The advantages of Podcasting.

I have been working with online, streaming audio since 97 or so. The first time I ever needed to use audio on a site was for a prank call site I was building. The pranks were recorded onto cassette tape and I used to use a homemade 1/4 inch cable to run a line from a Walkman to to my mixing console and of course to my soundcard. The only solution I was aware of at the time, was Real Player. Around '97 Real Player was ALOT more prevalent than it is today. I have always hated it, from the way it sits in your system tray to the way the audio sounds. Keep in mind, this way before broadband was even a thought so the files needed to be optimized for dial-up, meaning I would usually do 2 versions, a 28k and a 56k version. They both sounded like you were listening to a badly encoded mp3 on an ipod turned up to maximum, down the hall and under water. In order for people to listen, they HAD to use Real Player, and they had to wait for the file to download and buffer for quite some time, and most importantly, they HAD to visit the website. Not really an ideal situation for distributing audio files to the maximum amount of users.

From 2002-2004 I produced a weekly 3-hour streaming radio show featuring local bands. The show was distributed as a Windows Streaming Media (.WMA) file. The show was 3 hours, but using compression I could get the file size down to about 40mb, still a pretty large file. Our webhost was a dedicated Windows 2000 server from Managed.com, it wasn't cheap (think $299 a month) We had to use a Windows server so we could take advantage of the windows media streaming server. This was a perfect set-up to handle our bandwidth demands, but again, to listen you had to visit the site, and to find it in the first place you had to use a search engine, and we had to spend ALOT of $ on SEO to get into those search engines.

So how does this relate to the advantages of Podcasting? First and foremost in my opinion is directories. Podcast directories are the rocket fuel of Podcast and in some ways, site promotion as well. Back in the day, when I was creating the above shows, the only effective way to get seen was through search engines (to say nothing of forums and advertising) there was no prank call directory ect. Podcast directories give you the ability to reach millions of qualified leads (listeners) hungry for the content you offer. By simply submitting your podcast to directories you not only reach new listeners and gain exposure for your podcast, you also benefit from having multiple inbound links to your site from each of the directories, thus increasing your search engine rankings in the process. This fact alone give enormous advantages to the podcaster over the person trying to gain listeners for a show on Live365.com or the like. If you have a podcast, you should be submitting your podcast to EVERY directory. Be sure to include a detailed description and keywords so people can find you once you are listed.

Another advantage: bandwidth. Using Bittorrent for Podcast distribution is a great way to save on bandwidth. Read more on using it here.

I also am thrilled with the subscription end of Podcasting as well. The fact that someone can find your Podcast through a directory, and if they like it, subscribe and never have to think about it again, they can listen and enjoy it at thier leisure. More on subscriptions later...

The all important editing process.

I have been editing audio since I had to cut tape with a razor. Alot of things have changed with the digital audio revolution. Digital editings' greatest advantage over analog in my opinion, is the fact that you can see the wave forms. Why is this the greatest advantage? Well, in the editing process, things can take time, a lot of time. Even for a seasoned pro like me who knows his editor inside and out. Editing takes time. Now, I'm not just talking about editing for continuity, which can be as simple as identifying gaps in the wave forms and easily edited out. I'm talking about what I like to call "NPR" editing. "NPR" editing is the process of removing all of the "ahhs" "and uhhs" and "ummmms" to make the interviewer and guest sound flawless, never reaching for a word on stumbling on a phrase. This isn't easy as when people get nervous, the can sometimes drop an "umm" between every word! Making edits of this nature VERY time consuming and sometimes even a daunting task.

So how does being able to see the waveforms in the audio file help? When I start on an "NPR" style edit, Within a minute or two into it, I can start to see the "uhhhs" in between words because they are usually identical to one another in waveform and usually create a sort of pattern within the speech. Using this methodology, you can cut editing time by 25% to 50% by first scanning through the file and cutting said recognizable waveforms. Sometimes this method alone is enough to make the speaker sound on top of his game. It is, of course, not as easy as it sounds. You really have to be comforatble with the visual side of editing and able to quickly scan a waveforms patterns to have this be effective. Also, there are times that "and" looks just like "umm" and if you are not careful, the speaker might not make sense anymore. This applies to the golden rule of editing, A good edit is one you don't hear. Having years of experience with a sound editor and editing waveforms is a must for it and there is a slim chance a newbie can pull this off.

One technique helpful in this type of editing is the use of markers. Dropping markers while a recording is in progress will save hours of editing. What this means is that while the recording is running, the engineer will "drop" a marker onto the waveform every time they hear the voice talent make a mistake or there is a noice, cough ect. that will need to be edited. In many sound editors, this is as easy as pressing the "M" key when you want to drop a marker.
I once recorded a client reading his Ebook. This was a 250 page book, and this was the fist time he had ever been in a recording studio. I think we spent around 11 to 12 hours with him in the booth. I was recording chapter by chapter, every chapter was its own file. Rather than stopping and doing re-takes everytime he coughed or had a sip of water, I simply let him read, if he made a mistake I instructed him to pause, take a deep breath and begin again, therefore, giving me a chance to drop a marker and mark that edit. Now, sitting there pressing "M" for 12 hours isn't much of a good time, but in a studio situation, you need to be at the console anyway. Of course I don't catch them at all, sometimes you need to do something else for a moment or you simply space out, so everything will still need a careful listen in editing. When it came time to edit, what could have been 2 weeks of editing was cut down to about 6 days. Just by looking at the file I could see 95% of the edits I needed to make, a HUGE advantage over flying blind.

In the world of Podcasting, this type of editing can mean the difference between sounding like a mumble mouthed clutz or the expert in your feild. Some people are natural public speakers and will not make a single mistake, but most of us will goof. Simply recording your vocals into a mic and sending them of as a Podcast without editing is usually a mistake, and the more time out into the edits, the better you will sound. I of course recommend using a professional editor such as myself if you want to truely sound like a pro. The time you save having someone else doing the dirty work will free you up to develop better content for your Podcast.

Podcasting Grows In Popularity
› › › Entertainment

By Sean Michael Kerner | April 3, 2005

According to new research from The Pew Internet and American Life Project, 29 percent of Americans over the age of 18 with iPods or other MP3 players have listened to podcasts. Pew had predicted the growth early this year after studying sales of portable MP3 players.

Pew estimates over 22 million American adults own an MP3 or iPod player, and more than 6 million of these owners have listened to podcasts. The study surveyed 2,201 people, 208 of whom were MP3 or iPod owners. Pew did not survey anyone under age 18.

The podcasting phenomenon began last year as iPod and other MP3 device users began to broadcast audio files to download onto media devices. Podcasts are based on RSS enclosure technology, and can be subscribed to much as a user can subscribe to a text blog. In fact according to Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, there's a direct relationship between blogging and podcasting.

"An impression of mine not backed up necessarily by any underlying data is that podcasting is riding atop the blogging wave," Rainie told ClickZ Stats. "Bloggers in particular have discovered how easy and potentially interesting and potent it is to share their thoughts with others. Podcasting is fuelled partly because it is easy, partly because it allows people to publish material that in the days before podcasting wouldn't have been possible for them to publish. You would have needed to be in a recording studio with a broadcast license to do this, and now you don't."

Both men and women are equally as likely to have tried downloading podcasts. Only 20 percent of MP3/iPod owners over the age of 29 have downloaded a podcast. In contrast, nearly half of those between 18 and 28 have used their device to listen to a podcast.

"It turns out that there are significant and growing numbers of people that want to hear their own voice and think that other people want to hear their voice," Rainie said. "That's why the number of podcasts is growing, and the options people have to download them is growing."

Podcasting's growth of is also based on growth and penetration of MP3/iPod devices, which tends to be more pronounced among younger Americans. MP3/iPod ownership tends to be higher among 18-28 year olds at 19 percent ownership, while 14 percent of 29-40 year olds have such a device. The ownership numbers continue to decline among the older age groups with only 11 percent of younger Baby Boomers (41-50 years old) and 6 percent of older Baby Boomers (51-59 years old) owning an MP3/iPod player.

iPod/MP3 Player Ownership by Age
Age Percentage Who Own
18-28 19
29-40 14
41-50 11
51-59 6
60-69 6
70 and older 1
Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project ,2005

Pew also determined MP3/iPod players are generally owned by more affluent Americans. Thirty-one percent of those with household incomes over 50,000 (18 percent $75,000+; and 13 percent $50,000 to $75,000) own the devices. In households with annual incomes under $50,000, only 16 percent (9 percent $30,000-$50,000; 7 percent under $30,000) have an MP3/iPod player.

iPod/MP3 Player Ownership by Income Level
Household Income Percentage
Who Own
Less than $30,000 7
$30,000-$50,000 9
$50,000 to $75,000 13
More than $75,000 18
Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2005

Podcasting FAQ

Q: What's podcasting?

A: According to Wikipedia, "Podcasting is the practice of making audio files available online in a way that allows software to automatically detect new files and download them." Technically, this is accomplished using RSS 2.0 news feeds to provide information about a collection of audio files in MP3 format. In common use, podcasting is often used to refer to independent audio shows that can be downloaded from the Internet.

Q: What's cool about podcasting?

A: Podcasting lets anybody with a microphone, a computer and an Internet connection publish audio shows that can be listened to by people anywhere in the world. Because the barriers to entry are very low, podcasting is rapidly becoming a popular way for people share audio shows. Podcasts are free and can be automatically downloaded to portable media players, so you can listen to them whenever it's convenient.

Coolest of all is that if you've got a great idea for a podcast, you can probably do it!

Q: What sort of shows are available as podcasts?

A: There are already many types of podcasts, including audio books, music shows, news, humor and sports. Most podcasts are created by amateurs, but there are also commercial podcasts and independently produced podcasts. There are podcasts in Dutch, French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Mohawk, Spanish, and many other languages.

Q: Do I need to have an iPod to listen to podcasts?

A: No. The first podcast clients were designed to subscribe to audio shows, automatically download them and sync them to iPods. As podcasting has evolved, podcast clients have become available that work with most portable digital audio players. Many podcast sites support downloading shows directly from the site, and many directories support playing podcasts directly.

Q: Do I need special software to listen to podcasts?

A: No. Many podcasters and directories let you listen to podcasts as streaming media, directly from the site. Podcasting clients are used to streamline downloading podcasts and copying them to portable media players.

Q: Where can I find podcasts?

A: The most popular places for finding podcasts are the directories at iPodder.org, PodcastAlley and Podcasting News. There are many other podcast directory sites. Many podcast applications also include a list or directory of podcasts.

Q: Who invented podcasting?

A: Podcasting is based on capabilities built into the RSS 2.0 specification, which was developed by Dave Winer. Adam Curry catalyzed the podcasting concept in September of 2004, when he released a script that automatically downloaded audio files referenced in RSS files.

While there are many precedents for Curry and Winer's work, they put the pieces together and popularized the idea of podcasting. Because of this, they are generally considered the "podfathers" of the podcasting community.

Q: Do I need to use a Mac?

A: No. You can create and listen to podcasts using Windows, Mac OS X and Linux podcasting software.

Q: What are some of the top podcasts?

A: There are several ways to rank podcasts, and depending on how you rank them, different podcasts come out on top.

* Measuring activity: One way to rank podcasts is by the amount of click activity that they receive at popular podcast directories. Podcasting News' Top 25 Podcasts are ranked in this way. This is an effective way to look at what podcast listeners are interested in, to the extent that site visitors reflect the podcasting community as a whole. It doesn't measure actual downloads of a podcast.
* Measuring downloads: Another approach is to compare the number of downloads that various podcasts get. Because accurate data on downloads is not available for all podcasts, it's not currently possible to rank podcasts in terms of actual downloads or listens.
* Voting/ranking - Another approach is to have users vote on or rate podcasts. This approach provides a measure of a podcast's ability to motivate listeners to vote, but doesn't measure interest in podcasts or actual downloads. Examples of this approach are Podcasting News' Top 25 Rated Podcasts and Podcast Alley's Top 10 list.
* Reviews: There are also several sites that review podcasts. As reviewers become established, they may become an effective way to learn about new podcasts.

What is RSS?

RSS files are text files that contain information about things available on the Internet. For podcasting, RSS files are used to syndicate information about a podcast "channel" (the show as a whole), and also individual podcast episodes. The article Understanding RSS News Feeds discusses how to use them for podcasting.

Q: What can you do with a podcast?

A: A browse through a podcast directory shows the variety of podcasts that are available. Here are just a few things podcasting can be used for:

* On-demand versions of radio shows
* Personal audio blogs
* Audio books
* Music shows
* Audio tour guides
* Educational content that depends on audio (language, music, etc)
* Marketing for musicians
* Distributing sermons and other religious content
* Storytelling
* Sports coverage
* Distributing/synchronizing audio and video files for business.

Q: I've got a show that features top 40 hits. Do I need to worry about copyrights and stuff like that?

A: Yes. The best advice, for now, is to feature independent or Creative Commons licensed music in your podcast. Podcasts are downloads. When people access your podcast, they are copying an audio file from your server to their computer. If your podcast has traditionally copyrighted music in it, you're probably infringing on somebody's copyright.

So check out some independent or Creative Commons music. It's a little more work, but a lot more rewarding for everybody involved!

Q: I'm planning on podcasting some audio books. What software and microphone will I need?

A: Two of the most important things for this are the quality of your microphone and the acoustics of the room you record in. At a minimum, you'll want to have a good mic that you can plug into your computer's input & a pair of headphones. You can record directly onto the computer with Audacity on Windows & Mac, and Garageband is a popular choice on the Mac. Podcasting News has a list of podcasting software.

For more advanced setups, check out the Podcasting News article on setting up a home podcasting studio.

No matter what your setup, the environment you record in can have a big effect on the sound. In general, you'll want a quiet location that is relatively "dead", meaning that it absorbs sound instead of bouncing it back at you. A room with a sofa & a carpet will be a lot less "live" than a room with tile.

Experiment with how close you speak to your microphone, too. If you place the mic further away, you'll get more room noise/sound. If you place the mic closer, you'll get less room sound. If you get very close, though, you may notice that the mic overemphasizes the bass in the speaker's voice.

Q: I want to listen to the my favorite radio show on my iPod. How do I get this as a podcast?

A: Podcasts are published by show creators. If they are not publishing the show as a podcast, there may be legal issues that prevent them from doing so, or they may not see a need for it. You may want to give them feedback via their website, so that they know that there is interest in a podcast version of the show.

You may also want to look into time-shifting radio recording software. An example is Replay Radio. This type of software is designed to let users record radio shows and put them on portable media players.

Podcast Production Services features a wide range of services. Everything you need to create and deliver your Podcast. From content creation and production to RSS feed delivery and graphic design. When you choose us for your production needs you won't need to look elsewhere for complimentary services.

We offer:
Audio Editing & Production
Syndication & Listing
Intro, Outro's & Promo's
Voice-overs
Audio & Video Podcasting
Free Consultations
Custom Royalty-Free Music
RSS Feeds
Local & Remote Recording
Teleconference Podcasting

Our producers have backgrounds in Music and film production as well as AM/FM and television production.

Our prices are meant to fit any budget and we will work with you to create the best podcast for the money. Please contact us to discuss your podcast and to find out what Podcast Production Services can do for you!

Wondering what a Podcast is and what it can do for you? Podcasts are basically Radio Shows on the Internet. What makes them special is how the Shows are delievered to the user. Instead of "Streaming" audio where the user is tied to thier computers, Podcast take advantage of the vast amount of MP3 players out on the market today, and especially all of those iPod users out there. Podcasts are like Magazine Subscriptions. With a magazine subscription you register for a magazine (podcast) and then every so often the publisher (podcaster) will send one to your house (Granted with podcasts the aggregator goes out and fetches it. Now after the Magazine is delivered, it sits in your Mailbox until someone removes the Mail and puts it on the Kitchen Table (iTunes, your MP3 player). You then decide when you want to read that magazine (listen to your Podcast). You can also cancel any subscription at any time.

First and foremost a Podcast is an MP3 file and all you need to play it is an MP3 player. With the help of FREE software such as iTunes or Quicktime or Windows Media Player - You are already able to listen to a Podcast. You only need an iPod or other Mobile MP3 Player if you want to listen to a podcast while you are working out, driving to work or taking the dog for a walk.... This also means all of your customers and clients have the ability to listen to your important Podcast!