Is AI the end of human storytelling? Pocket FM bets on collaboration
Audio series platform Pocket FM is betting on collaboration and not competition between humans and artificial intelligence (AI). Rather than replacing human creativity, the company is using AI to support storytellers and scale high-quality audio content. Pocket FM aims to create a platform where humans and AI work together, not against each other.
Talking to LiveMint, Vineet Singh, Head, Brand Marketing and Communication at Pocket Entertainment, said that of late, there has been a lot of chatter about AI replacing humans.
"We always believe that human storytelling is going to be the core part of creativity," he said. 'With AI, we are going to be able to enhance it and scale it with that same quality at a huge number.'
Pocket FM's proprietary tool allows users to write a story, select the background music, and choose an AI-generated voice to narrate it. The tool can also translate the story into multiple languages and change the context according to the geography.
According to Singh, Pocket FM has around 50,000 AI-led audio series. The platform has around 200 million users and works on a micro-transaction model. Under the model, a certain number of episodes are free for a user daily. If they want to listen to more episodes of a series, they need to pay for them. Notably, the free episodes change from series to series.
Romance remains the most popular genre on the platform, followed by drama and thrillers. However, fantasy and horror are growing at a faster pace, he added.
To diversify its storytelling offerings, the company has launched Pocket Novel and Pocket Tools and rebranded itself as Pocket Entertainment.
"We will continue looking at more and more formats and more storytelling options to just go out and entertain the world," Singh said.
Originally launched in India, Pocket FM is now available in the USA and some European countries, such as Germany and the United Kingdom. It also plans to expand into some Latin American countries.
The Lightspeed-backed platform competes with Spotify and new-age content platforms like Krafton-backed Kuku FM and Pratilipi.
In 2024-25, Pocket FM's revenue rose 68 per cent to ₹ 1,768 crore. Its US business is said to be profitable, and the India business is expected to become profitable in the next one to two months.
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