What Does a Podcast Producer Do?

Merriam-Webster defines a producer as “a person who supervises or finances a work (such as a staged or recorded performance) for exhibition or dissemination to the public”. Technically, this is correct. We at Volubility Podcasting do supervise the creation of a podcast – and so much more (unlike some of our competitors).

What does a podcast producer do?

We produce audio for flow so it sounds natural

Many podcast producers send their clients recordings that may require several rounds of revisions until the content is ready for release. This is expensive, time-consuming, and tedious for the client.

At Volubility Podcasting, our goal is to hit a home run at every at-bat. The first recording our clients receive is agency quality. And this is because we wear two hats: audio editor and producer.

As soon as we have the transcript, we send it to the client so they can edit it and say, “We don’t want to include this” or “We really want to keep this”.

In reality, we might have to keep something you edited out, because otherwise the audio doesn’t flow quite right. No matter what, we creatively edit the audio so it achieves your message, includes your language, and still sounds like a natural conversation. Our goal is seamless edits – not audio that sounds like it’s been cut and edited.

Because we don’t have a “traditional” producer on our team who is trying to shape the story, we have the freedom to work more quickly. As I said above, we edit the audio based on edited transcripts, which allows us to make creative decisions and produce a high-quality first recording.

We provide podcast production management (aka, hold hands)

Production management means expecting the unexpected – and handling it quickly – during pre-production, production, and post-production. We think of ourselves as problem-solvers.

During pre-production meetings, we find out who is recording, where they are recording, when the recording needs to take place. We help coordinate the constantly changing schedules of hosts and guests and make sure everyone receives a headset that is compatible with their computer, well in advance of the scheduled recording. 

We also select the music for your intro and outro. Using our “producer’s ear”, we can identify a handful of on-point selections that fit your criteria, align with your podcast’s brand, and pace well with your show hosts’ natural cadence.

During actual production – when we are recording the podcast – we are there with you. If a guest cannot connect, we will troubleshoot it immediately. If something happens during the recording – perhaps a train whistle drowns out the audio – we will ask the speaker to start over. Sure, we can fix things in post-production – but we’d rather tackle the problem in real time.

Once post-production is complete, we consult on loading the final approved podcast to an RSS feed that distributes to all the podcasting platforms. And we make sure all those moving parts on the internet work together.

We can work with anyone. We have handled organizations of all shapes and sizes, productions of various scopes, guests and hosts sitting at their personal computers in every corner of the world, and high-profile guests and hosts like CEOs, senators, ambassadors – even the Director of the CIA.

At the end of the day, our full-service operation is inclusive of the responsibilities of a producer, audio editor, and IT support. We know how to make a quality end product and stay calm along the way (more on this below).

We keep you on time and on budget

Keeping projects on time and on budget is part of production management.

For our larger clients, timelines can be stretched out from days to weeks. We send out regular reminders to keep the ball rolling, especially with timely content.

We also start editing as soon as we have the recording. While our clients are going through the transcript to remove redundant or irrelevant content, we are editing out excessive “ums” and “likes”.

When problems arise, there can be cost ramifications. We provide creative solutions that turn a seemingly catastrophic problem into a manageable strategy.

We stay calm

Podcasting requires a cool head, especially when technical hurdles arise. The internet is inconsistent, so when we record podcasts remotely, we do run into the occasional recording delay.

After about 10 minutes or so of troubleshooting (sometimes even less), hosts usually start to panic that their guests are becoming inpatient. It’s always best to have a producer in the room that will keep everyone calm and tackle the problem, so we don’t have to reschedule.

At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, we did the best we could with the swift transition to remote recording. If I had a dollar for every time I said, “It’s OK – let’s wait for that person who just dropped off to rejoin,” I could dine at a Michelin-starred restaurant tonight.

And if we do have to pivot due to time constraints, I remind my clients that it’s not a big deal. We can reschedule.

What don’t we do?

Three things we don’t do are book guests, schedule studios, and control creative content.

We used to schedule studio time, but everything is recorded remotely now. However, if a client is in Austin (or anywhere in the world for that matter) and needs a studio, we will research studios and provide options.

Booking guests is time-consuming and therefore incredibly expensive. I would have to find a producer with expertise in your industry to research, contact, and book guests. Our clients can do it better and faster than we can.

And we don’t touch content because our clients are the subject matter experts, not us.

In short, we stay within our wheelhouse and do what’s best for our clients and their budgets.

We’ll make the podcast process easy for you

If you want to work with a podcast producer who will make the process easy, let’s work together.

Since 2017, we have helped small businesses, nonprofits, law firms, large corporations and the PR and marketing firms who collaborate with them produce exceptional podcasts. Email us at info@volubilitypodcasting.com.