I want to record financially-based shows of an hour each for paid-up subscribers . I have been doing this for a radio station for some years but I now want to go private with this and targetted only paid subscribers. I know nothing about the process. Up till now I have phoned in my radio broadcasts to the radio station and they took care of everything via podbean
How could I get some help with setting this up (and understanding the process!)?
I have phoned in my radio broadcasts to the radio station
Literally phoned them in with a land-line telephone?
If you have a quiet, echo-free “studio” already set up, then all you’re doing is recording a “podcast.” I make that sound so easy. A recent poster generated the longest story-thread in the forum history and all he was doing was recording his voice with a single microphone in an apartment/flat. The next longest thread was a poster who wanted to record his acoustic guitar with a microphone.
So knowing where you’re starting from is a really big deal. Describe in detail how you got a show to the station, and don’t cancel the agreement until you actually get it working. We don’t want panic postings in all caps: “I CANCELLED THE CONTRACT AND NOW I CAN’T GET THE FILES TO WORK!!”
What equipment do you already have? Describe the computer and microphone if you already have one. Remembering, of course, we can’t see what you’re doing (unless you send pictures).
Koz
I would contact The RamenNoodle (http://forum.audacityteam.org/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=91148)
He has made a lot of instructional podcasts “Audacity2Podcast” and has also another weekly show with a co-host and guests.
I’d suggest you start with a “podcast mic” such as the [u]Blue Yeti[/u]. This type of microphone is higher quality than your standard “computer mic”, and with USB you are bypassing your sound card which is incompatible with any good studio/performance mic, and generally low-quality.
If you need to use multiple microphones, a USB mic is not the best choice and you may need regular studio mics and a USB audio interface or a mixer with a USB connection.
As Koz suggested, a quiet “studio” is important too. There are limits to what you can do with software and there is no substitute for starting-out with a good recording of a good performance. Even with the latest professional software, pros still record in soundproof studios with really good equipment!
Your choice of recording software won’t affect recording quality in any way, so Audacity is fine. (The recording software simply “captures” the digital audio stream and writes it to your hard drive in a usable format.)
And for the kind of editing you’ll likely be doing, Audacity should be adequate too. You can “cut and paste”, adjust the levels, equalize, perhaps add some compression, mix-in some background music, etc.
It’s going to take some time and practice to learn to make good recordings. And since you are apparently new to digital audio editing you’ll have to learn the terminology and concepts as well as learn to use the software. So get yourself a microphone and start experimenting! 
I simply call the show’s 800-number 2 minutes before my show is due to be played and the engineer places me on hold until the show begins. I hang up at the end. I have absolutely no ‘equipment’. I use a Windows-based computer. (The engineer communicates with me during the show via AOL instnat message). I wish I could be more helpful but that is truly the extent of it! However, my show has become so popular that I have decided to ‘take it to the next level’ and try to make money with it. (I don’t get paid by the radio station. It is non-profit).
I wish I could be more helpful
You have been insanely helpful. I have a crystal clear idea in my head of what you’re doing and how. We’re good to go.
You should go chew on the above posts and I’m going to think about this a little. Note we all stressed a quiet room. Ian (Mr. Longest Post) was trying to record an audio book on busy La Brea in Los Angeles. He built a studio in a broom closet to get away from the noise.
I used to automatically jump for a USB microphone such as the above Blue Yeti or others in that group, but I’m not that automatic any more.
Do you have a cellphone with Personal Audio Recorder? I know the iPhone has that and my non - iPhone doesn’t.
Koz
I simply call the show’s 800-number 2 minutes before my show is due to be played and the engineer places me on hold until the show begins. I hang up at the end.
A live phoner. I’m impressed. How long is the show?
Assume you just got finished recording an episode and you have a finished, polished sound file. Now what? How are you going to get this file to your clients?
The very first urge is to upgrade the sound and pop for microphone, interface (if needed), additional equipment, etc. etc. I so wouldn’t do that. You are used to a 30 minute audio show taking 30 minutes to produce. The very instant you go to theatrical production and post editing, the 30 minute show will explode to between three and five times that. Closer to five. Do you have two and a half hours to blow every day (or however often your show is presented)? Scoff if you will, but this isn’t a theory. It’s a production law.
When we left Ian, he was worried about the breathing sounds he was making half-way through the book he’s reading.
“Is there an Audacity filter to get rid of gasping and wet mouth noises?”
I love that phrase.
Koz
Still out there? [knocking on screen]
Do you have a personal recorder on anything? I have a cheapie iPod I got at CostCo and I think it has a Personal Recorder. This may be the event I’ve been waiting for to try it out with a commonly available microphone.
The reason I’ve been reevaluating always recommending a USB microphone is two fatal complaints. You can’t easily use an acoustically noisy computer and there is no recovery from the random “Frying Mosquitoes” electrical noise problem. Separate recorders have neither of those problems and they’re usually massively more convenient.
Koz
No, I don’t. I’m really grateful to you for firing up the brain cells on this one. I feel quite stupid. I have the knowledge and the listeners to create what I think could be a pretty good business but no expertise in the technical aspect!
The show is 60 minutes. I’ve no idea how to get the show to the clients. That’s part of the problem. I don’t know… anything!
I feel quite stupid.
Calm down. It’s an interesting challenge.
You’re “suffering from” using a telephone for the work. The telephone has decades of development and refinement with the single, paramount goal of getting your voice in good order to the person at the other end. It has tailored response. “It sounds like a telephone” is not accidental. That sound cuts through bad phone lines, interference, and ratty old telephones the best. It has compression and auto gain. Most people sound similar on a phone no matter how they sound in real life. That’s not accidental, either.
The microphone is a small fraction of an inch from your mouth which allows it to, for the most part, ignore room echoes and other environment effects and noises. All that goes away when you try to use a studio microphone. Your ears get used to home noise, but the noises rise from nowhere when you start the first recording.
“What’s that buzzing noise behind my dialog?”
“That’s your refrigerator…”
“I never noticed that dog before…”
So the challenge is to make a good, presentable, but not necessarily studio recording with zero technical requirements.
As we go.
Koz
As I said, the Audacity2Podcast is an ideal starting point because it covers almost every aspect in wide over 100 shows.
Audacity itself plays a minor part.
Paid client subscriptions are best handled by a company. Anybody can post stuff free for people to listen to, I do it on my own web page. People can do it on an “open” DropBox account and I’ve been known to program my own web pages, but paid subscriptions to a transactional supplier are much more difficult.
I have no recommendations. Good luck.
Koz
Thank you Koz for looking it up, I was just too lazy…
So do you have any idea of how I should proceed? Do you have enough information?
whether you are using a USB microphone , or a portable battery-powered recorder,
a sound-booth is a good idea to reduce reverberation from the room,
here’s a YouTube on how to create one for $23 … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTeUeRxAS7M
[ Wouldn’t financial information be better conveyed visually , e.g. performance graphs ,
i.e. create a website with text and graphs , and if appropriate, embed an audio/video player in that webpage].
whether you are using a USB microphone
I think that’s where we came into the movie in the wrong place. We’re describing act two where the hero and heroine get the letter in the mail which will change their lives forever in act three.
The poster is in the lobby buying popcorn. “Extra jujubes, please.”
Do you have enough information?
I’d be a lot more comfortable with this if you had a distinct end goal rather than try to design both ends of the process in mid-air.
The classic USB style microphone connects to and uses your computer as the recorder. What kind of computer do you have? Model numbers, descriptions, impressions, ages, etc. Anything helps. Most important, can you tell your computer is on or off just by walking into the room from the fan noise?
Computer noise is a big problem with sound recording. Do you have a cellphone, and which system: Android or Apple? It can be neither. That’s what I have. I have a StupidPhone®
The effects of no cellphone ripple widely. That’s how many people snap pictures of their equipment and post them so we can see what’s going on.
Don’t give up that radio station too quickly.
Koz
Thank you Koz for looking it up
I did that because I couldn’t easily find it and I know you’re rarely wrong about this stuff.
Koz
they took care of everything via podbean
Remember that from the beginning post?
Does that mean your broadcast is available forever to anybody who wants to log in? What’s the address?
Koz
In an ideal world and if all your moons and stars lined up, you would do your show live on the station and the station would post to your pay-per-view web site instead of their own podcast service. If anyone misses the live broadcast, they can pay for a “rebroadcast” and paid download. That means you have to do the business legwork at the beginning but not change your show at all. Zero.
Are there any shows on the station that work that way?
More legwork.
Koz