SANTA BARBARA, CA. NOV. 28, 2023 - Autio, the location-based audio entertainment app co-founded by actor Kevin Costner, today announced the launch of Playlists, a new feature that offers curated collections of short stories on Autio, organized by a growing list of various locations, genres, themes, topics, seasons, interests, and more. Playlists are now available on Autio for iOS and Android.

Playlists are set to transform how stories are discovered and experienced, whether users are planning a nationwide road trip or simply looking for inspiration from the comfort of their own homes. By organizing its bite-sized stories into carefully curated Playlists, Autio is making it easier for users to dive deep into subjects and locations of interest, and continuously listen to relevant and engaging content.

Woody Sears, CEO and Co-Founder of Autio shares his vision: “Playlists are more than just a new feature on Autio – they represent a seismic shift in how we discover and experience stories, bringing an entire world of adventures right to our users’ fingertips. This is a leap forward in our mission to connect listeners with captivating narratives from all corners of the country.”

Playlists offer enhanced discovery features, with a focus on interactive maps and locations to inspire travel planning, and are available with 35+ options for:

• Cities including Las Vegas, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
• Unique locations like Route 66 and American Fossil Sites
• Stories for sports lovers including Athletic Feats and Women of Sports
• Best-of roundups including Great Natural History Museums and Great American Festivals

Autio will also offer branded distribution and content sponsorship opportunities for Playlists. The company’s existing partnership with JetBlue offers the airline’s customers in-air content from Autio, including Destination Playlists, and, to celebrate the release of Netflix’s new series, Life on Our Planet, Autio partnered with the streaming service to create exclusive audio Playlists featuring stories for each episode, narrated by Morgan Freeman.

Autio’s introduction of Playlists marks a significant expansion in its scope, transcending the confines of road trip narratives to embrace a more inclusive and expansive listening experience. This initiative reflects Autio’s ambitious vision of making a vast array of global stories accessible to audiences everywhere, fostering a spirit of curiosity and exploration. Through this enhanced audio storytelling platform, Autio aspires to become a gateway to new adventures, both real and imagined, encouraging users to discover and engage with the world in a novel and enriching way.

Autio’s geolocation technology intuitively plays stories about landmarks, cities, and towns as users pass by, painting a multi-dimensional picture that listeners are unlikely to get from a history book or visitor’s guide. With a library of over 11,000 unique stories spanning the United States, listeners can enjoy tales narrated by celebrated voices like Kevin Costner, John Lithgow, and Phil Jackson.

For more information, please visit Autio.com or download Autio on the App Store.

About Autio
Autio is a mobile audio entertainment app for travel that uses geolocation technology to automatically play stories of landmarks, cities & towns nearby. Headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA with a mission to deliver a compelling story at the right time, wherever you may be; the app features 10,000+ stories spanning the United States. Many of these stories are narrated by some of your favorite voices like Kevin Costner, John Lithgow & Phil Jackson. Autio launched to the public in 2020 & has been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, NBC, Business Insider, Travel + Leisure & Goop. The app is often ranked in the top 5 highest-grossing apps for travel in the Apple App Store & won the Webby for Best Travel App. In addition, it has twice been featured as App of the Day by Apple. For a free trial, download Autio on the App Store for iPhone. Visit Autio.com to learn more. 

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Media Contact:
Autumn Communications for Autio
autio@autumncommunications.com