お笑いや音楽アーティストの音声配信Artistspoken

What Artistspoken offers and who it suits

Artistspoken is built around the spoken word. Its episodes are recorded talks in which comedians, musicians, actors, film directors and visual artists tell the stories they say off the cuff. The developer describes them as things you would not hear anywhere else, and the format is closer to a radio programme than to a music player.

It suits people who already listen to radio or podcasts, such as anyone who uses Radiko or voicy and wants more voices to try. The developer also points to listeners of audiobooks who would like to hear from the authors, and to anyone curious about how a creator thinks. It is a natural fit for filling gaps in the day with something to listen to.

The app is not a music service. Its catalogue is the talk of the people behind the songs, the shows and the films, so anyone looking for albums or playlists will find little of that here.

Free episodes and the Premium membership

The free tier includes more than 300 episodes. The developer lists the Premium membership plan as the way to reach the wider library, with more than 5,000 episodes from over 100 artists.

The listing states that nothing is charged automatically. Every episode stays free unless you complete the payment steps yourself. Some episodes are marked as paid, but the listing says part of each one can still be played without paying.

New artists are added regularly, according to the developer, so the set of people you can listen to grows over time.

Listening on the move and during chores

Playback continues in the background, so an episode can keep going while you have another app open or the screen is off. The developer names commuting, going to school and doing housework as typical moments for this.

Because the talks are spoken rather than visual, they work for listening with your hands and attention elsewhere. Episodes are long enough to fill a train ride or a stretch of cooking, and a short one fits a gap in the day.

Sending letters and gifts to artists

The letter feature, which the listing calls お便り, lets you write to an artist after hearing an episode. You can send your impressions, a reaction, or a question about what they said.

The gift feature lets you support an artist directly. According to the developer, sales are passed on to the artists after a deduction for fees, so paying to hear a talk also supports the person talking.

Both features sit inside the app next to the episodes, so you can respond to a talk without leaving the listening screen.

The artists and talks on offer

The listing groups its artists into three areas. Comedians include 令和ロマン, Aマッソ加納, 蛙亭, 9番街レトロ and ラバーガール. Actors include 伊藤健太郎, 相武紗季 and 磯村勇斗. Musicians, visual artists and manga creators include 渋谷すばる, yonige, さユり and 町田康.

The developer is 株式会社博報堂 (Hakuhodo). Artists who want to take part are invited to contact the developer by email, and the same address handles requests and bug reports.