Kevin Costner Co-Founded App, HearHere, Announces Strategic Rebrand To Autio

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (PRWEB)
June 01, 2022

HearHere, the Kevin Costner founded mobile audio entertainment app, announced today its rebranding to Autio. Autio will continue to offer location-based storytelling with the company doubling down on their mission: audio for travel. In addition to the Autio rebrand, the company is partnering with The Moth, a globally renowned storytelling nonprofit, to donate $1 from each Autio membership purchased to fund storytelling workshops, resources, and to provide a stage for people from all walks of life to share their experiences.

Autio offers an expansive audio library of 9,000+ short stories across the entire U.S. with narrations by household names such as Kevin Costner, John Lithgow, Phil Jackson and more. While many users listen to the stories on road trips, many more are using the app on planes, during walks, and even traveling virtually from home. With the company’s rebrand, Autio’s central purpose is to optimize discovery by offering limitless ways users can enjoy audio for travel.

“Our brand evolution is synonymous with our mission to provide accessible and user-friendly content for all travelers,” said Woody Sears, CEO and Co-Founder at Autio. “Autio is rooted in amplifying diverse and unique stories and our new positioning will not only provide more opportunities to learn about the cultural richness around you but users will also be able to recount first-hand experiences from underrepresented voices through our partnership with The Moth.”

Fueled by the brand’s mission to highlight untold stories, Autio’s partnership with the beloved storytelling nonprofit, The Moth – the team behind the Peabody Award-winning radio show and ultra-popular podcast – will provide story writing resources, mentorship and a stage to underserved communities across America. For each Autio membership purchased, $1 will be donated to The Moth Community Engagement Program to help fund its Black Voices Project, Veterans Voice Project, and various other programs that engage people from all over the world through storytelling.

Academy Award-winning actor, director and filmmaker Kevin Costner signed on to join Autio (formerly HearHere) as a Co-Founder in August 2020 to introduce invigorating and bountiful stories about the untouched history of the United States. Spearheading innovation in the traveltech platform, Costner plays a key role in expanding the app’s novel content.

“In joining Autio my primary goal was to shine a light on the history and stories of our nation starting with the creation of the United States and indigenous people. Our passion for creating artful narratives about the personal history of our country will continue to be one of our company’s pillars,” said Kevin Costner, Co-Founder of Autio. “Autio signifies our continued focus to spark interesting conversation through short anecdotes for listeners on any type of journey.”

How Autio Works:

• 
  Users download the app (available in the App Store) and sign up for an account.
• Users can access the curated audio story collection once signed in (Free accounts come with (5) stories, while paid accounts at $36/year come with unlimited access).
• Once users enable location access, they are ready to explore nearby stories. Once in-app, they can reveal hidden surroundings with entertaining stories based on GPS location.
• While not traveling, users can still access the map of U.S. stories and toggle to choose content based on their interests

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

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About Autio Autio (formerly HearHere) 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 9000+ 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 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.

About The Moth The Moth is an acclaimed nonprofit organization dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. For 25 years, The Moth has presented over 50,000 stories, told live and without notes to standing­-room-only crowds worldwide. The Moth conducts eight ongoing programs: The Moth Mainstage, which tours internationally, has featured stories by Elizabeth Gilbert, Hasan Minhaj, Kathleen Turner, Malcolm Gladwell, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, John Turturro, Molly Ringwald, Boots Riley, Krista Tippett, Damon Young, Mike Birbiglia, Rosanne Cash, Danyel Smith and Tig Notaro, as well as an astronaut, a pickpocket, a hot­dog eating champion and hundreds more; The Moth StorySLAM program, which conducts open mic storytelling competitions in 28 cities: 26 in the US plus Melbourne, AU and London, UK; The Moth Community Program, which offers storytelling workshops and performance opportunities to adults who are too often overlooked by the mainstream media; The Moth Education Program, which brings the thrill of personal storytelling to high schools and colleges in New York, and educators around the world; The Moth Global Community Program, which develops and elevates true, personal stories from extraordinary individuals in the global south; The Moth Podcast—the 2020 Webby People’s Voice Award Winner for Best Podcast Series—which is downloaded more than 90 million times a year; MothWorks, which uses the essential elements of Moth storytelling at work and other unexpected places; and the Peabody Award-winning The Moth Radio Hour which, produced by Jay Allison at Atlantic Public Media and presented by PRX, The Public Radio Exchange, airs weekly on over 575 public radio stations nationwide. To date, The Moth has published three critically acclaimed books: The New York Times Best Seller The Moth: 50 True Stories (Hachette Books, September 2013), All These Wonders: True Stories About Facing the Unknown (Crown Archetype, March 2017) — described as “wonderful” by NYT’s Michiko Kakutani and Occasional Magic: True Stories of Defying the Impossible (Crown Archetype, March 2019) which debuted at #12 on The New York Times Best Sellers List. The Moth’s fourth book, How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth (Crown Archetype, April 2022) debuted at #6 on The New York Times Best Sellers List. Learn more at http://www.themoth.org/.

Media Contact: Alex Leon [email protected]

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