How can I record my podcast?
There are a few different ways to hit record on your podcast, this can vary in price and quality. I've touched on some of these platforms before, but I want to go through them in a bit more detail.
Audacity
For solo episodes, Audacity is a great platform to record. I used it for the early solo episodes of my podcast (Podcasting 101 with Rachael.) This is free to download and there are lots of YouTube videos and Udemy courses out there to learn how to use it.
One benefit is that you can check your mic levels as you go along and see the sound waves forming right in front of you. If you make a mistake, you can stop and clip as you go, which makes things really speedy.
If you are recording solo I would recommend this over all other software.
Zoom
A popular choice! Easy to use but (to get technical) Zoom compresses the sounds when it is exported and it's harder to polish in the edit if the quality isn't good.
You can use this for solo and guest episodes.
I recommend that you play around with the audio settings and set it to record separate tracks for when you have guests.
The next few are online recording studios that record at a higher quality than Zoom can. Wi-Fi will affect the ability to record remotely whichever platform you use.
I noticed a considerable difference in quality when I started using Riverside.fm and Squadcast compared to Zoom.
Some hosting platforms offer direct recording too.
Alitu
The interface is simple and intuitive. You can record straight into your phone or desktop and invite people on the desktop too. Alitu also processes your audio automatically, adding effects like normalisation and standardised volume. Alitu is also a hosting platform, so it’s pretty much a 1 stop shop. Could be a good solution if you are doing all the things yourself.
Riverside.fm
This is the studio that I have used the most and have a paid subscription to. I have the Standard subscription which is $180 per year.
There is a free option but if you want to use video there will be a Riverside watermark on it.
They have introduced magic clips where AI automatically picks out clips for you to use for promotion. I have to say these are a bit hit and miss but are definitely useful.
You can record just audio but use the camera whilst recording so you can see your guest or yourself! And you can record high-quality audio.
You can edit within the platform too, with either the waveform or with the script. They do produce a transcript for the recording, but I can’t access that on the Standard plan.
I would highly recommend this platform, I’ve been very happy with the quality of audio produced.
Squadcast
I’ve recently started using Squadcast as Descript (an editing software I’ll go into more detail on a future blog.) bought them out and I got access through my subscription with Descript.
I’ve tried it out a few times now and am pretty impressed with the audio quality.
You can record both audio-only and video. You can schedule sessions and integrate several different apps to make your podcast life easier!
The dashboard is easy to use so you don’t need to be a tech whizz to learn this!
Zencastr
Zencastr used to have a free tier, but they don’t anymore. The lowest tier is Standard billed at $18/month.
It works in your browser, and you can send a link to your guest. You can do mic checks, see levels, and monitor the recording health.
I tried using Zencastr for a past guest interview but ran into a problem. Their system required 10+ gigs of free space on your guest's computer. My guest didn't have enough space, so we ended up using Zoom instead. This is something to consider.
There's quite a lot to think about and some new tech to learn. Don't let it scare you! If you're outsourcing, lean on your producer or podcast manager for advice.
If you're doing it yourself, it's entirely possible to use Zoom or free platforms like Riverside.fm.
If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch!
Email me at rachael@rb-va.com
Connect with me on LinkedIn
Listen to my podcast Podcasting 101 with Rachael