Tag: christina choi

JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot Forges New Audio Division in Collaboration With Spotify

November 17, 2021

Looking to escape into a new world? Turn to Bad Robot to help you get there. The production company was formed by filmmaker J.J. Abrams in 2001 and has since produced television series such as Alias, Lost, Fringe, Person of Interest, Castle Rock, Westworld, Lovecraft Country and Lisey’s Story; feature films like Super 8, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, and the Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, and Cloverfield franchises.

Now fans can get even more world-building as Bad Robot rolls out Bad Robot Audio, a new division dedicated to developing and producing original scripted and nonscripted audio content. What’s more, Bad Robot Audio is launching in collaboration with Spotify and will be led by former Audible and Spotify award-winning executive Christina Choi, who joins as Head of Podcasts at Bad Robot. 

Bad Robot’s unparalleled storytelling has led to global creative and commercial success across film, television, and digital platforms. Now the company will explore new ways to tell stories through the audio format. This collaboration comes as Spotify’s audio business continues to see unprecedented growth driven by waves of new content being introduced to its platform. This multiyear exclusive first look with Spotify gives Bad Robot Audio a showcase for these narrative nonfiction and fiction podcast productions. 

“We’re incredibly honored to welcome visionary JJ Abrams and his renowned Bad Robot productions into the Spotify family,” said Dawn Ostroff, Chief Content and Advertising Business Officer. “Bad Robot productions has produced some of the world’s most riveting and award-winning content and we cannot wait to see how their imaginative stories transcend into the audio space. We are committed to bringing some of the world’s most respected and dynamic creators to Spotify exclusively, and we are thrilled to add Bad Robot and JJ Abrams’s mind-bending and world-building stories—plus their hugely loyal following of dedicated fans—to our wide-ranging catalogue of world-class audio talent.”

We’ve long believed and been committed to the potential of audio and are now the number one streaming service for the medium. Our investments in the space have elevated podcasting within the entertainment industry and established a new outlet for creators like JJ Abrams and Bad Robot Audio to entertain, inspire, and inform listeners all over the world. 

“Podcasts have obviously become a go-to destination for entertainment, education, and discovery,” said Bad Robot’s Co-CEO, JJ Abrams. “Given Bad Robot’s work in TV, film, games, and music, podcasts were an obvious topic of conversation within the company for a long time. We are thrilled to welcome Christina Choi to lead the way and to collaborate with Dawn and the incredible Spotify team to bring some incredible stories to life.” 

Emmy-nominated Choi joins Bad Robot from Audible, where she served as Director of Content Partnerships under the content acquisition and development division. She managed development partnerships with key production partners and high-profile talent. Prior to Audible, Choi spent seven years at Spotify as a creative development executive and showrunner and was a key contributor to Spotify’s podcast strategy and growth. As an advocate for diversity, inclusion, and belonging, she founded and led Spotify’s Asian employee resource group and helped create Spotify Sound Up, a global podcast incubator program for underrepresented voices. 

“I’m thrilled to join Bad Robot as they expand into the world of podcasting,” said Choi. “The medium allows for the imagination of creators to thrive. I’m honored to have the opportunity to build out this new venture with Katie, JJ, Brian, and the Bad Robot team. I’m also looking forward to reuniting with Spotify, which was where I started my career in podcasting. I hope through our partnership we can create quality audio content that is meaningful, inclusive, and creator-first.” 

 

 

Stay tuned for more announcements from Bad Robot Audio and Spotify. 

Amplifying Female Voices of Color Through the Power of Podcast

July 11, 2018

Podcasts are taking over. As it stands, one-third of Americans tune in, with 12 percent of listeners streaming 10 hours or more a week. Needless to say, it’s an exciting storytelling medium—and one that can have a major impact when it comes to representing diverse voices. And while women of color have been breaking ground in podcasting well ahead of the latest boom, there’s plenty more to be done, with a recent study showing that only 22 percent of podcasts are hosted by women, and even fewer when it comes to minority women.

In order to begin shifting that imbalance, Spotify hosted the first-ever Sound Up Bootcamp, a weeklong June intensive for aspiring female podcasters of color. The goal of the program was to bring more diverse voices into the podcast world—specifically voices belonging to women of color.

“Podcasting is more accessible to makers than most other media—production costs are lower, and the gatekeepers fewer,” says Rekha Murthy, a podcast and radio veteran with over 20 years of experience who co-taught the workshop. “More people are starting to take advantage of that opportunity. I’ve learned more about the experiences and perspectives of people of color through podcasting than anywhere else. I’ve come to a better understanding and appreciation of my own identities as a woman, and as a woman of color, thanks to podcasts. I’m sure some of that is because I intentionally seek out these voices. But also, they are there in ways I rarely find in, say, broadcast radio. There are also not enough.”

Sound Up Bootcamp featured daily sessions for 10 women of color who had been selected from over 18,000 applicants. Murthy and her colleague Graham Griffith led conversations on topics ranging from identifying an audience to honing a breakthrough message. Over the course of the week, attendees also learned from experts in the field about the art of podcast creation, from initial ideation to editing, producing, and marketing.

The women in attendance included Titi Shodiya, Kristina Ogilvie, Janina Jeff, Shonté Daniels, Amanda B, Tiara Darnell, Ivy Le, Doreen Wang, Gabriela Quintana, and Sun H. At the end of the course, 3 of the women—Titi, Kristina, and Janina—were awarded up to $10,000 each to fund their proposed podcasts. You can read more about each of the winners, their backgrounds, and their groundbreaking ideas here.

Murthy is optimistic about the medium’s ability to reach women of color, and the palpable enthusiasm in the room of bootcamp participants—each with a unique and provocative story to tell—only fueled that belief.

“What excites me about podcasting is that it’s still new, and we have an opportunity to shape the field into something that looks and sounds more like our country and our world,” added Murthy. “I think we’ll also find that’s where success lies.”

Greg Herman, video and non-music programming manager at Spotify, agreed. “It all begins with the creators,” he said. “Once you begin writing podcasts for people outside of the standard male demographic, you naturally grow a wider audience. It really begins with getting your message out there.”

For many of the women in the workshop, personal inspiration came from some fresh voices already being broadcast in the podcast universe. Spotify’s Christina Choi, Senior Producer and Senior Partnerships Manager, shared a few favorites of her own with the group.

“Code Switch features interesting stories from a diverse group of journalists,” she said. “Ear Hustle is a fantastic podcast produced by inmates at San Quentin State Prison telling stories about prison life. Nancy is hosted by two Asian American hosts about LGBTQ culture. 2 Dope Queens is a comedy podcast featuring two black female comedians talking about society and pop culture. And Another Round is currently off at the moment, but it was one of the first podcasts hosted by women of color.”

Other podcasts that came up in conversation as fuel for creativity included The Nod, which “gleefully explores all the beautiful, complicated dimensions of black life.” Good Muslim, Bad Muslim dives into “the good and the bad about the American Muslim female experience.” The Mash-up Americans is “your guide to hyphen-America.”

And while the list goes on, much of it has yet to be written. If the powerhouse women represented at Sound Up Bootcamp have anything to do with it, that chorus of voices is about to get a whole lot louder.