the easiest and may be the best way i can think of is to render a frame from ae with cc cylinder. if you need a higher rez version, use a larger comp (try a 2k or 4k comp preset).
if you wanted to try photoshop, filter>distort>spherize would be a good place to start. make you text fill the width of the frame. i would also plan on scaling it down a bit after filtering, so plan on making it in a larger file, then taking it into the final file and scaling down. also, i think the distortion is best if the file is a square when you apply the distortion (or create a square marque selection). i don’t think it will create a ‘back’ side though.
in illustrator you could use effect>warp>fish eye. it will do about the same as ps spherize, but in vector. you should group the text with an invisible square (like ps, it seems to work best with a square shape). and again, i don’t think it will produce a back side.
Kevin Camp
Designer – KCPQ, KMYQ & KRCW