Sounds of New York
New Media
Sounds of New York. © Villa Albertine
By Villa Albertine
From April 8 to 12, 2024, Sounds of New York will welcome seven French podcasters to take part in a one-week learning expedition to New York to meet key industry players. This program from Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation, supported by Spotify, Radio France, RFI (France Médias Monde), SACD, Institut français, INA, Ausha and Paradiso Media — aims to support the development of French podcasts with high international potential.
With the rise of podcasting, a community of creators is booming: independent hosts and studios are inventing new forms of storytelling across all genres, from fiction to nonfiction, news, culture, and business. In France, podcasting remains a niche ecosystem where only a few studios manage to break through to the international market. Sounds of New York is an invitation to nurture a dialogue with both the major media firms and the independent podcasting community in the United States, where the market is already developed, and a multitude of creators, studios, platforms, advertising agencies, and types of media serve as inspiration for the budding French podcasting scene.
In 2024, Sounds of New York will provide participants with a deeper understanding of the American podcasting ecosystem through meetings with industry leaders based in New York; provide inspiration to French podcast creators on writing podcasts; and promote French podcasters.
During the five days spent in New York, participants will benefit from a presentation on the podcast ecosystem; visits and meetings with platforms, media, studios, and producers; and a cocktail party networking event where French participants pitch their projects and meet with New York professionals.
To learn more about the program you can visit the official website.
Look Back at Sounds of New York 2023 Edition
Building on the success of the inaugural edition, the second edition renewed the formula, allowing laureates to attend 14 roundtables and masterclasses with 39 experts, on topics as varied as adaptations, IP and contracts, marketing, fiction and non-fiction case studies, etc. Highlights of the program included visits to The New York Times, Spotify and WNYC studios; as well as a creators mini-market and a networking cocktail.
The 2023 participants were Romain Masson, Claire Richard, Sarah Lou Lepers, Marie-Yemta Moussanang, Kensley Jules, Caroline Gillet and Vincent Hazard.
The 2023 Sounds of New York jury was comprised of Zoé Marcheret (INA), Claire Hazan (Spotify), Erwan Gaucher (Radio France), Ludovic Dunod (RFI), Sophie Bocquillon (SACD), Mariane Cosserat (Institut Français), and Lorenzo Benedetti (Paradiso Media).
Look Back at Sounds of New York’s Inaugural Edition
The inaugural edition of Sounds of New York enabled seven participants to attend 12 roundtables and masterclasses with 40 industry experts, on topics as varied as adaptations, marketing, creating children’s content and writing for audio fiction series. Highlights of the program included a visit to The New York Times and a meeting with the producers of the iconic show “The Daily” a tour of the Gimlet and Spotify studios, and a conversation with Gimlet’s founder, Matt Lieber.
The 2022 participants were Camille Juzeau, Claire Jéhanno, Iris Ouedraogo, Axelle Jah Njiké, Emmanuel Suarez, Aladine Zaiane, and Thibaud Delavigne.
The 2022 Sounds of New York jury was comprised of Claire Hazan (Spotify), Erwan Gaucher (Radio France), Sophie Bocquillon (SACD), Antoine Bayet (INA) and Lorenzo Benedetti (Paradiso Media).
Contact:
Camille Jeanjean, New Media Officer – camille.jeanjean@villa-albertine.org
Jalalle Essalhi, Film, TV & New Media Assistant – jalalle.essalhi@villa-albertine.org
In partnership with
Albertine Foundation
Previously known as FACE Foundation, Albertine Foundation is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting French-American relations through innovative cultural and educational projects. In close partnership with Villa Albertine, the French Institute for Culture and Education of the French Embassy in the United States, Albertine Foundation promotes artistic, literary, and educational exchange and collaboration between creative professionals from both countries thanks to corporate, foundation, and individual support.
Follow Albertine Foundation on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Spotify
Spotify transformed music listening forever when it launched in 2008. Discover, manage and share over 70 million tracks, including more than 2.9 million podcast titles, for free, or upgrade to Spotify Premium to access exclusive features for music including improved sound quality and an on-demand, offline, and ad-free listening experience.
Today, Spotify is the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service with 365m users, including 165m subscribers, across 178 markets.
Radio France
Radio France, France’s leading radio group has started writing its story with podcasting since 2005: a company designed around and for audio in tune with the times and in tune with users. Radio France has been a pioneer in podcasting and is now the leading producer of podcasts in France. In 2022, its podcasts reached an unprecedented number of listenings, exceeding the one billion mark – a number twice as high as in 2017 -. Its abundant catalogue of over 1.5 million podcasts, available free of charge on its mobile application, is both the digital continuity of its radio stations and a space of great freedom, creativity and innovation in sound. The development of podcasts thus constitutes an additional space for the emergence of new talents, which Radio France has been supporting for several years: artists, authors, musicians and actors who are participating in the renewal of the audio formats and sound writings that will shape the radio of tomorrow.
RFI (France Médias Monde)
RFI is a French news public radio station that broadcasts worldwide in French and in 16 other languages. RFI is part of France Médias Monde, which comprises the news channels France 24 (in French, English, Arabic, and Spanish) and the Arabic-language radio station Monte Carlo Doualiya (MCD).
Every week, RFI, France 24, and MCD broadcast worldwide and attract 260 million viewers, listeners, and users on digital environments, offering comprehensive coverage of world events, with a focus on cultural diversity and contrasting viewpoints.
Through their mission to reach listeners across all continents and as part of a global digital strategy, those outlets develop a multilingual podcast experience for the streaming of their programs and access to original audio formats.
Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers (SACD)
The SACD is the oldest authors’ society in the world. Founded by Beaumarchais in 1777, the society is owned by its author members. It represents more than 60,000 authors in the cinema, audiovisual, digital creation, podcast and performing arts sectors. The SACD manages and defends their rights collectively, provides them with numerous services, offers them workspaces, advises them in their access to their social rights or matters related to their author status… SACD also supports contemporary creation and the distribution of works, thanks to the “private copy remuneration” system.
Institut français
The Institut français is responsible for France’s international cultural program. Supervised by both the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and by the Ministry of Culture, it promotes French culture abroad through cultural exchange initiatives. Operating in a space where the arts, intellectual exchange, cultural and social innovation, and linguistic partnerships interact and intersect, it is also responsible for promoting the French language and the sharing of works, artists, and ideas all over the world. The Institut français is one of Villa Albertine’s main French partners.
Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (INA)
The Institut National de l’Audiovisuel – INA, a model unique in the world, is a media rich of 80 years of TV, radio and web Heritage. With more than a billion videos viewed every year, it archives, preserves, digitizes and gives access to all audiences one of the richest audiovisual libraries. INA produces and distributes original works, provides content to journalists, directors and experts, trains student and professional communities, develops an ambitious research and innovation activity. In a context of change, the Institute participates in the reinvention of the audiovisual and digital ecosystem by deploying expertise that makes it a distinctive medium, anchored in long time and memory, concerned to transmit knowledge and know-how of which it is the depositary.
Paradiso Media
Paradiso Media produces original fiction, documentary and kids’ podcasts in France and internationally. Our podcasts genres include drama, comedy, interview, society & culture, news, thriller, science-fiction and kids. We seek to connect cultures through conversation, challenge the norm and push the boundaries of audio storytelling by bringing diverse topics, perspectives and styles to a global audience.
Founded in 2019 by Lorenzo Benedetti, Louis Daboussy and Benoit Dunaigre, the studio has produced over 20 podcasts comprising over 100 hours of content and several million downloads. Titles include L’Affaire B52, Frootch, Brut., Défense de Filmer, Mes 14 Ans, Habana Business Club, A Propos de Mon Film, Cornebidouille and many others in partnership with Spotify, Audible, Stitcher, Deezer and Sybel. In 2021 our English-language series Love Under Lockdown was nominated for a Webby Award in the “Best Documentary Podcast” category.
Ausha
Ausha stands as a leading force in the realm of Innovative Podcast Marketing. Founded in France in 2018 and making its mark in the U.S. since 2022, Ausha provides an all-in-one platform that simplifies every facet of podcast marketing. From seamless hosting and distribution across major global directories to advanced promotional tools backed by AI, Ausha is the go-to platform for over 11,000 podcasters worldwide.
Always at the cutting edge of technology, Ausha is committed to empowering podcasters to grow their audience. Beyond our tech expertise, Ausha is proud to be a “Great Place to Work” and is dedicated to various social and environmental causes.
