In a piece for RAIN News, Deborah Mannis-Gardner delivers a clear overview of music licensing for podcasts. Dubbed the ‘Queen of Sample Clearance’ by Forbes, Mannis-Gardner has been a leading expert in global licensing since the 1990s and recently took over music clearances for Broken Record.
“Music licensing for podcasts is still in its infancy, meaning the process is somewhat ill-defined and can be difficult to navigate for an independent podcaster,” Mannis-Gardner writes. The article covers synchronization licenses, the pitfalls of unreliable ‘fair use’ labels, and more essential topics.
Services are on the way, like Soundstripe, Stationhead, and the podcastmusic.com project by SoundExchange and SourceAudio. In the meantime, Mannis-Gardner aims to “help podcasters and rights-holders come to an understanding on fair license rates that won’t break the bank.”
As podcasters of true crime, history, and celebrity gossip can attest, fact-checking is an essential practice in nonfiction. Holly J. Morris and Jerome Socolovsky of the NPR Training team have developed a useful triage method to help compartmentalize the process.
The triage provides a “framework for making quick decisions about what to confirm, cut and/or attribute.” Begin with these questions: How controversial is the fact? How easy or difficult is it to verify? Coupling the answers to those questions can determine your next best step.
After all, “If you spend hours triple-checking even the most plausible tidbit of non-controversial information […] you might never get the story out.” To “illustrate the challenge of categorizing a fact,” the team provides the intuitive, pleasingly colored grid as a full-size PDF.
Dan Misener wants podcasters to know that there’s an art and science to optimizing show descriptions. In a Pacific Content post, he explains why these snippets are a crucial part of a show’s first impression ― for both humans and search engines.
Lengthwise, “half of all podcasts use less than 163 of the 4,000 characters available.” (The 4,000 figure applies to Apple Podcasts.) Your entire show description won’t be displayed on most apps, so it’s key to identify and open with “the hookiest, most important human-readable details.”
However, a description must be found before it can impress potential listeners. As Misener asks, “Are you making the most of the space you have?” Adding “meaningful, relevant keywords” will improve SEO while helping to nail down a concise identity for the show.
The podcasting community is full of talent and resources, but are you finding the opportunities you need to grow? The NACHO global marketplace is the destination for podcasters and podcast-related services to sell, rent, swap and share goods and services.
Podcasters use NACHO to book better guests, sell their own ad inventory, buy and sell gear, and more. Shows can even trade cross-promotion, one of the most effective tools to expand audiences. Looking to reach podcasters? Editing and creative services like production, mixing, and graphic design are offering services to creators worldwide.
NACHO is the podcast community’s clear, organized bulletin board. Find services by category and shows by genre ― niche is no problem. Ready to buy, sell, pitch, and show what you’ve got?
Create your account for free and make your first post.
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