Use fragmented time to improve yourself and relax

"Good Voice" spawned "Ear Economy"

  While driving, parents turn on the radio and listen to famous prose with their children; on the subway, office workers plug in their headphones and start a radio drama with a wonderful plot; before going to bed, play a talk show full of laughter to relieve the fatigue of the day... Now , Listening to audio programs has increasingly appeared in daily life scenes.

The network audio model, which is based on business models such as online listening to books, audio live broadcast, and payment for knowledge, has been upgraded to the "ear economy".

According to iResearch's data, China's long audio market is expected to reach 54.31 billion yuan in 2022, and China's online audio users will exceed 900 million in 2023.

More diverse listening scenes

  "On the way to and from get off work, I often listen to current affairs and news programs to learn about the latest information. During lunch breaks on weekdays, I will learn some business and financial management courses to charge myself. When I wash and cook at home on weekends, I will Open a novel, listen to it, and relax." Xiao Wang, a white-collar worker working in an Internet company in Beijing, is a loyal fan of online audio content. She has her own plans for what to listen to on different occasions and time periods.

"Compared with more visually impactful video, audio has accompanying characteristics, which can rest the eyes and hands, and also help us use the fragmented time for self-improvement or entertainment." Xiao Wang said.

  The results of the 17th National National Reading Survey released by the China Press and Publication Research Institute in April 2020 show that audio reading continues to grow rapidly, becoming a new growth point for national reading.

31.2% of Chinese people have the habit of listening to books, and the adult listening rate is 30.3%.

An investigation of the media for Chinese adults’ listening to books found that the proportion of people who chose "mobile audio App platform" to listen to books was the highest, at 16.2%, followed by "WeChat voice push" and "broadcast" to listen to books.

  The relevant person in charge of the audio sharing platform Himalaya revealed in an interview with this newspaper that since last year, in the context of epidemic prevention and control, online consumption scenarios have become a rigid need for people to enrich their spiritual world.

Whether it is students, office workers or the elderly, whether in travel, home or sports scenes, people can enjoy the fun and value brought by audio scenes.

  It is understood that audio books are one of the most popular categories for audio platform users.

In addition, the radio dramas and quality life albums that young users like, the essential parent-child classes for "Baoma", the workplace advancement that accompanies the "workers", foreign language learning, and commercial and financial albums are among the top best-selling audio platforms.

Smart terminal to help

  In different scenes, people listen to audio in more and more diversified ways.

Xiao Wang told reporters that when commuting, she usually uses wireless headphones to connect to the mobile app to listen to audio, and she uses smart speakers to play it at home.

Mr. Zhou from Shenzhen is a jogging enthusiast. When running, he uses smart watches to listen to various podcasts.

He said that running can be accompanied by running, and sometimes it can stimulate thinking.

  The reporter learned that the online audio platform is actively deploying a full-scene ecosystem, distributing audio content from various channels such as smart furniture, smart speakers, smart wearables, and the Internet of Vehicles, empowering life scenarios, accelerating access to users, and providing convenience The sound listening experience helps the audio ecosystem prosper.

  Analysys’ "Ecological Traffic Insights of Online Audio Platforms in 2020" analysis report shows that through the layout of smart hardware, apps, applets, and mobile web pages, the audio platform is actively developing external content distribution exports.

For example, Himalaya has in-depth cooperation with Alibaba, Xiaomi, Huawei, Baidu, Samsung, etc., to penetrate audio content into various smart terminals and scenes in life, and has successively launched smart AI speakers and AI listening headsets.

  Experts believe that with the development of technology, the combination of sound and smart hardware terminals such as cars, smart homes, smart speakers, smart wearables, etc., allows audio to penetrate into every scene in life, and will further develop the "ear economy" space.

Content ecology is the key

  From traditional radio programs to cross talks, radio dramas, audio books, talk shows, and various knowledge-paid content, the online audio platform aggregates content from various fields and attracts many audiences across ages and industries.

The broad development prospects and huge market scale have created many mobile applications for listening to books and online audio, such as Himalaya, Qingting FM, Litchi FM, Fan Deng Reading, and Ten Point Reading.

  Many Internet companies have deployed audio products one after another.

In 2020, ByteDance will launch Tomato Listening, featuring free listening to massive novels; NetEase Cloud Music launched a new content section "Sound Theater", featuring radio dramas and audiobooks adapted from IP (intellectual property); recently, Tencent Music acquired Lazy The entire shareholding of Tingshu is also regarded as an important move to enter the online audio industry.

  As people's love for audio programs increases and their willingness to pay for knowledge increases, the supply-side reform of audio sharing platforms is also imperative.

The relevant person in charge of Himalaya told this newspaper that in 2020, the category of Himalayan content has increased to 393 categories, and the new content covers many emerging fields, including entertainment content such as the second dimension and cuteness, as well as personal enhancement content such as speeches and scientific history.

At the same time, Himalaya also introduced related content such as caring for women's growth, love, beauty and health.

In the future, the platform will intensively cultivate the sinking market, enrich new content, continuously acquire new users, and form a healthy and sustainable audio ecosystem.

  Industry insiders pointed out that audio programs must not only be large in volume, but also of high quality, especially to cover more vertical fields and niche needs, and maintain a new, interesting, and thoughtful output.

Only by ensuring the competitiveness of content and creating exclusive and platform-rich products can we attract more loyal users with high stickiness.

  leaf