The Hottest Entertainment Mediums of the 21st Century: Snapchat. TikTok. Audio Fiction?
By: Savannah Hankinson, Meet Cute Head of Development
Audio Fiction
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Audio Fiction 〰️
With the world’s obsession with AI and every shiny, new technological advancement, it might be perplexing to see the sustained popularity of audio fiction. In some ways, it feels like an archaic form of entertainment, something your grandmother might have tuned into once a week. And you wouldn’t be wrong: audio fiction has been immensely popular throughout the ages. It first emerged as radio plays, which exploded in popularity during the 1920s, leading to the world-changing "War of the Worlds" broadcast in 1938. According to Edison Research, in early 2023, 75% of Americans aged 12 and older reported that they had listened to online audio in the past month.
So, what makes audio fiction so special and addictive? How is it that this form of entertainment has survived 100 years of a rapidly changing world — a world with technicolor films, 3D entertainment, and non-stop screen-based media — and still remains one of the most popular forms of entertainment?
Long live radio!
It’s simple: audio fiction empowers the audience more than any other form. As Meet Cute writer Siena Strieber aptly put it, “Audio fiction is like handing the listener a coloring book and a box of crayons. The picture is there, but it’s up to them to choose the colors.”
As Strieber suggests, listeners can color inside (or outside) the lines however they like, allowing characters in audio fiction to be incredibly diverse in age, race, sexuality — you name it. Even with books, we don’t have as much freedom as we do in audio fiction. Books provide descriptions of characters and their appearances, but in audio fiction, it’s entirely up to the listener, which can bring about a limitless imagination.
This imagination isn’t just limited to what the listener can picture, but also extends to what the writer can create. When asked why she loves writing audio fiction, Juli Del Prete, who wrote Fire & Ice, Meet Cute’s hit collaboration with Picturestart, said, “Audio is gloriously unburdened by many of the logistical concerns of filmmaking, and it's so fun to let my imagination run wild while I'm writing. I can put my characters in a Lamborghini or on the moon without stressing about how to make those things happen visually. The possibilities are endless!”
The reach of audio fiction is also seemingly endless. Podcastatistics released data showing that, this year alone, an estimated 504 million people worldwide will listen to podcasts. Meet Cute’s audience is global, with listeners pressing play from South Korea to Germany, Brazil, and beyond. Since Meet Cute’s launch in February 2020, our series have garnered 6.5 million listens, with over 150,000 unique monthly listeners. Smartphones have made audio fiction one of the most accessible forms of entertainment today.
In a world where everyone is constantly connected to screens, audio fiction allows you to escape the blue light and engage with the world around you, all while providing an oasis of entertainment. While audio fiction may not be new, it has evolved throughout the decades, staying exciting, relevant, and innovative. Whether you’re a working mom looking for a 15-minute escape, or a Gen Z New Yorker getting ready for a date, Meet Cute is proud to share our addictive original series with you.