RadioNewsAI is a tool that its developer says allows stations to create newscasts based on local news sources using a realistic AI voice starting at about $50 a month.
We asked founder Stefan de Groot about it.
Radio World: What is your background and how did you come to create RadioNewsAI?
Stefan de Groot: I have a background as a radio DJ and producer for Radio538, the number one radio station in the Netherlands. After that I started as an entrepreneur and successfully built several software companies. Currently, my main focus is on petjeaf.com/, the leading creator subscriptions platform in the Netherlands.
But I’m always up for side projects, and that’s how RadioNewsAI started. I wanted to combine my passion for both radio and software development, and it turned out to be a massive success.
RW: When did you start the business?
De Groot: We started working on RadioNewsAI a couple of months ago. The idea sparked my interest, and I couldn’t resist diving into the project and bringing it to life.
RW: You said this service uses local news sources. Can you expand on how it gathers information and what steps the content goes through?
De Groot: With RadioNewsAI, local stations can easily integrate their own local news sources into their newscasts. You can add your radio station’s website or any other platform with local news from your area. It doesn’t matter what kind of news it is: sports, entertainment or whatever you like. Plus, you can even write your own news stories and mark them as “breaking news.”
For quality control purposes, users can choose to disable auto-approval and manually review and approve each generated story before it goes on air. This ensures that the content aligns with the station’s standards and preferences.
RW: Is the service based on GPT-4 or similar generative AI models?
De Groot: RadioNewsAI is a combination of AI tools from OpenAI, Google and various voice providers. To make the generated newscasts more suitable for broadcasting, we’ve developed custom models that rewrite the sourced information into news stories optimized for reading out loud by the AI voice. This approach allows users to access a wide range of customization options to train their own models and achieve the desired results.
RW: What does it cost and what are the purchase options?
De Groot: RadioNewsAI operates on a monthly subscription model, starting at $50 per month. Each subscription plan includes a specific allocation of minutes for generating audio. Users can sign up for free to explore the tool and witness the output of the generated stories. However, to generate audio, a paid subscription is necessary.
Once a news item is generated, it will be reused in subsequent newscasts until the content of the original article is updated. This approach helps optimize costs by maximizing the reuse of generated audio. Local radio stations typically refresh their news with only four or five news stories a day, ensuring that the use of audio generation is kept to a minimum. Nonetheless, our randomly scheduled feature ensures that stations can still provide fresh newscasts every hour.
RW: Do you feel tools like this will disrupt employment and cause job losses?
De Groot: I don’t believe tools like RadioNewsAI will lead to significant job disruptions or result in job losses. Instead, they serve as an extension of existing services for local radio stations. Many stations operate on limited budgets but still aim to deliver high-quality newscasts 24/7. Prior to the availability of AI-based solutions like RadioNewsAI, this level of continuous news coverage would have been cost-prohibitive for them to achieve with human newscasters. Therefore, our tool offers a more accessible and affordable solution.
RW: What else should we know?
De Groot: Go check out the lifelike news anchor voice examples on our website. It’s truly mind-blowing how realistic they sound, even I find myself amazed sometimes. We’ve also recently introduced a new feature that allows you to use your own jingles and fillers, making the output of the newscast ready for broadcasting.
We’re constantly adding more features like these every day, so make sure to stay tuned. I’d also like to encourage radio stations to feel free to reach out to me. I’ll be more than happy to provide everyone with a free demo and guide them through the setup process.
