Indian audio platform Pocket FM has recently made significant strides, now boasting over 200,000 hours of rich content. However, the company's CEO, Rohan Nayak, believes there is still ample room for improvement. He thinks that Pocket FM has much more to do in developing original content and expanding into various genres and sub-genres. The fastest way to achieve this goal is by leveraging AI tools to assist with audio production, writing strategies, and adapting stories for different regions.
Nayak stated during a call with TechCrunch: "I feel our content catalog is not rich enough for users. We are missing many types and sub-types of content, especially in the realm of mature entertainment."
Currently, Pocket FM is collaborating with ElevenLabs to use AI to convert text into audio series. This technology has increased production speed by five times while reducing costs by thirty times, making it a win-win for saving time and money.
Nayak mentioned: "We have tested these AI adaptations in different markets, and the results have been quite good. Although we are still continuously correcting errors in the model, we believe this technology is mature enough to be used in program production."
Pocket FM is also experimenting with an AI tool aimed at adapting stories for different regions. The company claims they have trained an internal model that goes beyond simple translation, taking into account cultural nuances to ensure the stories resonate emotionally in different locations.
However, maintaining consistency across hundreds of episodes is no easy task. Pocket FM noted that they need to address the context window limitations of open-source models and establish a relationship graph between different characters in the stories to maintain character consistency.
Additionally, Pocket FM is testing a creative assistant for screenwriters. This tool helps writers by providing alternative plots or ideas, and in the future, they plan to incorporate historical data from the platform into this tool to inform writers about which content performs well.
Nayak emphasized that while this tool is still in its early stages, the company hopes to empower every independent writer with a "writer's room" capability, helping them gain inspiration while producing episodes daily. The concept of a writer's room makes creative collaboration more efficient without disrupting the independent thinking of creators, which is the core idea of this creative assistant.
Meanwhile, the company is also investing in developing a "hit engine" to gain insights into which programs are gaining popularity on the platform. Pocket FM's ultimate goal is to expand its content catalog. Although they have already begun producing some content independently and creating programs through their network of writers, producing popular shows is essential to increasing their influence.
"Hit content is the driving force behind any content platform. While we already have a solid foundation in user-generated content, discovering truly hit content remains a tricky issue."
With the support of AI technology, Pocket FM has achieved encouraging results, currently offering over 40,000 series on its platform. Thanks to AI voice generation technology, the company has generated $3 million in revenue. Overall, the platform's revenue for the fiscal year 2024 reached $127 million.
However, the company's biggest challenge lies in finding a balance between AI-assisted creation and rapid content production. If left unchecked, accelerating content production with AI could result in a plethora of mediocre works, making it difficult for algorithms to identify quality shows.
Indian screenwriter and lyricist Puneet Sharma pointed out that, faced with so many formulaic works, artists must strive to prove that their creations are unique. While AI tools can help writers generate ideas and learn different styles, in the process of using these tools, writers might lose the opportunity to learn from failure.
Nayak stated that some screenwriters and creators are already using AI tools. The company's goal is to integrate these tools with the stories and the platform's context to enhance the creative process. Pocket FM has raised $197 million in multiple funding rounds, with investors including Lightspeed Ventures, Tencent, and Times Internet. In the face of competition from platforms like Audible, Pratilipi supported by Omidyar Network, and Kuku FM backed by Google, Pocket FM is fully committed to enriching and innovating its content.