Long gone are the days of Walkmans and portable tape and CD players that could only play cassette tapes of CD’s. These days, it seems everyone is listening to music on their phones or laptops via streaming or downloading or apps and it’s not just music people are listening to either. Entire books, movies, TV shows and documentaries can be downloaded or streamed right to your preferred device to be taken with you wherever you do. Listen to whatever you want while working out, working, sleeping or cooking supper. O very popular way to enjoy content on almost any device is through podcasts. A podcast is an audio file in digital format that is available over the internet to be downloaded to a Smartphone or computer.

These podcasts are created by both amateur and professional writers, speakers, journalists and business people from either their home studio or a professional one. Actually, almost anyone can create a podcast if they have the equipment and knowledge to set up a studio and deliver the content. A podcast can be a one-off episode about any topic or it can be a series of episodes covering a specific topic with different episodes each day, week or month depending on how often it’s delivered. Just as an example of what is available out there, there are podcasts about true crime, the paranormal, missing persons, travel destinations, business and pretty much anything else you can think of. Many podcasts are free to download while others may require a small fee or ask for donations to keep the podcast going. If you are thinking about starting your own podcast, there are some things you need to know to get you started with setting up a podcast studio as that’s the first thing you should do.

The reasons for setting up a podcast studio are numerous. If you are going to be creating something that is going to be listened to by people possibly all over the world, you want it to sound as good as possible. That being said, you will want to record podcasts in a quiet area of your home or a rented spot elsewhere where you know there will be no noise or interruptions. While you may not have the budget to produce a professional, top-quality podcast, at least you can cut out background noise from screaming children, rowdy pets, televisions and cars passing by.

Depending on your budget, setting up a studio will cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Once you have decided on a quiet room or location with enough space to set up, you will need to buy the equipment necessary to start producing podcasts and delivering them to your audience. If you are on a tight budget, many discount department stores, pawn shops and online electronic stores sell quality equipment for low prices. The best way to find the cheapest equipment is to search for it online and see where it can be bought at the cheapest price. You may also find some great deals through your local classifieds. Some of the items you will need to get started include:

  • Microphones and supporting items
  • Editing software
  • Headphones
  • Windscreens if you will be doing any recording outdoors
  • Mixers
  • Recording software
  • Various cables and cords to keep things running and connected to one another
  • Vocal Processor
  • Amplifier

Once you have all the gear you need to get started, do a couple of practice runs and have friends or family listen to it and critique it to make the improvements before you go public. It’s also a good idea to have at least a vague outline of what you will be covering so you keep the podcast current and flowing.

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