Podcast question

R

Robder

Active Member
You've probably noticed I've finally got off my arse and started publishing my mixes (only 20 years later haha).

http://bunkersessions.tumblr.com/ if anyone's interested.

I need advice on how to go about this - any podcasters on here willing to dish out some friendly advice?

Am currently reliant on Mixcloud which is one way of getting them out there but as we all know it doesn't provide a direct download link.

I know nothing about this stuff...!?

Is it worth signing up to a podcast provider? What are the advantages etc? :confused:

Thanks.
 
OK - good point.

Not sure I can afford them though...these are the two packages within my price range.

€29/year
2 new stylish widgets
Spotlight tab
240 upload minutes

...240 minutes? What good is that? :eek:

...

€79/year
or €9/month
Unlimited downloads
Quiet mode
12 upload hours

...12 hours - still not enough for a mix series.

So Soundcloud may be a bit pricey if the above is anything to go by. :cry:
 
As a start point I use SoundCloud. I have a subscription which gives me 12 hours of upload time and I link that using enclosure links to my Blogger blog.

Once an episode comes down from SoundCloud, I upload it to Dropbox and swap the enclosure links. The cost of the two subscriptions together isn't too painful if you think of it in terms of 'so much per month'.

My main annoyance with regards podcasting is that, although my podcast looks reasonable professional, iTunes wouldn't put it in their catalogue and I now can't resubmit it. Without paying a lot of monthly rates for things, there are quite a few pitfalls to dodge.

But if you're just using SoundCloud, it's a piece of cake.
 
Bonus to mixcloud over soundcloud is that mixcloud deals with all the licensing issues for you for free. Soundcloud is only supposed to be where you upload your own music, not mixes. (Even though everybody does)
 
Some good points - thanks.

Phil_Dicko said:
Once an episode comes down from SoundCloud, I upload it to Dropbox and swap the enclosure links.
Click to expand...

Can you explain what you mean here to an uneducated buffoon? :lol:

I have a dropbox account...how is it useful here?

My main annoyance with regards podcasting is that, although my podcast looks reasonable professional, iTunes wouldn't put it in their catalogue
Click to expand...

Does this mean I'll have problems with itunes too? - and if I want to do this, how do I get set up a podcast in the first place?
 
Robder said:
Some good points - thanks.



Can you explain what you mean here to an uneducated buffoon? :lol:
Click to expand...

It's more straight-forward than you think. The instructions in the below link are what I used to set mine up.

http://www.audionewsroom.net/2010/02/how-to-podcasting-soundcloud-blogger.html

So, first up. What this requires is a blog to attach your enclosure links from SoundCloud to. I use my blog to rabbit on about just about everything in dance music (as most people can tell, I like to waffle about my mixes) but if the blog is unimportant to you, you could just have the blog as a home for your enclosure links and build your RSS feed for iTunes.

Feedburner is the RSS burner of choice these days because a) it's free and b) it's powered by Google/Blogger. There have been rumours that Google will drop Feedburner soon which will be a f*cking pain in the arse for people like me as the alternatives are a little pricey.

What I do with Dropbox is archive any old episodes that come down from SoundCloud. When a mix is deleted from SoundCloud I swap the link for the Dropbox one, so for anyone in iTunes, the file will continue to down as normal.

People can still subscribe to my podcast and it will behave like any other podcast. But they need to use the link I give them rather than finding it in the catalogue. I really don't know why mine was rejected. I suspect they either thought the intro breached some kind of copyright or that the initial feed was just too big. My own feed (42 episodes in) is now so big that Feedburner truncates it. This is slightly annoying but my listeners can still get around 25 episodes through iTunes at the point of subscription and it does do that truncating automatically.

Some of that may seem like complete jargon but it will make a lot more sense when you read the link.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
OK - so I've got myself up on Soundcloud now.

Since I'm not on Blogger (I'm using Tumblr) - it would seem that using my blog to host mixes for itunes is a no-go.

But I'm now wondering about the merits of podcasting...aren't they a bit outdated these days?

Can anyone who is doing it please explain the merits? Surely you get more listens from Soundcloud and Mixcloud no?

This article got me thinking:
http://www.newcommbiz.com/soundcloud-is-podcasting-for-the-microblogging-world/
 
Robder said:
OK - so I've got myself up on Soundcloud now.

Since I'm not on Blogger (I'm using Tumblr) - it would seem that using my blog to host mixes for itunes is a no-go.

But I'm now wondering about the merits of podcasting...aren't they a bit outdated these days?

Can anyone who is doing it please explain the merits? Surely you get more listens from Soundcloud and Mixcloud no?

This article got me thinking:
http://www.newcommbiz.com/soundcloud-is-podcasting-for-the-microblogging-world/
Click to expand...

I don't really know Tumblr myself but I'd like to bet that you could probably use enclosure links and set up an RSS feed using that blog as well. The only problem being, it won't be as easy to set up as doing it with Blogger using the Audio News Room guide.

I know you can also do it through Word Press, which has it's own method of burning feeds but to me it seems insanely difficult to set up.

I've been using podcasts for a good while now and, although I hate most things about iTunes, I do love the way it manages and delivers podcasts. It's neat and tidy, looks good and, once subscribed the downloads are automatic when you open iTunes (or any other podcast management tool.) I love the idea that many of my friends down in London sit at their computers and without even opening their browser, a little gift from me hits their hard drive. :)

I am worried that it will become a lot of unncessary hassle eventually though. I completely wasted a weekend recently trying to put together a smaller, slicker RSS feed and it didn't work. And if Feedburner completely goes I'll have a real problem. But I'll always have my blog, Dropbox and SoundCloud to fall back on. Having it downloading in people's iTunes or in the iTunes store are just really nice bonuses.
 
I've got a combination of mixcloud and soundcloud on my blog (prefer the look of the mixcloud player and like the download benefits of the latter).

So an RSS feed may be hard to set up.

Did you say drop box would host files for a podcast? If so, how to get started on this?

(questions questions :lol:)
 
Robder said:
I've got a combination of mixcloud and soundcloud on my blog (prefer the look of the mixcloud player and like the download benefits of the latter).
Click to expand...

I like the way you've got that set up with the MixCloud player at the top. I may have to steal that idea from you. ;)


Robder said:
Did you say drop box would host files for a podcast? If so, how to get started on this?
Click to expand...

Yeah, dropbox will host files for a podcast, no problems. Lots of storage space and very compatible links.

But again, you would need to set up a feed and use enclosure links to link your download host to that feed. It's exactly like the instructions in the Audio Room guide but the link just goes straight in the enclosure box - no need for the /download.mp3
 
Well, here's an incentive for you, guys. If either of you can get feeds working for your podcasts, I will subscribe at the drop drop of a hat... not that I tend to wear hats. ;)
 
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