Published September 11, 2020
It's one of the most oft-asked questions by publishers in the early stages of their podcast journey. What program should I use to record and edit my episodes? A number of options exist, each with its own unique benefits. Let's look at a few.
- For those looking to contain costs, Audacity is a free program available on the internet and provides a relatively sophisticated yet easy-to-use interface. In terms of basic functions, it can do many of the things it's high-end brother from another mother Audition can do. If all you're doing is recording a podcast, you likely don't need all the bells and whistles anyway. Audacity is not, however, a way to record interviews with someone in another location. The program could easily be used to edit that audio once it's been recorded, but if you're needing to interview someone remotely (i.e. not in the same location as you), you'll still need to use a program like Skype, Zencastr or Cleenfeed.
- As mentioned in the first bullet, Adobe Audition tends to be the go-to for most high-level producers and broadcast professionals. This program is loaded with features and methods for cleaning up imperfect audio, however, it will take some time to familiarize yourself with all its capabilities and at times requires a higher order understanding of audio. As of this writing, Audition is available via monthly subscription for roughly $35 per month. If you edit a lot of audio, this is a fantastic program to have. If you're only using the program to record your weekly show, you might be better served to go with Audacity or another option.
- For those of you with a Mac, GarageBand is also a very capable program when it comes to simply recording and editing audio. If you'd rather not pay for Audition or download a program like Audacity, this is a great option. Like each of those programs, you will still need to enlist the aid of a separate program in order to record remote guests/co-hosts.
- On a PC, the Voice Recorder app is a viable option for recording and minor edits. It's not ideal for larger edits or if you're needing to remove multiple audio segments from your episode (i.e. points at which you stop and start over), but it can serve to at least get something recorded.
- These programs tend to be used more than others, but if you're still not sold, check out this article presenting a few alternative options.
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