Express delivery: readings for the plane.
A couple of news and three releases to read and comment on this weekend.
See you soon, Madrid!
Now I’m finally feeling the countdown :) The days leading up to this one have been of so much work, preparation, and rehearsals for two things coming up for me this week. I want to tell you about them and share three interesting things to read and comment on this weekend.
First...
This Monday, May 20th I will be performing at Artist INC Houston.
When I arrived in Houston I made a big effort to connect with the local scene. One of my learnings from moving from city to city, country to country, has been looking for community wherever I go. So as soon as I settled I started looking for workshops, groups, and courses where I could find people like me. That's how I came to the Artist INC program, an eight-week training on entrepreneurship for artists. I find it fantastic: that a local organization (Fresh Arts) trains local artists in the basics of how to create income with their art. I applied as an audio documentarian and was lucky enough to be chosen :) So for the past 8 weeks, I've been learning the basics of the business alongside painters, actresses, and photographers. It has been a wonderful experience.
As a graduation, we have to present in 5 minutes our work and services to other artists who have gone through the program as well. I thought that was the intimidating part until I was told that the auditorium has a GIANT screen where I will project my ideas and my face... that's what I'm preparing for. It's going to happen this Monday, May 20th in Houston. Send some 🔥.
Tuesday to Saturday, see you at Estacion Podcast in Madrid
Just the next day, I’ll catch a flight to Madrid, the day has arrived! We have everything almost ready for the preview of Juventud Maldito Vacío at Estación Pódcast. What do I mean, by preview?
It will be a presentation in society of the podcast's creative process, the trailer's premiere, and a fragment of the first episode only for those who attend in person. It's going to be beautiful! We have prepared something very special, if you know anyone there, I leave the info by clicking on this image.
Bonus: My favorites of the festival will be the live presentation of the musical album (🤩) by Las Raras; the panel on Latin Sounds in the US where I will be with Laura Rojas and Miguel Macias; the panel on Spanish in journalistic stories and the presentations of Simulacro, Gemelos Digitales, Huevos Revueltos and La Toma. Many of these activities will be available via streaming. Follow me on Instagram for more details.
Readings for the plane and the weekend.
AudioGen's analysis of “the podcast boom” in Latam
I am a reader of 3x3, a newsletter by Jorge Heili, LuisMi Pedrero, and Agustín Espada about the radio and podcast industry. This May 12 they published an analysis of podcast launches in Spanish-language between 2016 and 2023. I find it fascinating: During the pandemic, many, many podcasts were launched, but most of them were no longer active at the end of 2021.
Let me know when you read the newsletter and we'll chat about it. Also, Luis Miguel and Agustín Espada will be presenting this Wednesday, May 23rd, the results of a report on original podcasts released during 2023 on the main platforms and audio producers in Spain and Argentina. This is going to be spectacular. Especially because I know that the local chapter was worked on with Pablo Fisher and the incredible Mariana Vaccaro. Standing ovations for this release.
The ethics saga behind AI-generated audios
This week the new version of ChatGPT and Google's new Artificial Intelligence were introduced. Both offer functions to convert text to speech and it can be any voice and that... seems to me a bit of an unregulated mess. María Jesus Espinosa is one of the professionals who is warning about it. In South Africa, there is already a warning about the use of AI to voice deceased people and scam their relatives. In the UK, the identity of a BBC presenter was impersonated by AI audio to close a deal with an advertising agency for a campaign. The agency paid 20,000 Euros to an unidentified account that responded with voice messages to the client, messages created with AI.
All this while a guy in a colorful robe presented to the world the innovation of Google IO to generate music and voice and create songs...using just prompts.
It is urgent to regulate the scope of this technology. This is just the beginning of this saga. I want to read your opinion about all of this in the comments.
Mariano Pagella's new launch
Tomorrow, May 21st, the godfather of the Argentinean podcast Mariano Pagella premieres Desarmaudio. A multimedia series where Mariano will disassemble a podcast and share details about its production, “Those details that at first glance seem unimportant but where we often find the magic”.
Mariano is a precise man. So I'm sure that what he has to release is first-class quality and with many great references. If you love podcasts, this is meant to open your ears. If you do audio stories, this will be an inspiration. A new episode every 15 days. And Mariano is on Substack so... I've already subscribed.
So much for today's installment of Writing Out Loud. Next time we read each other I'll be premiering the trailer and telling you more about Juventud Maldito Vacío. 🔥 Bye I'm off to pack!