What is a podcast? Its benefits and uses.
A podcast is an audio or video recording distributed in the digital world. Podcasts usually have episodes, and each podcast episode focuses on a particular topic. They can be either pre-recorded or live. Podcasts are typically downloaded onto computers or portable devices such as iPods or MP3 players and can be played.
Podcasting is a popular social media platform worldwide. So many podcasts are produced each day on a variety of subjects. 45% of podcast listeners (social media users) admit that they got influenced after hearing a podcast. From an educational perspective, podcasts are greatly beneficial. Creating and uploading podcasts improves scholars’ effective listening and speaking abilities.
Equipment needed for Podcast Recording:
To start podcast recording, you need some essential and optional equipment. Getting the right podcast equipment for your studio is important and challenging. So here we are listing some equipment needed for podcast recording.
- Computer: The first and the foremost thing to have while starting a podcast.
- Microphone (mic): This is the most important piece of equipment that makes you sound good and clear. Don’t use the built-in mic on your computer, camera, or phone. Those mics are more likely to pick up ambient sound and background noise and sound less professional.
- Headphone: is needed for the recording person to monitor their voice.
- Internet connection: Need high-speed internet to record (remotely) and share.
- Recording software: Need a professional podcast hosting platform to record and edit the podcast. (We have listed some tools below).
- Other equipment: You might need Pop-filter, table stand, boom, and portable recorder for a professional podcast recording.
How to select a podcasting software:
Producing a podcast can be an entertaining and interesting method to share your feelings, thoughts, and ideas with the world. But it is a difficult task to understand how to do that. There are many different podcasts creating tools available in the market. Choosing the right podcast creating tool is vitally important to your business. Be it producing a podcast recording or promoting it, the best podcast hosting software can help you achieve your targets. Here are some points to remember while selecting any podcast creating tool:
- Podcast audio editing software should not capture crisp sound.
- Save files to local device: The podcast hosting platform should save the file to your device, be it an external device or sound card.
- Editing capabilities: Use a podcasting recording tool that also allows editing the file. Which can Blend tracks, add audio effects, and splice segments.
- Technical support: Look for a podcasting tool with adequate technical support and help documentation. You can take help whenever needed.
- Price: There are several free and paid podcasting tools available. When you opt for a paid tool, you generally get access to more features and functions. So, choose tools according to your budget and requirements.
Top 7 podcast Ho sting tools:
Choosing the right software can be an amazing experience. We have selected the 7 best paid or free podcast recording and editing software and reviewed each one of them for you.
1. Audacity
Introduction: Audacity is a free and open-source digital audio recording and editing application software, available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and other Unix-like operating systems. This can be a great for beginners as it gives them simple copy, cut, and paste functions
Features:
- Sync-lock
- 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit audio quality supported.
- It can import and export audios in numerous formats.
- Easy podcast editing options
- Support for multiple plugins like LV2, LADSPA, VST, Nyquist, and Audio Unit effect.
- It has a Vamp analysis plugin for the analysis of descriptive content.
Price: Audacity is a free open-source podcast software.
Pros:
- Free
- Easy to use
- You can digitize your recordings from other media also.
- Record live audio, with a microphone or a mixer
- Easy customization and editing.
2. Riverside
Introduction: Riverside is a web-grounded podcast hosting platform that captures high-dedication audio AND videotape. Riverside is curated for users who want to record podcasts and upload them to the web. With Riverside, you don’t have to download any additional software as it works in the browser.
Features:
- You can record podcasts anytime anywhere with Riverside’s iOS app.
- You can find the answer quickly and directly to all your queries with the help of the chat feature and FAQs.
- You can fluently record webinars with Riverside.
- In Riverside you can fine-tune at the time of podcast recording.
- You can invite guests and mute people between the process.
- It Creates distinct audio and video tracks automatically.
Price: 4 plans are starting from 7.5 $ per month.
Pros:
- Affordable
- One of the best web-based podcast hosting platforms
- Best tech support
- Great audio & video quality
- Multitrack recording
- Remote podcast recording (You can use some tools to remove background noise in the remote recording.)
3. Adobe audition
Introduction: Adobe Audition is superb audio editing software. In this tool, you can fluently produce content and also blend, edit, and restore that content. This tool also provides good production features like processing treatment, individual EQ, and gain levels for each voice during editing. Adobe Audition helps you to record podcasts with professional quality.
Features:
- Spectral Analysis
- Envelopes
- Match Loudness
Price: $20.99 per month after 7 days of the free trial.
Pros:
- Using Adobe Audio Essential Sound you can add music, SFX, dialogue, and Ambience voice.
- It provides more than 50 audio effects to add.
- The multitrack recording lets you mix different tracks easily.
- Its Frequency Analysis feature helps you to shape your sound.
- Restore audios easily with this tool.
4. Garage band
Introduction: Garage Band is a free podcast hosting app that is available on most Mac computers. It has pre-recorded data for creating background music and jingles for the podcast. You can blend up to 255 audio tracks using this tool. It provides editing features, volume levels, dupe, cut and paste. It also provides plugins and audio effects like compression.
Features:
- Add Track – Add a track to your podcast easily using your iPad or iPhone.
- Smart Control enables you to tweak the participants’ voices in real-time to optimize for a more professional podcast recording.
- Master Track – you can use this to control overall EQ and mix compression.
Price: Free. Download from the apple store.
Pros:
- Add effects to your podcast at the time of recording which can reduce your post-production work.
- It provides an unlimited number of tracks to add to your podcast.
- It allows You to adjust volume and panning. Also, you can increase or decrease the musical loop.
- It offers a user-friendly interface for video and audio recording.
- You can add morph and tweak sounds.
- You can make changes in the track pitch and velocity.
- The MIDI sound tool helps you produce amazing jingles and background music.
(* You can also download custom voiceovers, jingles, and royalty-free music from “MUSIC RADIO CREATIVE”)
5. Buzz sprout
Introduction: Buzz Sprout is a great podcast hosting site, as it gets your podcast listed in all the top podcast directories, including Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast directory (Google Play), and Stitcher. It also helps you to customize your podcast player according to your brand’s needs. It provides advanced metrics and podcast statistics about your listeners and total plays over time.
Features:
- Magic Mastering – It has advanced technology for modulation of audio files automatically. It also helps you to optimize your audio recording to meet the assiduity norms and deliver a professional podcast.
- Automatic Episode Optimization – With this, you can automatically optimize different technical aspects of an audio file, which includes ID3, bit rate, or file type.
- Transcription – Make your podcast episode more accessible for disabled users and more visible on search engines with transcripts.
Price: $12 per month after 90 days of a free trial of podcast hosting service.
Pros:
- Smoothly create and publish podcast episodes.
- Connect on any device.
- World-class technical support.
- It provides easily understandable podcast insights.
- Automatic optimization.
- Promote your podcasts to maximum audience.
- In this one can easily navigate their favourite podcasts and also track the latest updates with the help of the Chapter Marker feature.
- In a single podcast you can manage an unlimited number of druggies. You can also add many podcast recordings to your account.
- It features API which helps podcasters to connect directly.
- Release a video soundbite of your podcast episode on social media for more effective digital marketing.
- you can create your custom domain and branding Podcast website with this podcast recording software.
- Track the podcast analytics based on demographics, regions, and more.
6. Squad cast
Introduction: Squad cast is an easy-to-use podcast recording software. It captures high-quality audio and also includes mobile recording features within. It can record audio or video podcast interviews remotely with studio quality.
Features:
- It has an online library where you can check all your recordings.
- Podcast host and guest or co-host can see each other as you record.
- It has end-to-end incident management which helps you to promote best practices in SRE.
Price: $5/hour or $20/month with a 7-day free trial
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Remote recording (Use software like “Krisp” to remove background noise with this.)
- Hourly payment plans
- Quickly Produce Content
7. Zoom
Introduction: This is a free conference calling tool that’s great for conducting interviews. You can easily record in zoom by choosing the “Record” option and prompting where you’d like to save your audio file. It provides better audio quality and internet consistency as compared to its competitors. Zoom has become a trusted podcast tool, especially after the pandemic.
Features:
- Separate audio file for podcaster (host) and guest.
- Multitrack recordings
- Echo cancellation and stereo audio.
- Generates a transcript of your meetings
Price: Free
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Free. Pay only for advanced features.
- Sound effects quality and network consistency.
Conclusion: That’s it for our roundup of the best podcast creating tools. Each tool has its strengths and weaknesses. Being a podcaster, you can choose the one that suits the best to your needs and preferences. We hope this information is insightful for you and will help you to find the right tool. Enjoy the podcasting!
