Attention awakens imaginary

The resurgence of audio over video or multimedia is perhaps the result of a desire to recover attention, being fatigued by too many stimuli that seduce the eyes, ears, and other senses.

As for the video, however, the audience is also increasingly shifting to on-demand content on different channels. 

Proof of this is the growth of audiobooks and, above all, the explosion of podcasts: a medium that is no longer a novelty, but in recent years has found its full dignity and positioning globally. Some of those are no other than the on-demand version of existing radio programs, but podcasts have become a real genre.

In the United States, in 2014 it was Serial that made the podcast a mass trend: the discovery of the details of a real investigation, episode after episode, with the voices of the actual protagonists and the careful use of sounds as an integral part of the story, has kept millions of listeners around the world glued to the headphones.

Talking about Italy, its best achievement is probably Veleno, the podcast with which Pablo Trincia and Alessia Rafanelli recounted (and reopened) the case of the 'Diavoli della Bassa Modenese'. Once again, beyond the commendable journalistic work and the emotion stimulated by real voices and documents, the audio settings and the soundtracks took the product to the next level.

There was a time when the radios employed specialists to produce noises and audio effects, the so-called noisemakers. In dramas, they would follow the acting with effects, produced by using all kinds of material to create a sound similar to the squeaking of a door, the flying of a plane, the screeching brakes of a car, a boiling coffee pot. The tools have changed, the need to generate emotions has not. 

True Crime is not, however, the only world in which podcast is spreading. Spotify taking over another company specialized in the sector (Ringer), and having secured talents like Harry, Meghan, and Michelle Obama, are just some testaments of that. 

No surprise that the brands are also getting their feet wet into this format. In an increasingly crowded scenario, quality and fresh perspectives are the difference makers. It's not enough to tell a story about us: it needs to resonate with those who are expected to listen. 

In short, it seems that the time of the imaginary is back. Everything that is listened to can still help stimulate the imagination, something that TV can hardly claim these days. Sorry, the item is sold-out.

Alcuni dei nostri podcast preferiti: 

Italian Tech Speak 

• Veleno, un podcast di sette puntate che racconta avvenimenti legati a bambini che sono stati sottratti ai loro genitori in quanto questi accusati di partecipazione a messe sataniche e pedofilia