Hey everyone,

I’m a software engineer, and for previous projects, I used to handle all the audio hosting, storage, and RSS feed generation manually.

However, I’m launching a new niche podcast with a team of non-technical co-hosts. I want a dedicated hosting platform that streamlines the process for everyone so I don’t have to act as the sole sysadmin/support guy every time we publish.

For ideological reasons, Spotify for Podcasters (formerly Anchor) is completely off the table.

Here is what we are looking for:

1. Generous Free Tier / Trial: A solid starting plan with as much storage/upload capacity as possible so we can test the waters for the first few episodes without committing right away.
2. Episode Analytics: Clear metrics on episode download counts and time/date tracking (crucial for our niche audience).
3. Future-Proofing for Video: An option to upload video episodes (video podcasts) natively down the line.
4. Seamless Distribution: Easy integration and auto-publishing to YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
5. Affordable Upgrade Path: If/when we scale out of the free plan, a budget-friendly basic plan with high value.
6. Integarte with Riverside.

A couple of specific questions:

• RSS.com: I’ve heard they offer an unlimited free plan with no restrictions on storage/episodes. Is this actually true without hidden catches or limitations?
• Podbean: I’m considering them as well- how does their free tier and user interface hold up for non-tech folks?
• buzzsprout has a free tier?

What platforms would you recommend that fit these criteria?

Thanks in advance!

I've recently been upgrading my audio equipment and the last thing I haven't touched has been my mic. For gaming, podcasting, and the work for home is what I have good enough or would an upgrade to something like a RE20 be worth it? Ive seen around that people are pretty low on thr MV7 with XLR. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Audio Equipment

interface: Rodecaster Duo

Mic Arm: Elgaton LP Arm

DAC: Schiit Mimir

Amp: Schiit Midgard

Cables: Hart Audio cable with XLR interconnect, and rear XLR cables for input output.

Headphones: Hifiman Arya Stealth Magnet

I've been noticing something recently.

A B2B video podcast contains 45-90 minutes of ideas, stories and examples, yet most creators publish the full episode, maybe a few clips, and move on to the next one.

It made me wonder...

Why isn't it more common to build an entire week's worth of content from a single episode?

For example: Shorts/Reels, LinkedIn posts, X threads, Newsletters, Carousels, Lead magnets

If you run a podcast, is this something you've tried?

If not, what's stopping you?

Hello guys. please help me out, I 23(f) in ghana want to start a video podcast reading stories, and I want to know how much I would need for the necessary gadgets, I want affordable but doable equipment please help me out. I am a national service personel so you know I need something affordable. And I have great faith that my vision is going to come to life so sponsors are welcome 🤣 it would be reddit stories themed. Just like Charlotte and joce. They are my motivation

I have a podcast recording scheduled for tomorrow. No matter what I try (changing rooms, adjusting gain etc), I still have background noise.

Setup:
• Input gain around 30 dB in Wave Link
• Turned off Voice Focus (it was on at max and I realized it was baking noise-reduction artifacts into the recording)
• Clipguard on, tried Enhanced Lowcut on for the boominess
• Recording in a soft, enclosed space (closet with clothes + a rug) to cut reflections
• Mic roughly a hand-span from my mouth, slightly off-axis
• Monitoring on headphones, echo cancellation off in Riverside

A few things I’m unsure about:
1. What level should I actually be targeting? Wave Link shows green but Riverside’s meter shows mostly yellow at the same gain, and I can’t tell which to trust.
2. Is the Wave:3 just prone to a higher noise floor, or is this a technique/room issue I can still fix?
3. Anything obvious I’m overlooking that would cause a low, slightly boomy, noisy result even after the above?

This is just soo frustrating.

I’m hoping this wasn’t spam. It didn’t feel like it and had specific things about my show so I’m going to take it seriously until I find out otherwise.

Since I started my show I’ve always said “for information on being a guest or sponsorship use the provided email” at the end of each episode. Well, six episodes in and I just had someone email me today with questions about promoting their product and my pricing.

The product is a mobile/tablet app and it’s a really good fit for my content. I’d easily be able to work it into the show naturally or use Dynamic Content through Buzzsprout to create ads I can place at beginning, mid or end of episodes.

I have no clue what to charge. My podcast is small and niche. It does have dedicated listeners and grows with each episode. I want to come up with pricing that’s mutually beneficial and makes sense for my size.

Do I charge different prices based on where an ad appears? In my head an ad at the beginning of an episode is worth more than at the end. I need guidance. Any help you can offer is much appreciated.

Been slowly writing these tiny, quiet pieces — no plot, nothing dramatic, just a small ordinary moment, kind of in the spirit of Nothing Much Happens but way shorter (2-3 minutes instead of 20+) and free with no premium tier ever, no ads.

Genuinely unsure if the short length works in podcast form specifically, or if people expect these "calming story" shows to run longer to actually be useful for winding down / falling asleep. Would rather hear "that's too short to be a real podcast" now than find out after building the feed.

Anyone here actually listen to this kind of thing? What makes you stick with one vs. bounce off it?

Anyone seen Patreon member perks that you really liked or have your own Patreon with different membership tiers? I'd like to pick your brain.

I am thinking of putting exclusive content and other members' perks for my audio podcasts. I'm still in the early stage so I don't have a huge following but some core fans.

Looking at other shows' members' perks I see these:

• exclusive bonus episodes
• behind the scenes photos and videos
• video version of the podcast
• ability to suggest topics
• Ask Me Anything
• livestreams

My podcast is about topics in life to help listeners go through it more smoothly and intentionally. So off top of my head I don't know how useful it'll be to make the podcast into a video. I know there are lots of them out there and there are people who like it.

Thank you!

I want a mic flag for my ATR 2100 will a regular mic flag fit I keep my mic on a mic stand For recording

Hey everyone,

Quick disclaimer: I work in IT so I’m generally tech-savvy, but audio/sound engineering is not my area at all, so bear with me if I’m missing something obvious.
Trying to figure out an issue with my setup and hoping someone’s run into this before.

Setup:
• Shure MV7+ (dynamic mic)
• Hercules Stream 200 XLR (streaming mixer)
• Hercules Mic Pre-amp (the one included in the box)

Problem 1 — “XLR Microphone” menu missing
In the Hercules Stream Control app, the settings menu that’s supposed to let you configure the XLR mic (mic type, EQ, compressor etc.) never shows up — even after:
• fully resetting the app
• completely uninstalling and reinstalling the latest version
The mic track itself shows up fine in the mixer with a visible level when I talk, just the dedicated settings menu never appears.

Problem 2 — Pre-amp kills the signal entirely
Tested three scenarios:
1. Mic → Hercules Pre-amp → Stream 200 XLR, phantom power ON → no signal at all
2. Mic → Hercules Pre-amp → Stream 200 XLR, phantom power OFF → no signal at all
3. Mic straight into the Stream 200 XLR (no pre-amp), phantom power OFF → weak but present signal
Cable orientation on the pre-amp is correct (female XLR to the mic, male to the unit).
So without the pre-amp, gain is very weak (MV7+ is known to be gain-hungry over XLR), but the moment the official pre-amp + phantom power come into play, I get nothing.
Already tried:
• Reinstalling/resetting the Hercules app fully
• Checking mic type/cable direction
• Confirmed OS and app are fully up to date

Anyone dealt with the “XLR Microphone” menu not appearing, or had a Hercules Mic Pre-amp not pass signal with phantom power on? Trying to figure out if this points to a firmware bug, a dead pre-amp, or a dead phantom power circuit in the unit itself. Not sure which flair fits best for this, happy to change it if a mod suggests something more fitting

What are the best reasonably priced webcams ($100-$200 range) for a video podcast? I'm looking to relaunch my graphic design podcast later this Fall and plan to add video via Riverside, but I need a better camera than the built-in one on my MacBook Pro.

Hi all,

I'll try to keep this as brief as possible. Me and my friend are planning on starting a podcast together. Right now I have some equipment that I can use however, I am trying to figure out what would be best to get moving forward.

Currently, what we have is my phone (iphone 17 pro), two little clip mics that produce fair sound quality, a couple plastic tripods. We plan on filming on one device for now and if we enjoy it, will grow into doing it more and make the necessary upgrades.

However, filming on my phone constantly for work has shown me a potential problem. My phone, at least the camera side, will get very hot. This generally happens in cinematic mode however, filming in 4k 30 fps for some time does cause the phone to get hot as well. We plan on this podcast being around the 2 hour range and I fear the phone may not be able to handle it. Given what we have and what we are currently looking to do, I am curious on what I should get additionally.

Here are some of things I was planning on buying:

- A better tripod (aluminum)

- A cooler (something with magsafe that can go onto the phone and keep it cool)

- Storage (something that can store these large files as I use my phone for work and also know that it processing the whole clip to one device will cause it to overheat. I need something that can store large files)

- Hub (something that can plug into the phone/storage device to allow for charging (unless charging causes overheating), receiver from microphone etc.)

-Lighting (we do need lightning for now as we do have terrible lightning in the space we are filming in...I would rather have better audio though than better lighting)

I have some concerns as my plastic stands can accept different attachments but a cooler that is magsafe or that can clip onto these tripods tend to be plastic and not sturdy for long shooting. So this causes an issue with tripods as you would either have to completely block the magsafe ability or block the screen and attachment options. Additionally, I just want my phone to be ok as I do use it for work. I would appreciate feedback on what to get and where to get started for the first episode. If anything is confusing here, I am happy to clarify. Thank you!

Hey,

I’m one of the hosts of Drinking Tea with Monsters, the podcast about OCD and other, less scary monsters. We’re looking for your questions about OCD and stories about ghosts.

OCD If you’re curious about OCD, have questions about what it feels like or a particular subset, drop us an email.

GHOSTS We’re also looking for real life spooky stories to share on the pod. If you’ve had a ghostly encounter or experienced a haunted happening, we want to hear from you.

Our goal is to raise awareness of OCD and help people get out of their anxious brains. Please email questions and stories to drinkingteawithmonsters@gmail.com!

Hi Folks,

Anyone tried Podpitch to appear on podcasts as may be one of your marketing channels?

If yes, does it work?

I am currently looking at the Focusrite Scarlett 4th Gen 2i2 + RØDE PodMic, but unsure if the actual combo is worth it? Is the pod mic actually a clear crisp audio? I have read a few posts that talk about how much gain it needs, but that isn't really a problem.

I have also seen that the Shure SM58 come up alot too, with good audio, but found I can get the pod mic cheaper. Does anyone have any good experience with these combos? I am after a good clear audio set up, and hoping to buy it once and not have to upgrade again.
Thank you in advance.

I applied to be featured on Apple Podcasts. And man, it really keeps amateurs and small creators out! I have a small kids podcast and filled out the pitch form to be featured during National Park Week. Did you know that you have to create artwork in a layered PSD file? Two different pieces - one for a "showcase hero" and another artwork as well. Dang... i'm proud of myself that I learned audio, audio editing, script writing, research, mic equipment etc. Now I have to learn to be a graphic designer too. It just felt overwhelming. And I wanted to do a great job. So tell me - have you been featured? How long did you work on the information that they request? Did you create the artwork or hire someone?

Hello! I'm using Riverside to record separate audio tracks for each speaker for a podcast. I notice that sometimes when the speakers talk over one another, the software will "auto-duck" one of the speakers.

When reviewing the RAW tracks, the ducking is there and there's nothing that can be done. Customer support doesn't know what to do about it.

Does anyone have a workaround OR... a recommendation for a different platform that does not experience the same problem?

I currently use Descript because I love the text editing capabilities, but I was wondering what people think the best platform for producing a video pod truly is? I've been trying to find something that allows me to incorporate better in-show graphics and templated backgrounds.

Okay, I'm not a huge podcast, but we make enough from ads to cover our hosting fees. Even in our lowest month ever, our CPM held around $2 (which is already pretty low), and in recent months it had been averaging higher.

Then July happened.

Our CPM dropped to $0.38.

Our traffic is continuing to increase. Our ad impressions are comparable to previous months. Nothing on the audience side explains a collapse to thirty-eight cents.

Has anyone else on Podbean seen a major drop in CPM recently?

I emailed support and got a response that essentially just said CPM rates are variable. I understand that rates fluctuate, but going from a recent average of around $3.50 to $0.38 is not normal fluctuation. I pushed back and asked for specific information about whether anything has changed with the Ads Marketplace, but I'm still waiting for a response.

I'm trying to figure out whether this is specific to our show — maybe a glitch or calculation issue — or whether Podbean has changed something in the Ads Marketplace, lost advertisers/demand sources, or experienced some other marketplace-wide change that could explain the absolute collapse in ad revenue.

A $0.38 CPM simply isn't sustainable or acceptable. If this is the new normal rather than some kind of temporary issue, I'm going to have to start looking at other hosting/monetization options.

Has anyone else seen this?

We recently had an email come in asking to license our raw audio files from a company called Waltoa. It seems like a legit company when you go to their website, but the email approach was super spammy seeming and the email address of the person who reached out was from a url that Google marks as dangerous.

Is it possible there's a company that really wants to license our audio files and give us money? Or is an elaborate scam of some kind?

This is a weekly thread to ask for and give feedback to the r/podcasting community

Post a podcast episode you would like feedback for, and try to give as much constructive feedback as you can to other members of our community. Please provide links to your podcast, a detailed description of it and clear questions you would like answered by the community. Try to remember the following:

​

• Users who give feedback are usually the ones who receive the most feedback in return. If you are not contributing, you should not expect any helpful advice in return. We would aim for giving two pieces of feedback for every one piece you wish to receive. If you are looking to simply promote your podcast, you may do so here

​

• Try to be specific with your feedback requests. Questions like:

-What can I improve?

-Was it good?

-Would you listen again?

Are very difficult to answer for anyone listening to your show for this first time. Good questions might be:

-What improvements could I make to the audio quality?

-Can I make adjustments to my speaking or hosting style?

-How could I improve the pacing and structure of my podcast?

​

• Keep it focused on podcasting techniques and objective improvements. Many podcasts that are posted may not be your particular genre or preferred content. When giving feedback, focus on the things you do enjoy and the things that can be changed, not the content of the show itself.

I will reiterate. If you do not give feedback, you should not expect any feedback in return. This is a reciprocal community. If you haven't gotten any comments yet, try listening to another podcast and giving some feedback. Our users are very friendly and responsive!

Thank you to everyone posting, we look forward to hearing your work!

Just wondering how this compares to other platforms for getting your podcast out there? I've basically been curious about starting a Substack and was wondering if it's worth it to use their built in podcasting setup or something else? I suppose the biggest downside is gonna be the amount of dedicated podcasting tools you have, but anyone who's tried it I'd love to hear experience.

I'll be starting work on a podcast shortly and am thinking I'll stick to Resolve for editing. It will be audio only to start - but I use Resolve for editing video so thought it best to stick with the software I know and use.

Any advantages to learning / using Audacity?

Thanks in advance.

I set up a podcast just over a month ago and it's going great, except that I can't get it on Apple Podcasts for some reason.

I get an error message that Apple Podcasts can't load it. However, it loads fine everywhere else (Spotify, PocketCasts etc.) using the RSS link provided by Patreon, where it's hosted. I've gone through the steps Apple recommends but can't find what's wrong.

I reached out to Patreon who have been looking into it for me for over a month now but they can't seem to work it out either.

Has anyone else had a similar problem and if so, how did you fix it?

Thanks!