Is a Studio Necessary for Podcast Recording?
You might immediately think of a ‘podcast’ as something you need to go to a professional studio for. The best thing about professional studios is that the studio itself is set up precisely for podcasts — but they’re costly, high stress environments tied to a specific location, and advances in technology over the past five years combined with shifting listener expectations have really closed the gap between what’s possible in a studio versus remote.
The Advantages (and Disadvantages) of Studio Podcasts
When you go to a studio to record a podcast, the service you receive will depend on the price. At the low budget end of the spectrum, you might simply be shown to a room that is acoustically advantageous for recording with some microphones set up with a device you can plug an SD card into and press record on. It’s not until you start to plump for higher end packages that you’ll be paired with a producer that will ensure levels are good, audio and video equipment is set up correctly, and you keep to schedule, with editing, packaging, and distributing your podcast all add-on services for further cost. Even still, training for you and your guests on how best to present yourself, position microphones to get the best signal and all the little things that add up to getting the best performance are often left out.
Not only that, but working studios are strictly scheduled — if you book a 75 minute slot you’d better make sure everyone turns up on time and things go totally smoothly, because you’re on the studio’s time not your own. Some types of podcast, like those that need to react to the latest industry happenings, just aren’t suited to the studio model.
Remote Podcasting: an Exciting Alternative to Traditional Studios
If you have bottomless budget to fly in international guests and world leading brand perception is higher on your list than any attributable value (and even if you’re the unicorn for whom that’s the case, figuring out what type of podcast is right for you is an important step) then a fully managed studio podcast experience might be the way forward for you. If you’re like most businesses and have an eye on maximising the value of your marketing investments, though, remote podcasts are significantly more viable than the expense, logistics, and stress of a studio podcast. Whilst not a total magic bullet, on balance remote podcast production is a superior option for anyone that wants to maximise the value of their investment into podcasting for a variety of factors — let’s take a look at some…
Cost
An equivalent managed service comparing remote and studio podcasts puts remote recording at a clear advantage, meaning you’re investing less for every listener you achieve. Aside from the studio, production, and editing costs, both the time and financial burdens of travel and hospitality are completely mitigated. At Remote-CTRL we devise an SLA specific to each of our clients, ensuring clear visibility of costs regardless of time of recording, length, and turnaround. Because of the remote nature of our service, we’re able to ensure that unexpected overages and scheduling conflicts can be addressed at a significantly preferential rate to a traditional studio experience.
Logistics and environmental impact
Remote podcasting is a significant tick in your organisation’s commitment to green, and can be completed with significantly less time commitment than studio podcasts. It eradicates travel costs, travel time, and unnecessary contribution to carbon footprint: win, win, win. Not only that, but remote podcasting opens up the pool of potential guests and contributors to the global level, ensuring you’re able to have interesting conversations that competitors stuck in studios can’t – vital for some types of podcast.
Turnaround time
Dealing with the availability of podcast recording studios can be a thorn in your side, especially if budget is a concern (and for whom isn’t it?). Even if you do manage to get recording times to work around a postponed session or a “we have one opportunity to get this and it’s now” breaking news or special guest, the knock-on effect this disruption to schedule can have to editing and distribution can be a nightmare. At Remote-CTRL we can be as responsive as you need, with our round-the-clock team of producers, editors, and account management.
Remote Podcast Production Values Can Still be Excellent
We live in an age where ‘studio quality’ doesn’t actually require a studio anymore. We work with clients around the world that use their homes to create broadcast quality audio and video — many of your favourite podcasts are probably recorded from the hosts’ homes without you even realising it!
Getting Great Audio
At Remote CTRL we always strive for the best quality audio we can given whatever limitations our guests have in terms of location, budget, and requirements. Our client Add3 forward mic packs to their contributors across the USA, which we selected and configured to be as simple as plug and play even when sending directly from guest to guest without coming home first. We always help to get contributors comfortable with recording before pressing the big red button, including advice and installation of equipment and room setup with clear expectations managed throughout.
Something to bear in mind is that people are now used to fairly low quality audio from guests on their favourite podcasts. Boxy or echoey rooms, not using headphones, poor choices from the equipment available to them: the most important thing is the message, of course, as listeners stick around when you meet their needs, not when you sound pristine. At Remote-CTRL we work with clients of varying budgets and technical limitations, combining state-of-the-art editing with a focus on communication to ensure that regardless of your level of investment, what you provide to your listeners meets their expectations.
Getting Great Video
Even though podcasting primarily a listening medium, video is becoming increasingly important. The levels of production value invested into a podcast needn’t be prohibitive in order to add value, with even webcams and captioning to create social media ready clips having a significant impact on many of our clients’ reach.
If you do want to raise the stakes and deliver a higher quality video experience for your audience, then there’s never been a simpler time; camera and lighting technology puts broadcastable imagery within reach of even modest budgets, with industries rallying around collapsible and other temporary set dressings that can make a home office look like a TV studio. Here at Remote-CTRL we have experts that can deliver systems solutions that can be set up by users and managed remotely, with experiences ranging from significantly improved webcam aesthetics all the way to sets that look like they cost hundreds of times more than they do — either way, they’ll stand out on social media and give an edge to your podcast that you might have assumed was reserved for studios.
Is Remote Podcasting Right for You?
If you like the sound of responsive, low-stress, broadcast quality and budget-friendly podcasting, then remote podcasting is for you. Why not get in touch with us at Remote-CTRL to arrange a discovery session on how we can best bring you closer to your audience and reap the rewards of having a respected podcast?
