The Sound Off Podcast is a weekly podcast about podcasting, radio, broadcasting, voiceover, and the people shaping the modern audio industry.
Hosted by veteran broadcaster and voice artist Matt Cundill, The Sound Off Podcast takes listeners behind the scenes of audio with in-depth conversations featuring podcast creators, radio professionals, producers, programmers, voiceover talent, media executives, and industry innovators. Drawing on decades of experience in radio and podcasting, Matt brings context, credibility, and curiosity to every episode.
Each episode explores the craft, business, and culture of audio, covering topics such as podcast growth, audience development, monetization, advertising, sponsorship, dynamic ad insertion, analytics, distribution platforms, audio branding, and emerging trends in on-demand audio. From legacy radio to independent podcasts and branded content, the show examines how audio continues to evolve — creatively, technologically, and commercially.
The Sound Off Podcast is known for thoughtful, candid interviews that go beyond surface-level talking points. Guests include radio legends, podcast pioneers, seasoned producers, voiceover artists, and leaders working across podcast networks, media companies, and technology platforms. Conversations focus on real-world experience: what works, what doesn’t, and what creators and companies need to understand to succeed in today’s audio landscape.
Whether you work in podcasting, radio, voiceover, broadcasting, or digital media — or you’re simply fascinated by how audio storytelling works — The Sound Off Podcast delivers insider perspectives, practical insights, and honest discussions about the future of sound.
With a balance of industry expertise and accessible conversation, The Sound Off Podcast is designed for professionals, creators, and listeners who want a deeper understanding of how audio connects audiences, builds brands, and drives culture.
New episodes are released weekly.
Blubrry's CEO Todd Cochrane is back once again this week, and this time he's got a new toy he's eager to share: The Thrive bundle, Blubrry's first major foray into AI integration for podcasters. We begin by going over what exactly the Thrive bundle offers its users, including various AI-powered tools to help podcasters with tasks like episode planning, production, social media clips, and email.
For those who fear AI will run the world someday, worry not. Anyone who's used the current suite of online AI tools certainly knows they're not a replacement for human input by any means, and the Thrive bundle isn't trying to be. Todd explains that the AI tools are simply designed to streamline the podcast production workflow, giving users a jumping-off point to help create show notes, descriptions, and other metadata quickly. We do, however, touch on the valid concern that people may attempt to create fully AI-generated podcasts using voice data, or replace sections of their podcasts with AI voiceover and pretend they didn't. The Thrive bundle doesn't provide these tools to begin with, but Todd also emphasizes the importance of full disclosure to the audience whenever AI tools are integrated in any form, a sentiment we at The Sound Off Media Company fully agree with.
We also discuss Blubrry's competition in the AI field, and what makes the Thrive bundle stand apart in a sea of rushed-to-market AI tools, from its price to its comprehensive toolkit. If you, like me, are growing tired of paying for 6 different AI assistants and using maybe 20% of each one, the Thrive bundle may be the option for you.
We take a slightly different direction in the latter half of the episode, moving to the topic of podcast discovery. Google's AI integration for its search engine is already making it trickier to find correct information quickly (see the "put glue on your pizza" incident), and Todd believes having a rich suite of metadata and SEO skills will continue to grow ever more important as time goes on.
PROTIP: One of the podcasts Todd listens to on a regular basis to stay on top of AI is The Artificial Intelligence Show.
A Transcript and video version of the episode is available on the network page.
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Thanks to the following organizations for supporting the show:
Nlogic - TV & Radio Audience Data Solutions
Mary Anne Ivison at Ivison Voice. - Make her the female voice of your radio station.
Matt Fogarty Voiceovers - It's great to have Matt back for 2024 supporting our show. Make him the imaging voice for your radio station by contacting him through his website.
Megatrax - Licensed Music for your radio station or podcast production company.
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