Pocket FM: A Fairy Tale Machine.
Is this a new opportunity for creators or just another platform for mass content production?
In New Delhi, India, Laxman, known as Lucky, works at the Chaman medical store. One day he receives an unusual and rude request from a cocky young man, the son of a local businessman, who asks for a box of condoms. Despite the torrential rain, his demanding boss orders him to make the delivery personally. When Lucky arrives, he is stunned to see his girlfriend, Dimple, in the arms of another man. Devastated, Lucky wanders the streets of Delhi all night until he receives an unexpected call from a representative of the opulent Aggarwal family: "Congratulations! You have passed the poverty test. You are now the sole heir to the entire Aggarwal empire."
This story of transformation from poverty to wealth, known as Insta Millionaire, has become one of the most popular narratives on Pocket FM, an Indian audio streaming app. Unlike Audible, which offers audiobooks by professional authors, Pocket FM features user-created programs with intriguing titles like Hellbound With You, Lunatic in Love, and Rejected Billionaire. These narratives of overcoming adversity on the platform promise writers a light at the end of the tunnel: continuing to write could make their story go viral and lead them to fame and fortune.
By December 2024, the English version of Insta Millionaire has over 1,300 episodes, accumulating more than 235 million listens and generating $15 million in revenue. Another series, Saving Nora, has more than 2,300 episodes and has raised $18 million. Pocket FM was initially developed by Indian engineers for the local market but expanded to the United States in 2022, a more lucrative market, generating 70% of its revenue in that country.
Despite its growing valuation, Pocket FM writers often feel they are not capitalizing on the platform's success, which has become quite stressful in its demands. For example, Amina SB, an aspiring novelist and café owner in Abuja, Nigeria, appreciates that by publishing novels in audio format, she can reach more readers than through text. However, after submitting 15,000 words on the platform, Amina caught the attention of Pocket FM, which then offered her an exclusive contract that limited her ability to publish elsewhere.
Amina wrote 45,000 words under the title Bitter Rivals Bond by Fate, but only earned a total of $229. Despite her efforts, Pocket FM did not promote her book due to a lack of listeners, leading Amina to decide not to continue writing for the platform, warning that it doesn’t work well for novice writers.
Pocket FM operates as a content mill for audio fiction and seeks to attract writers from around the world, publishing stories in English, Hindi, and several South Indian languages, with plans to enter language markets like German, Portuguese, and Spanish. To meet the high demand for content, Pocket FM employs an extensive network of full-time and contract editors and writers. Writers can easily publish on the app but must meet certain word and listening requirements to obtain contracts. However, without the necessary promotion, it is a difficult cycle to break.
Creators face a critical situation, as the Pocket FM algorithm favors only those works that are already popular, leading many to seek help on social media to gain more listens. Similar to platforms like YouTube and TikTok, Pocket FM encourages its writers to create constantly in hopes of achieving fame.
Amina, who now works as an acquisitions editor at Pocket FM, prefers her new role as she no longer has to deal with the uncertainty of not being paid for her work. However, the dreams of many writers remain the desire to transform their writing into audio and earn significant income.
The platform is also exploring the use of artificial intelligence, having partnered with ElevenLabs to expand its content library to over 100,000 hours and reduce costs. Although AI cannot fully replicate the human emotions that characterize the most successful stories, Pocket FM's founders see AI tools as a possible assistant rather than a replacement.
However, the question persists: what is lost when stories are created instantly with a click? Amina expresses her dissatisfaction with AI-assisted creative writing, feeling it is unfair to writers who dedicate their time and effort to telling authentic stories. Pocket FM has a vibrant community of creators, but the path to success seems much more difficult for many of them.
