Bian Ying, a former clothing professional, from Shaanxi province, reads audiobooks.[Photo provided to China Daily]

A tool for expression

Besides numerous voice performers and podcasters who have aimed at achieving success in the prosperous audio market, there are also established voices who tested the waters for other reasons.

One of them is businessman Li Miao, 38, who entered the audio market in 2017 when he was invited by podcast provider BB Park to tell stories orally.

He had been well-known for writing articles analyzing famous foreign criminal cases on online message board Zhihu, building up a fan base of more than 1 million.

Li Miao liked reading detective literature since childhood. He lived in Japan for 10 years, and developed an interest in analyzing criminal cases. He was invited to work as a long-term host, talking about issues related to Japanese culture and criminal cases on two free programs: BB Park and BB Story, which are available on platforms, such as Himalaya, Lizhi FM and NetEase Cloud Music.

He also runs a paid program talking about criminal cases exclusively on Qingting in which he systematically combs through famous cases. Listeners can pay 99 yuan to listen to the program which contains over 100 episodes, each lasting for about 10 minutes.

Besides writing articles and hosting audio programs, Li Miao also makes videos. He says he simply wants to express his ideas and opinions, and share his thoughts.

Similar podcasts analyzing criminal cases have been popular all around the world, including Serial produced by WBEZ Chicago and Atlanta Monster produced by US podcast platform Tenderfoot. Hosts search information, organize clues in well-structured ways and tell the story to the audience.

According to Li Miao, such podcasts are popular because of host originality. "Everyone has thoughts on a case. Some care about how the murderer grew up, while some care about what social environment has led them to end up in jail. The individual thoughts are always appealing."

For people who want to join in the audio revolution, either as a talk-show host, a podcast host or other type of voice performer, Li Miao reminds them to create valuable original content.

"If you want to enter the industry, polishing your content is vital. Copying others will hurt yourself and the whole industry," says Li Miao.