P is for Podcasting

 

Podcasting is one of the most popular communication methods around. It’s so hip that everyone is doing it from the BBC’s music shows to Russell Brand’s eloquent rants.

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The reason why the uptake has been so popular is because it is incredibly accessible; in fact, anyone with an internet connection can do it.

For our purposes, we are interested in how musicians take advantage of podcasting, and independent music has probably exploited this technology the most. So from personal casts to digital radio, we will uncover how and what is podcasting (which gets its name from ‘broadcast + ‘IPod’).

You just need to have a few things at your disposal: knowledge about making an MP3, some simple recording software like Audacity, a broadband connection, online software that makes a podcast like FeedForAll, and your own player, be it an iPod or another aggregator like PodcastAlley.

Bells and whistles

The motions of publishing and subscribing to a podcast is a form of ‘push’ technology, that is, the information provider is master of what files are on offer and when a subscriber can retrieve it.

To podcast is an automatic mechanism where the computer files are transferred from a server to a client. The client pulls down an XML file’s internet address which houses the recording (MP3).

The first step is to make your Podcast available over a publicly available web server. Use software like FeedForAll first – a site which creates an RSS feed for free - and will embed your recording into XML for you. Then visit a free server like PodcastAlley and upload the newly created URL.

This file singularly is referred to as one episode of a podcast or a ‘feed’. The feed is the URL from which the episode can be accessed, usually in the RSS (Really Simple Syndication) format, which also provides the published date, titles and descriptions etc.

Once the podcast is on a server, it is then up to the author to let subscribers or the intended audience aware of its whereabouts. The audience member then uses an aggregator (podcaster/ podcatcher) to subscribe, manage and listen in.

RSS killed the radio star

A lot of the technology involved in podcasting - such as MP3s and streaming - has been around for years, but RSS takes podcasting to a new level. The subscription element of the podcasting facility means it is a favoured way of delivering artists’ new music to their fans.

By using HTML’s big brother in webpage code, XML, the foundation of the RSS is provided.

Subscribing to podcasts is as easy as typing in an internet (URL) address, as is the case with Apple’s iTunes. To be a subscriber of a podcast is much easier than making one.

All your listener needs to do is choose to subscribe to your podcast with an RSS aggregator, simply by typing in the URL of the RSS into an aggregator program. The RSS file contains all the links for downloading the audio, author details and which shows are available to listen to – the aggregator program uses that information to automate the subscription process.

Aggregators reduce the time and effort needed to continually check websites for updates. Once subscribed to a feed, an aggregator is able to check for new content at intervals (set by the user) to retrieve the updates.

For example, a well known aggregator is Apple’s iTunes software: go to the ‘Advanced’ menu and select ‘Subscribe to Podcast’. Paste a URL for the RSS file into the relevantly marked box and iTunes will take care of the finding and downloading of the series instalments of a podcast.

ITunes makes the entire subscription process simple for the user to download new content via its aggregator function.

DIY podcast

Making your own podcast could start as simply as you recording your voice into a microphone and recording the result as an MP3, or taking a full scale recording of a tune, such as those found on an album, and converting it to a digital file.

You could take a leaf out of Calvin Harris’ book and record your music relatively inexpensively or kit yourself out with Protools and a host of digital recording equipment and save your tracks on the computer ready to be hosted on iTunes or elsewhere.

Give your podcasts some character by either filming the recording, comparing each ‘episode’ or including some talking heads’ opinion, for example. Podcasts can be sound (a la Ricky Gervais and Karl Pinkerton) or sound with pictures (like the BBC News).

Much like digital radio broadcasts, which can be made available as a podcast, music makers can put one together too. You don’t even have to ‘stream’ the audio or have a hard copy of the file on your computer – podcasts can be done in ‘real time’. If you are the copyright holder, you can feel free to broadcast a show of your work without a problem. A problem might make itself known if you were making your own radio show and broadcasting other people’s music. Familiarise yourself with copyright laws if this is the path you’re going to take.

If you have been reading scenta’s A-Z of making music for a while and are well and truly versed with making your own music, then you are your own copyright holder and can proceed with creating your own podcast.

Some production software has its own functionality for creating podcasts, such as Sony’s Acid Studio and Apple’s GarageBand. Furthermore, if you are making electronic music, GarageBand has a plethora of royalty-free loops ready for use.

On such software, there is an opportunity to make your own musical intros or theme music, or you can even use a microphone to record a vocal introduction. Take some inspiration from a radio show podcast and just go for it. 

Further reading

PodcastAlley

FeedForAll

iTunes

Audactiy

scenta's A-Z in making music

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