual targets.

The Ghost Army did this by using inflatable prop tanks, trucks, and airplanes, by faking radio messages for the Germans to intercept, and through the use of sound in ways that never would've been possible before the twentieth century. They drove sound trucks equipped with massive amplifiers that could play and mix separate sound effect recordings to...

“It just feels better to listen to somebody who sounds good. It just does, you know? And there’s all kinds of articles you can read about the psychology: you sound smarter when you sound better, you sound more trustworthy when you sound better. So it’s not about manipulating people.” -- Molly Ruland

My next guest is the CEO and founder of Heartcast Media, a digital content agency focused on content marketing for founders, CEOs, coaches, and brands. She specializes in producing high-quality branded video content for businesses that want to generate revenue and create strategic relationships through content marketing. She’s a frequent speaker about the business of podcasting, marketing, and content creation. She believes that “listening is the revolution” and it’s evident in the work she produces, with multiple podcasts in the top ten percent of downloads. She currently lives in Costa Rica with her four dogs and runs her global business remotely.

Her name is Molly Ruland, and she has a lot of knowledge when it comes to branded podcasts, helping beginners sound good, and getting right to the heart of what a branded podcast can – and can’t – do for a company.  She very generously shares that knowledge with us today, so stay tuned!

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. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House, at 2pm Eastern every Wednesday. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest Clubhouse rooms will be about. And 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. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

Traditional Irish Things

As we start things off, Molly tells us about her earliest memories of sound and the memorable musical impression that growing up in an Irish family left on her. “We grew up doing all the very traditional Irish things,” she explains. “I played the tin whistle, I played the concertina... we did the traditional Irish dancing.” Molly tells us about the artists and musicians in her family, including the relative whose dancing shoes are on display at the Smithsonian. “We’re an emotional group,” she says, “us Irish people, and transfer that to our music.”

What We Want Out of Life

We go on to talk about what brought her to Costa Rica and how the Coronavirus helped her embrace her role as a global remote entrepreneur. “I think in the pandemic,” she notes, “we were all given a gift of really trying to get a handle on what it is we want out of life” Molly tells us how living in a rural village has helped her get back in touch with nature and given her a new perspective than she had in Washington D.C. “I couldn’t tell you what was going on,” she recalls, “because I was surrounded by concrete buildings all the time.”

Stock Photos and Johnny Carson

“I think podcasting is the only thing where people set out to buy the crappiest equipment possible,” Molly tells us. “If you sound like you’re in a tuna can or a trash can, you’re not going to get results” We talk about the underrated importance of podcasting...

Most of us grew up learning that the human body has five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. Everything we know about the world around us comes to us through these senses. We see colors and we hear music. We taste whether our coffee has sugar in it and, especially now that we’re heading into summer, we smell the flowers and feel the warm air. But the world isn’t really divided up as neatly into those senses as it might seem. Depending on how you look at it, we might have anywhere from just three senses to thirty-three or more; they can mix together and split apart in ways that we don’t usually think about. Sound in particularly is really just vibrations filling the air around us, and that simple fact can lead to some fascinating discoveries if we look and listen closer.

Can you see sound? It might seem like the answer is no, but if it’s loud enough, you may notice a window shaking or even feel the floor trembling under your feet. But the truth is that everything carries sound and vibrates with it, even if we can’t normally see it. A few years ago researchers at MIT developed an algorithm they call a “visual microphone,” that can scan video footage to observe the way sound causes everyday objects to invisibly vibrate and then reproduce those sounds. Check out this video for a video demonstration of how a houseplant vibrates with the song “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” and how that song can be recreated using those silent vibrations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKXOucXB4a8

Everything around us is humming with sound, even if we don’t always notice it. If the frequency’s too low, we might sense the sound without actually hearing it. Such low, deep sounds are called infrasound and even though we can’t hear them, animals use them for everything from traveling in herds to migrating in the winter to sensing earthquakes and eruptions. And although we can’t directly hear infrasound, we can sense when it’s there, as a vague feeling that something’s making us uncomfortable. Researchers think it might be the reason some houses seem to be haunted, and horror movies have started using infrasound to create a more ghostly atmosphere.

I’ve linked to a video here of a 19Hz infrasound clip if you’d like to hear, or feel, it for yourself. You’ll need headphones to play back such a low frequency, and be careful: you might end up feeling nervous, dizzy or even a little sick to your stomach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_O1m_QZll0

Most of us spend every moment of our lives surrounded by sound, so what happens when all of that sound’s taken away? The answer can be found in an anechoic chamber, a soundproof room that’s designed to absorb all sounds, both inside and out. Two such rooms, one at Orfield Labs in Minneapolis and the other at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, hold the record as the quietest places on Earth. They’re so quiet that nobody’s ever stayed inside one for more than an hour. Even walking can be a challenge without any footsteps, and hearing nothing but the sound of your own heart, your stomach, even your bones, ends up being too much.

When you’re ready for some noise, though, there’s one animal that’s not only one of the loudest creatures in the ocean, but also one of the smallest. It’s called the snapping shrimp, and it measures just a few centimeters from head to tail. It uses sound as a weapon, launching superheated bubbles through the water that burst at over 200 decibels, louder than a blue whale. These bubbles are so loud that they can even drown out submarines and sonar equipment.

So, can we see sound? The sound of a snapping shrimp’s claw can be so loud that it literally creates a burst of light, but there’s a safer way to view sound waves for ourselves. It’s known as cymatics, the study of sound visualization, and it uses everything from flowing water to grains of sand to help reveal the invisible patterns that sound creates all around us. Be sure to check

“There are so many benefits to using audio that will ultimately help people consume the content you want them to consume. You're spending all this time creating it, you're putting all this love and energy into creating it – why not put it in a format that makes it easy for them to consume?” -- Nora Sudduth

This episode's guest is the co-founder of Hello Audio and is a leading marketing and conversion strategist who's helped businesses sell over $500 million worth of products and services online, and she’s designed several courses, coaching, and certification programs that have generated millions more. Her name is Nora Sudduth, and if you’re looking for ways to use audio for your business – especially when it comes to private podcasts, a concept that was new to me — this is the episode for you.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

An Accidental Podcaster

We start with a look at Nora's early memories of sound, at the importance of family in her life, and how her dad's favorite songs helped her see him in a whole new light. “From that age on,” she reflects, “music and, just, sound, it changed everything.” The conversation turns to how her marketing work led to a focus on the advantages of audio. “For me,” Nora says, “audio was about mobility and convenience and accessibility, and being able to incorporate that into an otherwise very busy lifestyle.” As she puts it, “I'm an accidental podcaster, I guess is kind of how I thought of it.”

Love and Energy

“Private podcasts enable you to be more relevant with the content you’re dropping per listener,” Nora tells us, “which is something public podcasts can’t do.” She explains the difference between traditional podcasting and private podcasts, the unique ways in which our brains and even the rest of our bodies respond to sound, and the advantages of being able to reach out to clients on a more individually tailored level. “You’re spending all this time creating it,” she says, “you’re putting all this love and energy into creating it, why not put it in a format that makes it easy for them to consume?”

Reaching Your Audience

Next, we talk about how private podcasts are transforming the employment sector and reshaping everything from employee handbooks to onboarding materials. "People are putting that information into audio," she explains, "and it comes to life." We discuss how social media and modern mobility, especially after the pandemic, have created new marketing challenges and opportunities. “You have to reach your audience where they're at,” Nora says, “and they're on their phones, on their mobiles.”

A Pattern Interrupt

As we come to the end of the first half of our interview, Nora tells us about how private podcasts can dramatically boost engagement numbers and overturn the traditional PDF lead magnet. “It can be an amazing piece of content,” she says about those old-fashioned marketing documents, “but it actually removes folks from the sale cycle.” We discuss how personalized audio feeds can replace or enhance other marketing strategies, and how audio’s often-overlooked role in marketing can turn into an advantage for companies willing to invest in it. “It’s kind of a pattern interrupt,” she says. “How many people do you know that are offering...

“It was one of those like 'this is what I wanted, wow, this is Johnny Fever, this is radio, and then it, kind of honestly, it quickly declined after that, because of, you know, changes and Napster recording things, stealing things, and the DJ really, um, for the companies I worked with, lost their importance to the corporate creative team, which was a real disappointment. I mean, there’s nothing worse than getting into something that you love to do your creative part and then, like, ‘oh yeah, welcome aboard! We don’t do creative anymore.’” -- Van Gunter

My next guest has spent over twenty years as a voice actor, eight years as a radio DJ, and, for the last sixteen years, has been an audio engineer. He works with his best friends and is part owner of the studio where he began as an intern, Boutwell Studios. His name is Van Gunter.

We were introduced by Kelley Buttrick many years back when he attended his first FaffCon, and I've been trying to get him on this podcast for a long time, so I'm very excited that he was able to join me for this interview. His understanding of how things work both in front of and behind the glass is bound to make for some very interesting observations and golden nuggets. And, of course, sound has been a big part of his life for a long long time. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

As always, if you have questions for my guests, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  And if you have questions for me, visit www.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 if you’re getting some value from listening, feel free to spread that around and share it with a friend, along with leaving an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

Being Johnny Fever

As the interview starts, Van tells us about his first memories of sound, from his parents sneaking into his room to check on him as a toddler to the terrifying first impression a birthday party made on him. “And it was the sound of all these kids screaming,” he says, “and like thirty balloons popping.” We talk about how WKRP in Cincinnati helped inspire his career in radio, and how school systems at the time didn’t have a good answer for future voice artists like him. “I didn’t have a clear direction of what to do with being a disrupter,” Van tells us. “I just knew that I was loud and talked and tried to be nice.”

Like a Rock Star

Next, we discuss his early career as a radio DJ and the ups and downs that the 21st century has brought to the industry.  “When they say that ‘we’re not gonna do contracts this year,’” Van warns us, “[that] it ‘doesn’t matter,’ you’re next.” He recalls being a disc jockey for an alternative music station just before the switch to digital audio, and how, for a time, his dream of being WKRP’s Johnny Fever came true. “It was a brief amazing period of my life when I felt like I got treated like a rock star.”

Making You Move

Van tells us how the changing industry led him to Boutwell Studios and how his role quickly expanded from a DJ to a voiceover artist and audio engineer, a success he attributes to "a lot of anxiety and a lot of kindness from the people that I worked with." He shares his vocal warm-up routine and the important role hip-hop and jazz play. "It makes you move and it gets your blood flowing," he says, "and you're excited, and all of a sudden you're smiling and you can't remember...

“Music has been a part of my life for my whole life and I didn’t realize that most kids don’t grow up with that kind of music exposure.”

Kevin Elliot

Filmmakers who understand sound and why sound is essential to their production are a favorite topic on the Audio Branding Podcast. Today's guest is the co-founder and lead producer for Wewa Films, a company specializing in heartfelt, cinematic video stories. In addition to being co-founder of Wewa Films, he's also a college professor, teaching public relations writing, persuasion, and public speaking at Florida State University. He's produced videos nationwide for high-profile clients, including McDonald's, the Federal Highway Administration, Florida's Great Northwest, and the Children's Advocacy Center. In addition to video, Kevin also creates written content and has published articles for The Washington Post, Desktop Documentaries, Business Energy Magazine, and Public Roads.

Settle back with your drink of choice and find out what makes a good film company a great film company!

Why Audio is as Important as Visuals in Filmmaking

“The audio is easily, equally as important as the video in filmmaking,” says Kevin. His earliest memories of sound made a strong impression on him as a child, listening to his dad’s sermons.

His father was a minister in the Air Force, better known as a Chaplain, and he remembers hearing his father “professionally speaking once a week” during his sermons. While his dad was talking, his words would be backed up by music. Whether it was the choir or instrumentals, he remembers having exposure to many different sounds. “The overlay and interplay of voice gives certain effects to the sound and it was fascinating.”

Raised as a “Music Kid”

Starting piano lessons at the age of eight, Kevin added learning to play music to his music appreciation repertoire. After piano, he practiced music in his school band starting in middle school and started college on a music scholarship from high school.

Listen in to find out how Kevin’s teaching background compliments his work, what Kevin promises clients from a marketing perspective, and which sound libraries Kevin uses for his client’s video music.

Follow Audio Branding on the web!

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals https://voiceoversandvocals.com

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Tweet with me on Twitter https://twitter.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/

Contact the Audio Branding Podcast by emailing Jodi at VoiceoversAndVocals.com

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review! https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy  https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Links and Resources Mentioned

Wewa Film Production...

“And I hit play on it, and I hear ‘Hello, Dave, this is Michael Van Lahr from Nuremberg, Germany.’ I’m in the basement of my brother’s house. This is where I started. And that, which goes back to, it doesn’t matter. Just, just start. And my brother goes ‘Did he say Nuremberg, Germany?’ And I go ‘Yeah.’ And we just sat there for the longest time, just, ‘Hello, Dave. Hello, Dave.’ I’m like, and I was just like, wow, there’s somebody, I’m in the middle of Mogadore, Ohio – everyone together, ‘Where?’ Yeah, exactly. It’s me and the cows. And there’s some guy on the other side of the planet that found my stuff.” -- Dave Jackson

This week’s guest has been helping people understand technology for over twenty years as a trainer and consultant. He launched the School of Podcasting in 2005 and was inducted into the Podcasting Hall of Fame in 2018. He’s also the author of Profit From Your Podcast: Proven Strategies to Turn Listeners into a Livelihood, and has launched over thirty podcasts with four million downloads.

His name is Dave Jackson, and if you want to learn more about what it takes to have a compelling podcast that lasts – and I’m always interested in learning about that myself – this is the place to be. Dave’s also a musician with a unique perspective on where podcasting has been and where it’s going, and he’s pretty outspoken, so you won’t want to miss out on what he has to say.

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. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House every Wednesday (check the schedule for times). Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, when new audio rooms are scheduled and what they'll be about, and it'll give you access to a resource called The Studio with lots of interesting sound-related mp3s, videos, educational pdfs, and exclusive discounts from previous guests.

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. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:00) – Passion for Sound and Podcasting

We start the conversation with Dave’s early memories of sound, his start as a musician, and how tinnitus has changed both his life and his relationship with sound. “When it comes to sound,” he says, “I’m, like, I hate silence because it makes my ear-ringing, just, you know, kick into gear.” He tells us about how a surprise career change led to him to Libsyn and podcasting. “I was, like,” he explains, “if I wanted to, if I have to stand up and say ‘this is the place where you host your media,’ I’m, like, where would I go? And at the time, I was like, you know what? Libsyn. So that’s why I chose them.”

(0:10:43) - Improvising and Rolling With Technology Glitches

The topic turns to the lessons Dave learned as a musician about improvising and rolling with the performance punches, and how they’ve helped him grow as a podcaster. “That’s one of the things that I think podcasters don’t do enough of,” he says, “just play, like, as a musician. You spend hours in the basement, just, wood-shedden’ is what they call it.” We discuss the art of what...

“It's about doing something that's relevant to that brand that makes people, you know, have intrigue and then go either search for it or find out more information.” -- Aaron Matthews

This episode's the second half of my interview with audio branding expert and creative director Aaron Matthews as we talk about how Creative Fix goes about crafting the perfect brand sound, the secret to hosting a successful branded podcast, and the surprisingly retro future of audio branding.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

Open to Everybody

We begin the second half of our interview with a look at Creative Fix’s process for working with clients and guiding them through the creative process, at the role audio mood boards play in the brainstorming process, and how long it might take for all the different elements to come together. The conversation turns to audio branding, and its untapped potential, particularly on a local level “I think brands are at the start of waking up to it. Very few brands do it well, to be honest, but I think it's open to everybody.”

Bringing Jingles Back

The topic shifts to both the past and future of audio branding, and to how jingles, the hallmark of audio branding in the '80s and '90s, might make a comeback in the digital age. "I think there's an opportunity," Aaron says, "and I think we can do it in a 2022 way." As he jokes, "I think it's time to bring back the jingle. I'm going to start a campaign." Aaron explains that the key to audio marketing is to do the unexpected: “Let's do less copy in those ads and more sound design, let's do the jingles and the sonic identities and the stuff no one else is doing because that's how you stand out.”

The Tip of the Iceberg

As the episode comes to a close, we talk more about branded podcasts and the role they play in company branding and the tricky balance of creating brand recognition without selling a product. "There's a lot of opportunities," Aaron says, "and I think there are a lot more branded podcasts coming, and I think we're just at the very, very tip of the iceberg." We wrap things up with a look at social audio apps like Twitter Spaces and Clubhouse, and the role they might play in the future of audio branding and marketing on social media. As he puts it, "it's the idea that it's meant to be for everyone, and that everyone can jump in and have that conversation and that's the important thing about it."

Episode Summary

• The process of creating an audio brand from start to finish
• The rise and fall of jingles and how they could make a comeback
• Branded podcasts and how to successfully market without selling
• How social audio is opening the media landscape to everyone

Connect with the Guest

Creative Fix Audio: https://creativefixaudio.com/

Connect with Aaron Matthews on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/creative-fix-audio/

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with

“The piano is the same way. The piano has a hammer that goes like that on the string. The harpsichord has a pintrip that is plucked, all right? What do you do on the guitar? You actually pluck the string or hit it like a hammer in a way. So, in a certain way of thinking, the guitar is not the stringed instrument that everyone thinks it is. On the other hand, what makes the guitar so difficult? The double stops, the triple stops, quadruple stops.” -- Jonathan Taylor

This episode is the second half of my conversation with musician and international concert artist Jonathan Taylor as we discuss the healing power of music, composing cinematic guitar compositions, and the surprising reason why the guitar might not be a string instrument after all.

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. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House every other Wednesday (check the schedule for times). Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, when new audio rooms are scheduled and what they'll be about, and it'll give you access to a resource called The Studio with lots of interesting sound-related mp3s, videos, educational pdfs, and exclusive discounts from previous guests.

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. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:01) - Power of Sound and Space Exploration

As the second half of our discussion begins, we talk about his chance meeting with the head of JPL during a music tour flight. “So we were talking,” Jonathan says, “and I didn’t rail at him, but I said, ‘You know, NASA really blew it.’ And he goes, ‘What? excuse me, sir?’” He shares more of his thoughts on the Space Race and what being a musician has taught him about holding onto an audience. “Even after two landings on the moon,” he recalls their conversation, “the viewership went like to nothing because everyone was bored. I said, ‘Well, you have to have a new project.’”

(0:05:57) - Power of Healing Through Music

Jonathan also recalls the places and events that made the deepest impression on him, including one listener at a concert whose life was literally transformed as a result. “A man had come into the auditorium,” he remembers his manager telling him, “and he was going to kill himself and he was on the brink of suicide, and he heard the concert and he decided not to kill himself.” We talk about sound’s power to reach out to people in unexpected ways, and he shares his thoughts on why the guitar isn’t necessarily a string instrument, or, at least, isn’t exactly played like one. “In executing a passage on the guitar to that exploding sound that you hear,” he says, “people ask, ‘How do you create that?’ And my answer is. ‘I release the energy.’ But it’s not enough for me to just tell you that.”

(0:18:55) - Music and Filmmaking With Jonathan Taylor

As our conversation comes to a close, Jonathan reminds us once more of the new app he’s released, which you can find a link to at the bottom of this page. “I forgot to tell you,” he jokes, “I forgot to mention that, I don’t know what’s the matter. I’m forgetting so many...

Jeff Howell launched his voiceover industry career as an agent at Abrams-Rubaloff and Lawrence then crossed over to the creative side as a casting director / radio producer at Bert Berdis and Company. Later, he was hired as the VP of Production at World Wide Wadio. He has produced radio commercials and network radio TV promos, served as a post-production supervisor and director, directed narration, and more. He now runs his own company producing and directing all things voiceover. He teaches voiceover acting at schools, facilitates workshops, and does private coaching for voiceover talent.

In part one of my conversation with Jeff, we spoke about how he got started in the industry, as well as:

• How things are going for him in the midst of the COVID-19 shutdowns (during which time we recorded this episode)
• Why Jeff shifted from theater to television, radio, and film while in school
• What roles Jeff had in voiceover at Abrams-Rubaloff and Lawrence
• Why Jeff decided to change jobs in order to work as a casting director at Bert Berdis and Company
• Working for World Wide Wadio
• How Jeff started his own company
• Casting talent to do dubbing work for Netflix
• What Jeff loves about interacting with voiceover talent
• The trends and transitions Jeff has seen throughout his years in the industry
• Why now is a wonderful time for actors to get into voiceover
• The increasing amount of diversity in voiceover talent
• How Jeff finds talent for voiceover jobs and supports them during auditions and reads
• The negative side of the advancements in technology for voiceover
• The benefits that technology is providing during the COVID-19 restrictions

You can find more information on Jeff Howel at his website http://www.jeffhowellvo.com, or you can email him through his website to connect.

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here's the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and read!) - please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you're interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE Audio Branding Worksheet?

This week’s episode is part 1 of an interview with Eric Seay. He has a deep understanding of vertical sound. He combines his love for the artistic expression of music and the study of psychoacoustics (fascinating, right?). He and his team have done extensive research into the power of sound and are constantly pushing the limits of what is possible for the future of audio branding. This is a conversation I've wanted to have for a while - and I hope you find it as fascinating as I do!

In this episode, we talk about:

• How things have been going since the start of COVID in NYC
• The change in industries for voice actors with COVID
• His background in audio
• How becoming a musician and studying music theory influenced his current path
• Why Eric minored in psychology
• What exactly is psychoacoustics
• The backend side of audio branding
• The shift in the commercial music industry
• The formation of AudioUX
• The purpose of AudioUX- bringing together audio and visual branding
• The importance of the audio logo and the company identity
• Things you can do modularly to keep your audio branding evergreen
• How different businesses have manipulated their audio logo to convey different emotions
• Universal sounds and icons
• Why audio branding is important
• How audio allows you to interact with different brands
• Transporting with different sounds to different places
• How he came up with a sound for a color
• The process of doing audio branding
• All the different components that get created during an audio branding process

The best way to contact Eric Seay and AudioUX is through their website at https://auxnyc.com/. You can find AudioUX on more social media platforms @aux_nyc (Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter).

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE download – 5 Tips For Implementing An Intentional Audio Strategy at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

“All this machine learning is dehumanizing a lot of our interactions, and I say that as an AI graduate, very passionate about AI. Machine learning, pandemic data is very much dehumanizing a lot of what we do, everything from the chatbot to the less personal interaction with people." -- Graham Brown

This week my interview with Graham Brown continues as we discuss machine learning, podcasting, and finding your ideal listener. 

Artificial Voices

The second part of our interview begins with a deeper discussion of machine learning, advances like the OpenAI project and Google's MUM library, and the impact that it's having on everything from content writing to the voiceover industry. How will this affect artists and content creators? Can a machine ever really capture the human experience? "You can mimic a voice," Graham says, "but you can't mimic a conversation. That's the difference."

Your Ideal Listener

Next, we delve into the reasons for podcasting, whether it's just artistic expression, connecting with an audience, or promoting a brand. Graham tells us about the value of figuring out your ideal listener, the person you're really speaking to. "That's the difference," he explains, "between doing a podcast and talking to someone and projecting your voice into the ether," as he considers whether podcasting might become as widespread as resumes.

The Human Touch

We wrap up the episode with a look into the future of social audio in the era of Zoom meetings and remote work, and how audio balances the demands of professional efficiency with the need for an authentic human touch. “Storytelling should always be about re-framing narratives,” he tells us, “and if you think storytelling can be positive and negative, you can change the way people see things, events, history, other people, in a positive way.”

Episode Summary

• Machine learning and the future of human audio
• Figuring out your ideal podcast listener
• The future of podcasting and social audio media
• Graham’s latest projects and how to learn more

Connect with the Guest

Pikkal Website: https://www.pikkal.com/

Graham Brown’s Website: https://www.grahamdbrown.com/

Connect with Graham Brown on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grahamdbrown/

Free Download – Learn How to Create a Successful Podcast for your Brand: https://www.podcastingforbrands.com/

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals: https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Tweet with me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JodiKrangle

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn:...

In the first part of my interview with Julia Langley, we discussed everything from how she’s transformed her career with life changing events to a few quick exercises that are great for helping singers and speakers to visualizing sound. I can’t wait for you to jump into this second part of our interview to hear the rest of the great advice and knowledge Julia shares with us.

We discuss:

• How tone is perceived by an audience (in general)
• The importance of projection and annunciation 
• Bringing in dynamics to make vocals interesting
• Improving your speaking voice for a podcast
• Great for a podcast - calm vocals and clarity
• Overcoming vocal battles
• To improve your voice, record your voice and listen back
• Where a vocal coach comes in
• Being okay with who you aren’t
• Knowing the things you’re not good at allows you to step into what you are good at
• The need for breath support
• Standing out
• Embracing the little pieces of you that allow you to be identifiable
• Tone and rhythm, how you breathe and where you breathe
• Your own personal audio branding 
• Catch phrases 
• The importance of hearing something over and over again
• Julia’s first thought when she originally heard the term “audio brand”
• Where TV shows use their audio brand throughout the show
• Musical themes across different media to create familiarity and comfort
• Sound’s role in PTSD
• Julia’s story with PTSD
• PTSD makes a physical change in the body and you can’t control your body’s reactions
• Learning to manage PTSD
• Using singing as therapy for PTSD
• Julia’s techniques for working through PTSD situations
• The role listening to music plays in your brain and on your body
• The role singing music plays in your brain and on your body
• Resources to use music to help with PTSD
• Long term memory and music
• Julia’s new website and online course
• All the questions Julia’s course answers

If you want to learn more about Julia or get in contact with her, check out these resources:

Resources on PTSD:

• Book: “The Body Keeps The Score: Brain Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma” by Besser Van Der Kolk, M.D.
• On Amazon video there is a great documentary that addresses PTSD - consequences and overcoming. It’s called “Quiet Explosions: Healing the Brain”

She has two upcoming projects on the subject: A book she’s writing in the early stages now called “A Warrior’s Hymn - How to bounce back from adversity and find the champion within”. And a podcast on the same topic.  

She’s also planning on having an online vocal training course by August 2021.

Julia’s website: https://julialangley.net/ (will be live by the time the episode is out)

Julia’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgUhHViaw0FhJ1vDOhq0mAQ 

Julia’s Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/julia.langley 

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/)

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and...

“So it's really no surprise that, you know, it's back in the driver's seat now, when everyone is really fighting and yearning for how to capture attention, even a little bit of attention, from an exhausted and overwhelmed and overstimulated population base globally. So I think it applies itself to media, to what you're eating, in a restaurant experience, a shopping experience, really across the entire 360, or integrated marketing, if you want to speak like a marketer, that whole kind of overarching back row strategy from everywhere your brand is going to live. There are likely ways to embed audio into those instances in a meaningful way without adding more 'noise' to the world.” -- Shez Mehra

For those of you who don't know, I host regular weekly Clubhouse rooms on Wednesdays at 2 PM Eastern Time.  We talk about all sorts of things related to sound, including voiceovers, public speaking, podcasting, music, and, of course, audio branding.  We also cover things like Voice AI, Sound in Social Media, and even Audio NFTs. This particular recording, made with the permission of everyone who participated, is from a Clubhouse room called The Power of Audio Branding in my Power of Sound club.  We had a number of stellar panelists, including Jeanna Isham, Shez Merha, Cornelius Ringe and Steve Keller, all of whom have also been guests on this podcast with episodes all their own. Lauri Domnick, from Bauer Media in Finland, and Jack Monson, from Social Geek Radio, also joined us.

The audio is presented as it was heard in the moment, so it won't be perfect, and there's a bit of a lag, so sometimes it might sound like people are taking a while to respond while other times it sounds like I'm talking over them. That isn't how it sounded at the time, and hopefully won't be too distracting for you as you listen. But this discussion should give you a good look at the fascinating world of audio branding from many different perspectives, and at why it's a topic and discipline that's becoming more important all the time. I also want to thank everyone that came up on stage to join in, ask questions, and make comments. Your participation made this discussion even better. The lesson is clear: if you aren't paying attention to the sound of your brand, you'll ultimately be missing out.

If you have any questions for the panelists, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in these show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

What is Audio Branding?

We start off the discussion with a look at just what audio branding means for each of our panelists, and what makes it such a powerful marketing tool. Jeanna explains the subtle difference between audio and sonic branding while Lauri talks about its potential for stirring our deepest memories and feelings. Jack joins the conversation and agrees about the power of audio impressions. “There's something more magical about audio memories stimulating something from the back of your mind, from earlier in life, childhood, whatever, there's something more powerful about audio than anything visual.”

Filling the Gaps

Shez joins the group and talks about the insights his career as a DJ and musician have given him about the power of sound and how often it's neglected in the business world. “It could be a song,” as he puts it, “it could be your mother's voice, it could be the narrator from a show that you grew up on. There are so many ways in which we as human beings just...

“You wanna know the hobbies, they’re part of the psychographics. That’s the lifestyle. And I say this all the time: you’re not going to make any money if you’re a football podcast and you’re marketing yourself to baseball fans. And I say this. You’ve I got people coming to me saying, you know, ‘I have a sports podcast, but I’m not making any money. Why am I not?’ Well, what sports are you talking about?” -- Bruce Chamoff

This episode’s guest is a web developer, musician, marketing visionary, and the CEO of the successful World Podcast Network. His passion for music started at the tender age of six, and his journey since has been nothing short of inspirational. He’s also a pioneering podcaster, having started his podcast network to promote both his own music and local musicians from Long Island, New York.

Podcasting has seen a remarkable evolution over the years and he’s been a consistent part of it, adapting and thriving amidst the changes. He shared how the pandemic led to an explosion of new shows on his network, pushing it close to a thousand. With the ever-increasing number of social media platforms, streaming services, and podcast hosting sites, the competition is fierce, but he’s undeterred. He emphasizes the importance of targeted marketing, and understanding your audience

His name is Bruce Chamoff, and he has a lot of advice to share, whether you’re a podcaster, a musician, or just looking for better ways to get your message out into the 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. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House every Wednesday (check the schedule for times). Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, when new audio rooms are scheduled and what they'll be about, and it'll give you access to a resource called The Studio with lots of interesting sound-related mp3s, videos, educational pdfs, and exclusive discounts from previous guests. 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. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:01) - Musician’s Journey

As the episode starts, Bruce talks about his earliest experiences with music and how they helped shape his career in sound. “I’m a songwriter and musician,” he says, “so I played piano starting at six years old and used to airplay the piano to Elton John songs... the music just moved me enough to want to be a musician and write music,” We talk about the birth of podcasting and how Bruce’s longtime dream of being a DJ and sharing the music he loved with others, found new life as a podcaster. “That desire stayed with me for years,” he explains, “and then, when podcasting came out in 2005, I decided ‘let me build a network and include as many podcasts as I can’ – and that’s how it was born.”

(0:05:42) - Podcasting Success and Industry Changes

We also talk about podcasting before and after the pandemic, and how the shift to virtual meetings and working from home helped podcasting explode into the mainstream. “Before the pandemic,” he notes, “the podcast network had only about 200 shows. Now we’re almost close to...

When you close your eyes and think about being in a hospital, what do you imagine hearing? Are the sounds soothing, or do they make you tense up with even more anxiety? Hospitals aren’t usually relaxing places, and they don’t always sound very relaxing either. Heart monitors beep, respirators pump, and voices murmur in the background or occasionally ring out over the intercom.

They can be surprisingly loud too. The nighttime background noise at a hospital can sometimes reach over a hundred decibels, louder than a chainsaw. A National Institute of Health study in 2009 recognized noise as a hazard to patients; sleep deprivation weakens the immune system, which has a direct effect on mortality rates. Hospital noise isn’t just annoying, it can be dangerous.

Some hospitals are working to change that. Apart from lowering the noise, they’re also focused on weaving it into a healing soundscape that harnesses the link between music and the human body. You can check out my blog for a short but insightful video by electronic musician Yoko Sen about how her experience as a patient inspired her to help create a more melodic ambiance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-AOTqMtR5s

Last year Aalto University won the International Sound Award for Soundscapes and Ambient Sound for its own work in creating an innovative series of ambient soundscapes for New Children’s Hospital in Helsinki. Each floor has a unique and constantly changing theme, from the ocean on the first floor all the way up to space and the stars at the top, and is designed to help put children at ease, taking their thoughts away from the hospital and into an imaginative journey filled with natural sounds and delicate instruments.

There’s a link on my blog to a presentation video by the project’s director, composer and lecturer Antti Ikonen, as well as a link to an interactive demo of each of the nine soundscapes so you can hear them for yourself:

https://international-sound-awards.com/media/ISA2019/2019-1037_New_Childrens_Hospital_Soundscape_KB.mp4

https://newchildrenshospital.aalto.fi/

The idea that sound can play such an important role in healing has been around for quite a while now. Music therapy as we know it today got its start soon after World War II, when musicians visited hospitals to play for veterans. Doctors and nurses started to notice that these visits made a very real difference in their recoveries. They began to incorporate music into the idea of creating a “healing environment” where each aspect of the hospital setting, both visual and audio, plays its own part in helping the patients.

Florence Nightingale wrote in 1859 that carefully controlling the lights, colors and sound in a patient’s room could help them recover more quickly, and in 2013 Brian Eno credited her for inspiring his own “Quiet Room for Montefiore”, an immersive audio project at Montefiore Hospital in Essex. A few years later the “Healing Soundscapes” research project at Hamburg University began, uniting music therapists and composers to find new ways of improving the well-being of hospital patients.

There’s no doubt that sound can have a very real effect when it comes to health care. One study in 2016 showed that listening to just fifteen minutes of music before surgery reduces a patient’s anxiety, while another study found that creating an immersive natural soundscape is more relaxing and effective than simply masking the background noise. These nature sounds significantly reduce your cardiac stress markers and cortisol levels, and, for some patients, lower stress can make a...

Five years ago, the first stories broke about a mysterious syndrome affecting American and Canadian diplomats in Cuba. Each case began with the victim hearing inexplicable grating sounds that people around them couldn’t detect, which then developed into headaches, hearing loss, vertigo, and even brain damage. New cases began to appear in embassies all around the world, with the most recent reports occurring just last year, and the phenomenon came to be known as Havana syndrome.

To this day, we still don't know what might be causing it. Theories range from secret government weapons to the power of mass suggestion, from exposure to harmful pesticides to the sounds of noisy tropical crickets. One of the earliest speculations was that it might be a sonic weapon, since we know that sound can be directed to a single listener without anyone else noticing, and that sound can do just as much harm as it can good. The secret behind Havana syndrome, whether it's an acoustic attack or something else, is still waiting to be uncovered, but sound's potential as a weapon is nothing new. Animals have been shaping soundscapes to their advantage for millions of years and we've used sound as a wartime strategy for just about as long as we've had wartime strategies.

This episode’s the first of a three-part series where I’ll be taking a look at how sonic tactics are used by everything from sperm whales to tiger moths, from Bronze Age battles to the now-famous “Ghost Army” of World War II, and just what the future of sonic warfare might hold.

We’re all familiar with the roar of a tiger, the howl of a wolf, or the hiss of a snake: animals use sound to not only communicate with each other but with their natural enemies, to warn them away and hopefully avoid a fight. But can animals use sound itself in a fight? The answer turns out to be yes, especially underwater where sound waves can be louder and more destructive than in the air. One such animal is the pistol or snapping shrimp, and I’ve talked about them before. Despite being barely an inch long, the pistol shrimp can create the loudest sound on Earth by snapping its claw to throw a literal bubble of sound at its prey, a bubble that’s as hot as the Sun and louder than a blue whale.

The title for the world's loudest animal arguably goes to the sperm whale, and it might also use sound as a weapon. Its clicks, which it uses for echolocation, are 230 decibels, so loud that they can be fatal to a diver who gets too close. Check out this link for a short video from author James Nestor about a diving team's awe-inspiring encounter with a pod of sperm whales, and how one diver found his left hand paralyzed for several hours after reaching too close to one of the clicking whales.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsDwFGz0Okg

Being around a sperm whale who's blasting away at full volume can be deadly for humans, but are their sounds also a weapon that they can aim and fire to stun giant squid? Biologists still aren't sure. For a long time, the answer seemed to be yes, but some more recent studies suggest that might not be the case: perhaps sperm whales are just loud because they're so big. Regardless, as one of the biggest and loudest animals to have ever lived, keeping our distance is probably a good idea.

Another cetacean (seh-tay-shan) that definitely uses sound to attack its prey is the killer whale, which hunts just about everything it can eat, from sharks to seals to other whales. When it comes to feeding on large schools of fish, a pod of orcas will often surround them and use slaps of their flukes, and the shock wave the sound makes, to stun the fish and keep them from swimming away. While the fish are left reeling from the blasts, the whales are free to eat as many as they like.

Here's a link to a rare underwater recording of such a feeding event, called “carousel feeding,” so you can see – and hear – their tail slaps for...

“Tap into who your consumer is, really know. And I don't mean like ‘males 25-34 years old who live in cities.’ No, it's like ‘what's important to this person, where do they spend their time,’ you know, those kinds of things, really thinking about who that person is and then what your company's role, what your brand's role, plays in their lives. And then, just naturally, you know how music can kind of work in there, and I think from there you'll start to see some natural potential opportunities. And if you brainstorm that internally with your colleagues, I think some things will just shake themselves out.” -- Sam Parvin

This episode's the second part of my interview with music supervisor and branding expert Sam Parvin as we talk about how different branding perspectives can lead to very different licensing strategies, Sam’s three best practice steps when it comes to music branding, and how a more fluid and mobile audio landscape is creating both new challenges and opportunities for musical marketing.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in these show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

What Your Music Means

We begin the second half of the interview with a look back at some of Pepsi and Coke's most famous advertising campaigns, and how their distinct marketing strategies and approaches to branding led to very different choices when it came to licensing music. "They're using music in different ways," she explains, "because of what their brand DNA is as well as the campaigns that they're working on at different times." She tells us how a famous song isn't always the best marketing choice and shares a success story that came from adapting a licensed composition to meet her client's needs.

A Living, Breathing Vessel

“Your brand is a living, breathing vessel,” Sam tells us, “and so too is your music strategy.” Music, she explains, has a more dynamic, versatile quality than more visual forms of marketing, and how there’s a much more diverse range of music and audio inspiration available out there than many companies have considered. “They're getting their music choices either from Spotify or production libraries,” she says. “But there is an entire world of amazing music in between those two.” We talk about her three best practice tips when it comes to audio branding, from finding your company’s musical point of view to making sure that you have somebody overseeing your musical brand from start to finish.

The Democratization of Music

We wrap up the interview with a look at what she calls the democratization of music, and how everything from Spotify playlists to innovations in augmented reality are changing the role music and musical branding plays in our lives. As she puts it, "brands' biggest challenge now is being flexible and being able to move quickly, because the whole world is moving quickly." We talk about the deepening connection between musical branding, marketing, and culture, and how they're only becoming more interconnected over time. "They're the ones who are telling us what's okay in the world and what's acceptable in the world," Sam notes. "It's a great responsibility that we have as marketers."

Episode Summary

• Marketing strategies and meeting a wide variety of musical needs
• The dynamic quality of music and its cultural...

“I feel like people are just becoming more and more repelled by that and so I think the days of companies being more personal and accessible, and ‘I want to hear what you sound like, I want to know who you are before I sign a contract with you, before I do business with you,’ I don’t think it’s going anywhere. I think, if anything, it’s going to deepen. I think people think about branded podcasts as, like, Colgate having a podcast about brushing your teeth.” -- Molly Ruland

This week is the second half of my interview with CEO and Heartcast Media founder Molly Ruland as we talk about the overarching importance of who you know, how an obscure podcast led one of her clients to a ten-million-dollar contract and the value and limits of Artificial Intelligence.

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. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House, at 2pm Eastern every Wednesday. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest Clubhouse rooms will be about. And 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. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

Being 100% Myself

As the second half of our conversation opens, Molly talks about how being herself and putting herself out there has helped her win over clients and build her business. “I have found,” she explains, “that by getting out in front of people and being 100% myself, I attract the kind of clients who resonate with that.” She also tells us about some of her favorite podcasting clients, from political analysts to audio dramas, and how one client's emergency request for 76 audiobook narrations led to Heartcast Media's first audiobook studio. "I think that I’m probably the most proud of the work we did there.”

The Collateral Benefits

Molly also tells us about some of the unexpected benefits her clients might find in running a podcast, such as a podcast host for a very obscure and technical show whose expertise attracted a ten-million-dollar contract. “You just never know the collateral benefits of what a podcast can do,” she reminds us. She also warns us about some of the more popular SEO trends like sales funnels that sound good on paper but make less sense in practice. “A funnel implies a large amount of traffic being funneled into a smaller amount,” she explains. “So where is this large amount of traffic coming from?” We also discuss how AI is revolutionizing everything from podcast show notes to SEO predictions, and how SEO companies in particular are facing a dramatic shakeup as computers turn out to be more and more useful in calculating the best results. “And I’m not necessarily mad about that,” Molly adds.

Bring Your Own Table

As our talk comes to a close, Molly discusses her early career as one of the lone women in a very male-dominated field, and the advice she has for women who find themselves in the same situation today. “My advice to people,” she explains, “is just do your own thing. Don’t worry about it if there’s no room at the table – bring your own table” Molly concludes with one last bit of...

“I came into the world listening. Other people came in noticing, visually, or touching things, tactically, which is why there are sculptors and visual artists, and some of us were just innately oriented toward the sound of the world.”

- Michael Joly

This week is the second half of my interview with Michael Joly, founder of solu® and maker of the n.o.w. Tone Therapy™ device, where we talk about microphones, share tips for improving your sound recordings on a budget and look at the future of sound healing.

Sound is a Doorway

“I think sound is a doorway," Michael says, "that can help us experience truth." We begin with a discussion of microphones and audio recording equipment, comparing such diverse microphones as the Shure SM7 cardioid dynamic microphone, the Electro-Voice RE20, and the classic Neumann U47 microphone. Michael also shares his tips for creating an optimal sound environment for recording at home, using such everyday items as a clothes closet, furniture-wrapping blankets, and curtain rods to achieve surprisingly effective results. "What we're trying to achieve here is to communicate to people through a voice, and people love the intimacy of the audio medium."

The Future of Healing

We wrap up the interview with a look at what the future of sound healing might bring as audio continues to play a bigger role in our everyday lives. Michael also talks about the emerging field of “well buildings,” an international standard of wellness that includes sound reduction and ambient sound systems. “Sound is dynamic and always changing, and I think that we connect to this and we know something about ourselves and the way that the world is constructed.”

Connect with the Guest

Website: https://www.nowbysolu.com/

Connect with Michael Joly on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-joly-043513144/

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Tweet with me on Twitter - https://twitter.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 written review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding

or leave a spoken review at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/talktome/ (Thank you!)

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an

“I remember the electricity of being and speaking in front of fifty thousand people or something like that which I’ve done in one of those rooms, and just seeing the little icons of everyone who’s there, and the numbers are amazing as well as, just, you know, hanging out with ten people and talking to your friends. I think those two experiences are extremely different from podcasting and also very compelling, but perhaps more of a sign of a moment that we were all going through, sort of being inside and having the desire to connect that I think, you know, has passed a little bit. Even if there’s longevity to the app, I think it's certainly not going to be taking over podcasting anytime soon.” -- Mike Kadin

This episode’s the second part of my interview with RedCircle's founder and CEO, Mike Kadin, as we talk about his tips for a successful podcast, how social media and podcasting can complement rather than compete with one another, and some of RedCircle's exciting upcoming projects.

As always, if you have questions for my guests, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  And if you have questions for me, visit www.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 if you’re getting some value from listening, feel free to spread that around and share it with a friend, along with leaving an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

Creating Compelling Content

We start the second half off with a look at just which surprising podcast topic makes the most money in Mike’s experience, and he makes the distinction between the most overall and the most per download. “If you look at the podcasts that are making the most money per download,” Mike explains, “in other words, the most money for their audience size, those are actually just shows that monetize with listener payments where they collect a couple of bucks from their friends.” This simple approach can be very successful, Mike says, “if you can create compelling content that people are willing to pay for.”

The Resilience of Podcasting

The conversation shifts to streaming media, the prospect of real-time podcast purchases, and what a "cookie-less" world might be like from a privacy and podcasting perspective. We also talk about how much COVID-19 has changed the podcasting landscape, creating both a quick boom in new podcasts and an increase in listeners. “A lot of them churned out,” Mike says of the flurry of new shows, “a lot of them didn't stick with it... Now, I think we're in a new space.” He reflects on how podcasting has grown alongside streaming media and exceeded more traditional markets like real estate: “What's amazing to me is the resilience of this medium through all kinds of economic change”

Carve Out Your Niche

As our interview comes to a close, Mike gives us a sneak peek at some of the new features in the works at RedCircle and offers his advice as a technical guru on podcasting. “It's super important,” he explains, “to make sure that your title of your show is unique,” so that it’ll come up quickly in a search without any other shows getting in the way. He also recommends finding an under-served niche and sticking with it from the start rather than trying to find your voice as you podcast. “You need to be strategic,” he says when it comes to podcasting, “about which territory you're going to chase after.”

Episode Summary

• Which genres and monetization...

“There are a few perspectives from which you can see this. One would be you pay a premium price for a premium car or premium product in general. So basically, if you just look at the numbers, you pay for people like me at BMW, now doing this. But then also what you mentioned, you’re buying a premium product, you’re expecting a premium experience. And obviously sound, it can be, you can relate this to every field or to every part of the car. You want a premium experience. Means every part, every piece of the experience or of the car, so to say, somebody needs to put some brain into it.” – Johannes Luckemeier

My guest for this episode was born and raised in Germany, where he learned the guitar as a teenager and later took piano lessons. He received his Master’s in Music Technology from Ireland before going into the car industry in Germany as a sound designer, applying and developing sound designs and audio algorithms for premium car manufacturers. During that time he bought a Tesla, and he was unsatisfied with the nonexistent engine sound experience – so he developed a system from scratch to create personalized engine sound for electric vehicles. Now he’s selling the system directly to consumers from his company, based in Texas.

His name is Johannes Luckemeier and I’ve been waiting for the chance to talk with him about the sounds of cars inside and out, something that electric cars are going to have to master. Whether you’re a car or sound enthusiast, I think you’ll really enjoy this conversation. We still have so much to learn about sound’s influence in the places we spend the most time, including our cars.

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 Role of Sound in Cars

We start things off with Johannes’ earliest memories of sound, such as listening to Chuck Berry on the radio and dreaming of becoming a rock star. “I started with an acoustic guitar,” he recalls, “picked up an electric guitar later on, and I also had like a keyboard as a kid which, I’ll be honest, I mainly used for prank calls.” We discuss how the recession changed the direction of his studies and career path, and his work in the auto industry as he helped develop a unique sound for each brand. “There was a short time,” Johannes explains, “when you bought a Rolls-Royce – we’re talking half a million with all the extras, fully loaded – and you’d get the same sounds as a BMW. Obviously, that can’t be happening.”

(0:11:31) - The Influence of Sound in Cars

Our conversation focuses on a behind-the-scenes look at how luxury car manufacturers work to create a premium sound experience, and how surprisingly similar Johannes’ work with a high-end toy company turned out to be. “The kind of funny thing about this is the customers,” he says. “They’re even more crazy, more about the details, even more than about the people who bought the BMWs or Rolls Royce.” We discuss how engines, particularly in electric vehicles, have become quieter in recent years, and some of the surprising steps automakers are taking to retain their distinctive sound. “They’re still fast,” he tells us, “they still have...

“Because we also believe that brands are multidimensional, just as human beings are, right? So, we are multidimensional: we are seen in a certain way by our close friends, we are seen in another way by our family, close family, we are seen in a third way by our colleagues and associates, right? So, we are multidimensional, and brands also need to express themselves in different ways depending on the environment that they are in.” -- Rajeev Raja

This episode's guest is the former National Creative Director of ad agency DDB Mudra as well as one of India's finest jazz and fusion flautists, with a number one album on the iTunes India charts for three weeks running. He's the founder and "soundsmith" of BrandMusiq, the first company in Asia dedicated to designing and managing sonic brand identities, and is a creative powerhouse who straddles the two worlds of branding and music.

With over twenty-five years of advertising experience, he's worked on many of India's and the world's top brands and created many award-winning nationwide campaigns. With such strong credentials in music and branding, it's only natural that Rajeev Raja founded BrandMusiq – a perfect example of how one's passion can also become one's life work! Listen in as we talk about the power of sound: how it can make a brand more memorable, and how it can touch and influence our emotions on a daily basis.

The Flute Found Me

Each episode begins with a look back at my guest’s earliest memories of sound, and Rajeev shares a moving account of how he grew up listening to the vinyl records his mother used as a classical dancer in a home that was always filled with music. Soon he began to listen to pop music from around the world, then early jazz, the blues, and then the flute. “Just by ear, I could immediately play it,” he says. “It was as if I'd found the flute, but the flute found me.”

Music on a Higher Level

Even after he’d settled into a successful career as an advertising professional in Mumbai, music still called out Rajeev, and he faced a choice between following his two passions. When he realized how essential music can be for branding, and how few companies had really tapped into its potential, he founded BrandMusiq. As he puts it, "we can elevate music to a higher level, compared to the way it was used generally, which is a good old jingle that happens on a radio spot or a TV spot but doesn't reflect the essence of the brand."

One Brand, Many Expressions

Next, we talk about MOGOs, or musical logos, a term he created that's quickly taken off in the business world. Rajeev uses his flute to give us a beautiful firsthand demonstration of how subtle changes can affect the mood it creates in surprising ways. "The beauty is once you've created your sonic identity," he says, "which the MOGO, the musical logo, is, as we've said, a big part of, then you can actually start creating different adaptations with these different emotions... it's one brand, but with many expressions."

Creating a Musical Identity

The first half of our interview concludes with a look at musical motifs and Jungian archetypes, and the power of musical logos to transcend the boundaries between cultures and generations while embracing their unique qualities. “There is a rich tradition,” he explains, “and a science behind this in our Indian culture… and if you listen to the great western composers, you’ll see that they knew that the use of a certain scale or combination of scales, major to minor and etcetera, would evoke certain emotions.”

Episode Summary

• Rajeev’s early life and music in Bangalore
• How a twist of fate led him to become a flautist
• Founding BrandMusiq and the theory of MOGOs
• Musical motifs and the power of archetypes
• The flexibility and diversity of MOGOs

Be sure to...

In this interview, I talk with the managing director of Squeak E. Clean Studios - Hamish Macdonald. Hamish has done a wide variety of projects in advertising, production and post-production, and manages post and production companies throughout America, Australia, England and Asia. I’m super impressed with the work his company does and having international offices allows him to create audio branding for just about anyone.  I was excited to get the chance to talk with him about his take on audio branding and what’s in store for the future of Squeak E Clean Studios.

Here are the main talking points of the interview:

• His 10 months spent in the US and what it’s been like to be in the US during COVID
• He’s been spending time with his team, helping with the integration of Squeak E Clean and Nylon Studios
• Hamish is originally from Australia and will be headed back home soon for just a few months
• He’s always been interested in production
• After some early work, he realized he was more into finding great talent
• Hamish fell into working and running Nylon Studios
• Audio branding comes into play when looking at what a business needs overall
• The merging of Nylon Studios and Squeak E Clean has been bringing the best of both worlds together
• Hamish has loved seeing the amazing work that all his teams have done and how they work together
• He has created a cohesive culture across all his teams and really values everyone’s individual talents
• Depending on where the teams are located, teams’ work ebbs and flows
• Hamish is focused on building great relationships with his clients so they can have continual work
• Some of his most notable clients and companies he’s worked with are: Square, HP, and Campbell’s
• Because of the pandemic, they’ve been able to continually build those relationships and create some really unique things
• With each client, they start with who their client base is and who they are trying to reach with their products
• The global nature of his combined companies allows for them to reach a variety of companies and help those companies reach customers around the world
• For each project, he has all 10 of his composers write for the client to find the sound that the client likes the best
• Hamish points out the importance of both a visual and sonic logo
• Hamish takes us through his thought process with his team in Summer 2019 to get better at sonic branding

If you’d like to learn more about Hamish or Squeak E. Clean, you can find more info here:

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishmacdonald2/

The Squeak E. Clean Website: www.squeakeclean.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/squeakeclean/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squeakecleanstudios/

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE download – 5 Tips For Implementing An Intentional Audio Strategy at

“If you're not thinking about sound and audio strategically and intentionally as it applies to every part of the mix in marketing, every touchpoint, every channel, every platform, then you're likely going to be doing yourself a disservice.” -- Shez Mehra

This week’s guest is an award-winning creative entrepreneur, founder, advisor, and producer who specializes in building brand affinity through the strategic and intentional use of sound. Sounds like the perfect person to ask about audio branding, right? His name is Shez Mehra and we met recently at a monthly Zoom chat that Jeanna Isham put together, discussing sound in marketing. Shez really impressed me with his knowledge about the industry, with the projects he’s worked on in the past, and where he sees this going in the future.

He’s on the cutting edge of discovering creative ways to use sound for his clients every day, and I’m looking forward to exploring more about that and hearing some of the stories he has to tell.

I really think you’ll enjoy this interview!

Playing the Wizard

Shez tells us about his earliest memories of sound, of dancing to Chubby Checker with his dad and trying to figure out how the musicians could fit inside a radio. But his life truly changed once he heard a DJ's record scratch, and then when he went to his first nightclub and saw a DJ's hold on the audience firsthand. "I was fascinated by this person sort of behind the scenes," he explains, “playing Wizard of Oz and really controlling the entire narrative and soundscape and influencing so many people's journeys.”

Differentiation Through Sound

“Audio branding,” Shez tells us, "is essentially building differentiation through sound. It's not unlike visual branding in that you see a logo or a brand or a color and you're intrinsically thinking about that brand or that company.” We discuss the more binary role sound used to play in marketing jingles, and how our audio branding has evolved over time. As Shez says, it’s about being “everywhere that a brand exists and speaks to a customer.”

A Post-Production Conversation

We also take a look at the meteoric rise of Clubhouse, Zoom, and social media in the audio branding landscape, and their staying power now that the world's beginning to open up again. Shez talks about the importance of integrating sound strategically into marketing from the very start of a brand. “Most brands aren't thinking about sound in this way. It's always thought of as a post-production conversation,” he tells us. “If you're not thinking about sound strategically, then you're likely going to be doing yourself a disservice.”

Not the Same World

“It is not the same world as even five years ago or ten years ago,” Shez explains, “and even the ways our brains are being wired differently now is changing.” We talk about the challenges that audio marketing faces in the age of social media: for instance, if a licensed song goes viral on TikTok, is the company positioned to take advantage of that? We discuss the perils of taking a halfhearted approach to building that audio brand and how he emphasizes those challenges and solutions for clients. “We understand the value of what we do but we need to be able to... articulate it to the people responsible for investing in brand and brand decisions.”

Be sure to tune in next week for part two as we continue the interview with a look at Shez’s upcoming Destination Toronto project, his work on the Telus #EndBullying campaign, and a peek at what can happen when too many brands use the same stock music.

Connect with the Guest

Websites: https://the194group.com/

I'm excited to be sharing the second half of my interview with Kaye Doran. In the first part, Kaye shared so much with us and what she does in her work. In this second part, we're continuing the conversation about everything from how to use your own tools/instruments to how she uses her work to help heal people with grief to channeling a child’s way of thinking. It's such a calming end to our interview! 

In this second part, we cover:

• How Kaye shares with her clients so they can continue their own healing
• Her whole purpose - to empower her clients
• The importance of breathing in everyday life
• When people eventually get to the point where they need to see her for help
• The shadow work
• Releasing negative energy in a productive way
• Letting our minds help heal us
• How Kaye helps others overcome grief
• What to NOT do when it comes to overcoming negative energy
• When to ask for help
• Our internal voice
• Kaye’s simple tools that lead to actual change
• Kaye’s fear activity (that you can do, too!)
• Accepting our internal knowing 
• The “good” parts of fear
• Using outside things to help motivate you through negative thoughts
• Helpful resources Kaye has for you (on her website)
• Kaye’s upcoming coaching program
• Her thoughts on a final product launching this month

If you want to follow Kaye Doran or find out more about what she has to offer, you can find her here:

Website: www.Kayedoran.com 

FB Page- Inner Expressions: https://www.facebook.com/Inner-Expressions-260662878197298 

FB Group- Rise and Shine Women: https://www.facebook.com/groups/340808953165931

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE download – 5 Tips For Implementing An Intentional Audio Strategy at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

“All right, so this happens a lot is that brands will be, especially in agencies, they’ll be coming up on a new campaign and they’ll think, ‘Oh well, you know what, this campaign is going to launch at such date, I’ll throw some audio branding on there.’ And then, from the get-go, then they’re thinking about the audio brand as part of the campaign’s messaging, and that is not what you want to do. So number five is think of your audio branding as part of your brand’s equity and part of your brand’s identity, and do not plan your audio branding around your campaign message. Because then, as soon as that campaign message is gone and thrown out, there goes the audio logo.” – Jon Brennan

This is the second half of my conversation with audio branding expert and founder of Sonic Signatures Jon Brennan as we discuss Jon’s tips for building a successful brand strategy, what Home Depot gets right when it comes to brand consistency, and the future of AI music in audio branding.

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) - Implementing Effective Audio Branding Strategies

The second half of our discussion begins as Jon talks about the ubiquity of UX sound design and the opportunities it presents for establishing a sonic brand. “You know the sound of your ATM,” he says. “You know you’re using your audio logo. Any place that you have a brand interaction is where you want to use that melody, that sound so that it is more of an ecosystem.” He continues his list of tips for building a successful audio brand, including the importance of marketing versatility. “So number five,” he explains, “is think of your audio branding as part of your brand’s equity and part of your brand’s identity and do not plan your audio branding around your campaign message, because then, as soon as that campaign message is gone and thrown out, there goes the audio logo.”

(0:11:11) - Evolving Audio Branding Strategies

Our conversation turns to the value of a dynamic campaign that keeps up with changing demands. “What you want to do,” Jon says, “is continue to develop and adapt your audio identity through more touch points, more use cases, using it in your new, current campaigns, not just letting it sit there on the shelf from what you created five years ago.” We talk about the growth of AI in everything from editing to composition, and how it fits into a sonic branding strategy. “There’s so much stock music out there now, AI music,” he says, “but still really working with a composer to bring out the specific messaging, and also the action onscreen, makes your advertising so much more interactive to watch.”

(0:14:53) - Advancements in Custom Audio Branding

As our discussion comes to a close, Jon shares an awkward advertising moment that came from relying on stock elements. “I was with a customer this morning,” he relates, “and we were watching a video, and I recognized the stock image that they’re using for a major car company. It was the same stock person that was in a detergent brand.” He tells us how listeners can get in touch with him, and we talk about some of the...

“Yeah, there’s a real opportunity here. I mean there’s a trend here in the conversation that we talk about the nostalgia and these spots that keep coming back. There’s equity in that. There’s, I mean, the giant equity. Even in a seasonal piece of music. It really is the subjects that we talk about in for what it boils down to this consistency and persistency. And even if you’re you know, Colleen, you’re 100% right, you know they have to be ready for this, they have to be ready to roll this out to all their touch points and it also has to be their brand. But I mean, think of the immense power that it’s going to wield year after year when it’s implemented consistently.” -- Adam Pleiman

This episode is the second half of my Audio Branding for the Holidays discussion with sonic strategist and author Jeanna Isham, creative director and Grammy-nominated engineer Adam Pleiman, author and creative executive Colleen Fahey, and Soundwise sound strategist John Sanfilippo, as we discuss the changing habits of online consumers, the unique power of audio to tap into holiday nostalgia, and the value of authenticity as machine-generated content becomes the norm in marketing.

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. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House every Wednesday (check the schedule for times). Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, when new audio rooms are scheduled and what they'll be about, and it'll give you access to a resource called The Studio with lots of interesting sound-related mp3s, videos, educational pdfs, and exclusive discounts from previous guests.

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. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:01) - Music and Branding for Holidays

As the second half of our discussion starts, we talk about music in advertising, particularly during the holiday season. “I like Colleen’s idea of bringing being a little more worldly,” John says, “and bringing new compositions into the mix. I think we’re due for some new melodies just in the whole Christmas soundscape.” We discuss the impact of music on consumer behavior, referencing the well-known study of playing French music in a wine store to boost sales of French wine, and how the interactive nature of sound on such social media platforms like TikTok can help music marketing go viral. “I would love to see some of these really fun TikTokers that did these creative things with Home Depot,” Jeanna adds. “I’d love to see them come up with something more clever than Jingle Bells.”

(0:08:55) - Sonic Branding’s Power of Emotional Connection

We also examine the power of nostalgia and consistency in sonic branding and discuss the impact of using familiar songs and jingles in commercials. “I mean, there’s a trend here in the conversation that we talk about the nostalgia and these spots that keep coming back,” Adam notes. “There’s equity in that. There’s, I mean, there’s giant equity, even in a seasonal piece of music.” We also touch on the missed opportunity for brands to use their sonic identity to stand out and...

“One of my Berklee professors, one of my favorite things that has stayed with me from my time there, said 'you know, Nick, a bad day playing music is still better than a good day doing just about anything else.'" -- Nick Morrison

This episode's guest is an Amazon #1 bestselling author and a professional musician, composer, teacher, voice actor, YouTube creator, actor, and a music and media consultant from Calgary Alberta. He's toured throughout the United States, Canada, and Japan as a guitarist, worked as a session musician, and as a writer and composer for Warner Bros, Universal Studios, Sony, MTV, ABC, NBC, HGTV, and HBO, among others. He was educated at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where he studied guitar performance and music business management.

In 2021 he began writing guitar instructional books and continues to bring his love of the instrument to as many people around the world as possible. His name is Nick Morrison, and our discussion runs the gamut from music, to sound design, to audio branding and everything in between.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

Getting into Sound

We start things off with a look back at Nick’s earliest impressions of sound, and he tells us about his mother’s lifelong love of music and his happy memories of growing up in a musical family. He talks about the surprising influence the original Super Mario Bros. had on his lifelong career and how it inspired him from an early age to devote himself to music. “It was at that point that I really decided,” he tells us, “that I was like ‘I'm going to do something with music.’ I didn't have the vocabulary then to know specifically what I wanted to do, but I knew that I wanted to get into sound.”

The Cat and the Piano

“A cat can jump on a piano," Nick jokes as we talk about his early music lessons, from the violin to the piano to his first guitar, "and it'll sound good." He tells us about the unique musical challenges and rewards that each instrument offers and how he's come to embrace his role as a teacher and focuses now on helping people who might be returning to their love of music after a long career elsewhere. "What can I give to those students," he says, describing his approach to teaching new musicians, "that in those fifteen minutes they can get the most out of the time they have with their instrument as possible?"

Making Music Online

We also take a look at remote learning, online groups, and how our post-COVID shift to virtual lessons and meetings has changed the musical landscape. "I can't think of a single industry," Nick says, "that doesn't have at least some computer animation or computer modeling or computer monitoring or computer connectivity to keep us in touch and to help us with our jobs." He gives us a few examples, such as how his Guitar Dojo Facebook group works to make learning about music fun for its members and listeners alike. "My mission statement," as he puts it, "is to make music fun again."

With Music and Sound

The conversation turns to some of the old computers we grew up with, and how MIDI controllers and digital sampling have transformed the creative process. We talk about some of the television and advertising themes he most admires, and about how licensed

“First things first, to get a podcast to sound good is not hard. Many people think that it’s so hard to make it sound great: it’s not. The first thing they have to remember is that, if you have a good recording, I would say that you don’t even need an editor to get it done for you at the end.” -- Nicolae Bogdan Bratis

This episode’s guest comes from a musical background and has had quite a lot of success as a musician in Romania, having been in the finale of X-Factor 2013.  He sings, plays several different instruments, has produced his own music, and he performed throughout the UK with his own solo project before the pandemic started. He moved to the UK in 2016 to study music production, and in 2018 he started his own podcast production company called Saw and Sine.  Now he edits podcasts, creates jingles, restores audio, and even records and produces audiobooks. He's always been in love with sound, whether it's music or spoken audio, and he’s all about helping his clients get the best audio brand possible.

His name is Nicolae Bogdan Bratis, and if you want to work in sound, or if you want to improve your sound so your message can reach deeper, this interview is sure to provide a lot of great tips.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

A Musical Ear

We start the show with a look at Nicolae's earliest memories of sound, his family's musical history, and his childhood music lessons. “My teacher,” he recalls, “when I was just ten, I guess, told me that I have a musical ear, I can hear sounds, I can hear the pitch and everything.” He talks about his encounter with a teenage rock band at a music school in Romania, and how it inspired him to pursue a career in sound.  “I was always interested in the technical part of audio,” he says, “not just into the artistic part, and I loved producing music, I loved working with tracks, working with computers, all that jam.”

Simplicity and Complexity

Nicolae goes on to tell us about the distinctive name of his studio, Saw and Sine. “The sine wave,” he explains, “is the purest waveform you can generate with a synthesizer and the saw-tooth is the busiest, the most harmonic waveform you can generate with a simple circuit. That's kind of like simplicity and complexity at the same time." The physical aspect of sound's always fascinated him, and we talk about how sound not only surrounds us but affects us in ways we don't often consider. "Before you actually have the earthquake, you get that big rumble," he says. “That’s all sound waves.”

Finding the Hidden Gems

We talk about how the pandemic, and the remote audio industry that emerged from it, helped shape his career as a podcast producer, and the hidden value of sound quality. It truly is a hidden gem, as he reminds us. “It’s there, it exists, but it's hidden,” he adds, “and if you don't pay attention to it, it can destroy your brand.” Fortunately, creating quality sound these days doesn’t have to involve a traditional recording studio. “You just need a basic microphone,” Nicolae says, “because the technology’s evolved so much. With just a few pieces of equipment, you can get something that sounds really good.”

Don’t Stop Learning

Nicolae offers some recording tips, including his advice...

This is the conclusion of my interview with Dr. Lilach Saperstein. If you missed the first part, Lilach and I discuss everything from the science behind hearing/sound to properly using sound effects in your marketing material to make it more accessible for people with hearing loss. In this part, we dive into more of the audio branding side of things and how you can help make things easier for anyone you know who might have hearing loss. 

In this interview, we discuss:

• The possibility of ASMR helping with tinnitus
• The fascination with ASMR in general
• A previous podcast guest who was an expert in ASMR
• A recent ad Liliach experienced with ASMR
• Knowing your target audience
• The evolution of the short snippets of music on TikTok
• Certain types of music or bands that make us feel different emotions
• Intentionally adding in white space to your audio advertising
• My main purpose for starting this podcast - bringing awareness to the importance of audio branding
• Trends moving toward paying attention to audio
• Advertisers having the host read the ad to feed into the connection already made
• The ease that audio gives to do multiple things
• The rise of clubhouse and devices that are merely audio (Google Home, Alexa, etc.)
• The lack of the visual with a device
• Why companies have moved to creating their own sound
• What you really need to create an audio brand
• Auditory processing
• How kids are affected by audio and the effects on auditory processing
• The way the message can get mixed up in your brain
• Some of the main struggles with older people
• Mis-diagnosed kids with ADHD who actually have a hearing/processing problem
• The way hearing aids work
• What hearing aids can’t do
• Tips to use when communicating with people who have hearing aids
• Rephrasing with people who are struggling to understand you
• The individual process of figuring out your individual hearing loss
• Counselling people who have hearing loss and their loved ones
• The work Lilach does with her clients and families
• The power of your auditory sense
• Taking care of your auditory sense - calm relaxing music or sounds you enjoy
• Pay attention to the sounds/words that bring your joy
• If you have any concerns about your hearing, see an audiologist 
• The ways to get in contact with Lilach

If you want to hear more from Lilach:

• You can contact her through her website if you want to talk about her own online practice or just connect with her.
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/allaboutaudiologypodcast 
• Website: https://allaboutaudiology.com/ 

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE download – 5 Tips For Implementing An Intentional Audio Strategy at

“Yeah, so I started writing songs for speakers to walk on stage to their own song, and then when they had their sizzle reel, people would hear their song again. And then if they went to a training, you know, they would hear the song again. And so there was this audio consistency that also had the effect of lifting the person, the speaker themselves. They would say to me, you know, ‘When I walk on stage to my own song, it’s like, I don’t show up small. This is who I have to be to walk on stage to like, mind switch, I’m ready to fly.’ Right? And they’re, you know, they are making their brand. People are walking out of there with their song stuck in their head, not a Katy Perry song.” – Lowry Olafson

This episode’s guest is a professional songwriter who has toured the globe, released nine albums, and led over six hundred songwriting sessions with more than 15,000 speakers, entrepreneurs, and businesses. He helps his clients make a bigger dent in the universe by creating their own signature song to build trust, authority, and connection – and to make their message literally unforgettable.

His name is Lowry Olafson, and he’s created something called a SongBrand. We’ll be talking about how businesses and individuals can use a SongBrand, and how his background has led to a unique form of songwriting that allows his clients to communicate their truth with the 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 Power of Sound Branding

Our conversation starts with a look back at Lowry’s earliest memories of sound and what drew him to a career in music. “My earliest memory of making my own music,” he says, “was, as maybe a three-year-old, on the prairies and uh, listening to the meadowlarks and trying to imitate them, whistling, trying to imitate them.” We talk about some of the musicians who most influenced him, such as Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot, and how he’s helping bring sonic branding down from commercial jingles to a more personal level. “It used to be that the only people that could afford to do this,” he says, “were the big people that, you know, had big advertising, big advertising budgets, and TV and radio and stuff. But the fact is, your average coach is using music in all kinds of ways.”

(0:12:51) - Creating Personalized Power Songs

Lowry discusses his process for creating a personal audio brand for a client, and how he collaborates with them to come up with just the right sound. “We start to nuance it,” he explains, “and change a word here and there and do things like that, until we really feel like we’ve nailed it and they love it, and I love it too.” He shares an example of a client’s audio theme, “Make Medicare Simple,” and talks about his work with industries as far-ranging as retirement coaches and meditation guides. “We have a strategy meeting,” he tells us, “and talk about how we’re going to implement it because I want to make sure these songs get used, and that they’re always finding new ways to use their song.”

(0:17:49) - Inspiring Branding Through Music

As the first half of our conversation concludes, Lowry

“And so the concert comes, and, about the ending piece of the concert. I didn’t know who I was. All that vanity and ego, ‘I’m a classical musician,’ all of that stuff, those labels go right out the window. And why is that? Because it’s down to survival time now.” -- Jonathan Taylor

This episode’s guest is a California native who’s currently representing the U.S. as an American Cultural Specialist in South America and the Caribbean. He’s performed sold-out concerts for such luminaries as UN delegates, American ambassadors, and foreign heads of state. During his formative years in the 1970s and ‘80s, he studied music at Chapman University and was head of the music department at the Newport Institute of the Arts in Southern California. He’s known for his virtuosity and unique transcriptions and has performed extensively throughout Europe, North and South America, and Asia. He was one of the very first artists to record digitally back in the early ‘90s and he’s set about creating a catalogue of over three hundred tracks. His music is streaming worldwide on iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, Sirius Radio, and most streaming services everywhere.

His name is Jonathan Taylor, and our two-part discussion is a must-listen for anyone interested in the power of sound – and particularly the power of music. Prepare to be inspired!

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. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House every other Wednesday (check the schedule for times). Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, when new audio rooms are scheduled and what they'll be about, and it'll give you access to a resource called The Studio with lots of interesting sound-related mp3s, videos, educational pdfs, and exclusive discounts from previous guests.

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. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:00) – Musical Journey and Touring Adventures

The episode starts off with a look back at the start of Jonathan’s musical journey, and the grandmother who played the organ for silent movie productions. “Those things,” he says, “I’m sure, influenced me, and I started picking out tunes, you know, on the ukulele, because the guitar would have been too big for my fingers at that age.” He talks about the challenge of mastering, rather than just being proficient at, music, and the difficult promise he made to himself at age fourteen to truly master the guitar. “It is saying that you have made an oath to yourself,” he explains, “which is the only oath anyone can really make, and that it is going to require tremendous labor and work and discovery.”

(0:16:51) – Jonathan’s Encounters Around the World

Our conversation turns to the tours he’s been on all over the world, and how it’s broadened his perspective as a musician and as a person. “Once one steps out of the door of their domicile,” Jonathan tells us, “something will happen because you are now out into the world.” We talk about some of the famous people he met while touring in India and one memorable occasion at an ambassador’s house when music and politics...

“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...

Have you ever heard the roar of a dinosaur? If you’ve seen any of the Jurassic Park movies, it’s pretty much impossible to forget the bellowing cry of a Tyrannosaurus rex, but did dinosaurs actually sound like that? No one’s really sure. The two closest living relatives of dinosaurs are birds and crocodiles, and they don’t sound anything alike. Did a Velociraptor sound more like a goose or an alligator? Did it even have a voice at all?

While no one’s ever heard a real dinosaur, someone behind the scenes had to figure out what they might sound like and then create that sound for the audience by using bits and pieces of the world around us. That’s where sound designers and Foley artists come in, the artists who use sound to bring the unreal to life.

If you've watched the end credits of a movie and wondered just what a Foley artist is, and why they're called Foley artists, it all started with sound artist Jack Foley and the 1929 movie Show Boat. Show Boat was meant to be a silent film, but silent movies were already on their way out, and a Broadway musical based on the same book had just made its debut the year before. Producers worried that audiences would not only want sound but would also expect to hear their favorite songs from the musical. With no time to go back and film the movie all over again, they turned to Jack Foley to record a separate audio track, creating sounds like footsteps and raindrops using whatever he could find in the studio. It was the very first film to use what are now called Foley effects, and this technique of creating post-production sound effects is named after him.

If you’d like to see a pair of Foley artists at work, creating the sound effects for a movie scene using everything from empty bottles to heads of lettuce, just watch the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OONaPcZ4EAs

Since there aren’t any dinosaurs to come into the studio and record their lines, sound artists for the Jurassic Park movies faced the challenge of giving voices to creatures that no one has ever heard before. They did this by piecing together all sorts of other ordinary sounds. That famous Tyrannosaurus roar, for instance, is the sound of a baby elephant slowed down and mixed with a growling tiger and a bellowing alligator. Those barking Velociraptors are mostly the sounds of turtles mating, with just a dash of angry geese.

Many of the sounds we hear in a movie, even the ones that seem simple enough, are often something quite different. When a legion of Roman soldiers in Spartacus needed to clang dramatically, and it turned out their real armor just sounded like rattling pots and pans, Jack Foley solved it by dangling his keys in front of a microphone. Whenever the sliding doors aboard the starship Enterprise swish open on Star Trek, that’s really just a piece of paper being pulled out of an envelope. And it may be a little harder to see a dramatic kiss in the rain the same way once you know what we’re actually hearing. Check out this short video to find out if you can tell the difference between pattering raindrops and sizzling bacon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAG8IbNrYbo

What about a whole universe that exists only onscreen? When Star Wars: A New Hope first came out in 1977, it didn’t just revolutionize the visual effects industry: it also made a big impact on cinematic sound design. From droids and lightsabers to TIE fighters and Darth Vader’s mask, sound designer Ben Burtt had to invent all sorts of new sounds that don’t resemble anything we’d usually hear.

There’s no mistaking the hum of a lightsaber for anything else, even though we don’t really have lightsabers. That sound comes from a film projector motor mixed with the electric hum of a...

“I think doctors use a term called modifiable risk factor, I've learned, because I talk to a lot of doctors now, and so there are some things we can modify and some things that we can't. And so these alarm sounds are very much a modifiable risk factor, and we need to work together to figure out the better set of sounds to use and how to implement them. But it's definitely something that we can do to improve, because I hope that when the time comes and I'm spending time in a hospital, or my parents are in the hospital, or people I care about, these kinds of things are in a better state. Because there's no technical reason we have to be subject to this so-called ‘beeping hellscape.’” -- Dr. Michael Schutz

This week we continue my interview with Associate Professor and MAPLE Lab director Dr. Michael Schutz as we talk about making a better hospital beep, the importance of turning scientific discovery into progress, and MAPLE Lab’s latest experiments on giving sounds more "pop".

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com web page) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

The Structure of Sound

We start the second half of the interview with a closer look at hospital alerts, how many more of them there are today, and why Dr. Schutz doesn’t see that trend changing anytime soon. “If we think about the whole device landscape in hospitals as sounds being an auditory interface,” he explains, “then the question becomes what's the best way to structure the sound, not so that they're most alarming, but so that they're the most communicative.'"

All Over the World

Dr. Schutz explains the challenge and importance of turning scientific discoveries into genuine progress, and how even something as seemingly simple as updating the sound of hospital alerts can have far-reaching results. "Thinking a little bit more about how we can improve them with sound will have huge benefits,” he says, “because hospitals all over the world have many of these devices, and the number of devices is only increasing. So even a small change in the improvement in these can have a major impact on human health."

The Bells and Whistles

"I think the language itself that we talk about the frills is revealing,” Dr. Schutz tells us., “If we're talking about the things that are nice but not necessary, the literal term is bells and whistles: we're talking about the things that produce sound." We talk about how easy it is to overlook sound itself even while trying to improve the soundscape, and his lab's latest research on innovative ways to make important auditory alerts stand out from the background noise without having to make them louder.

Episode Summary

• Why hospital beeps are getting worse
• Turning discoveries into reform and progress
• How subtle changes can create a major impact
• The overlooked importance of sound

Connect with Dr. Michael Schutz:

Website: www.michaelschutz.net

MAPLE Lab: www.maplelab.net

“Death By Beep” on TEDx Talks: https://youtu.be/Ap8geRll6F0/

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