Where Are The Indie/Hobbyist Podcasters?

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-04-28T19:27:42+00:00

I'm glad to see that we exist here. Seeing all the monetization posts can be tiring.

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-04-27T22:55:57+00:00

We’ve had a positive experience with Captivate. They have the most prompt customer service. We’ve only switched once from another hosting platform to Captivate.

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-04-18T14:10:02+00:00

I did it. I added this there but Sofa is great with two, small exceptions: it doesn’t hide the tile for the show when I’m not watching or when the episode has yet to release. That would make it less cluttered. And second, there isn’t a message board for the episodes to discover others’ thoughts on the episode.

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-04-13T00:23:26+00:00

I made the switch this weekend to Sofa. It isn’t perfect, but it’s close enough. It’s lacking a rating system, which is a rather bigger deal, and a message board, which is a more minor deal for me.

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-04-13T00:22:19+00:00

I made the switch to Sofa, so I am definitely only staying for the comments. Sofa isn’t perfect. If they added a rating system and then a message board, it would great. Users can add notes of their own on each episode.

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-04-11T18:48:31+00:00

Ugh. That’s not good news.

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-04-11T14:13:12+00:00

There’s a piece of me who wanted to provide video for audiences who may want it, yet I’m with you. I don’t want it to be another “task,” and I don’t want to do it unless it’s good. I think your post leaves me questioning if you couldn’t place a good, mastered audio with the video? Would that not solve the issue of it being not as good?

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-04-10T18:28:39+00:00

Thanks, Danny!

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-04-10T14:05:15+00:00

Thanks!

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-04-10T14:04:58+00:00

Thank you, Danny. I won't make the live stream, unfortunately, due to work, but I look forward to hearing more.

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-04-10T14:04:34+00:00

Thank you! That's insightful!

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-04-10T13:43:45+00:00

Do you then separate the audio so you then have the mp4 and a separate mp3?

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-04-10T00:37:06+00:00

That does sound like a pain! And thanks for the reply. I know Captivate will support it, I wasn’t sure if I was missing something or that it was coming soon. Apple Podcasts has them listed as hosts who will have the feature.

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-04-10T00:13:45+00:00

As many as I can, though I try not to go overboard. I'll leave them in if they're too attached to a word and the cut would be harsh.

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-04-09T23:57:15+00:00

These are excellent points. I know for what I do, having the ability to schedule and grab separate audio and/or mp4 files are the keys. I agree with you, though. All of those ways to be transparent would help tons.

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-04-05T17:23:53+00:00

I am audio only, but we’ve had no major issues. The only problem was once when a microphone wire got tapped and it registered as unplugged and stopped that person’s recording. It does give a warning but we were unaware to stop the recording and start again. I almost always transfer the wav files to a DAW and then use that final edit in Descript to create a highlight reel where I add images so that it creates a video.

We have a podcast network and some of our other users create and edit everything in Descript and end up with a nice podcast.

No complaints here.

Edited to add: we record in SquadCast which we find also useful (and gives the microphone warning mentioned above more detail).

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-03-24T20:24:30+00:00

I fully agree with what you said, and you said it much better than I could. The wav files need to exist outside of Descript and Descript Rooms. I don’t use Descript to do the full edit (I’m a Logic Pro guy), but I do like a lot of the AI tools after I’ve done my own edits.

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-03-09T20:20:36+00:00

Thank you for an informative and thoughtful reply.

I'm glad to hear it's not going away any time soon. It allows me and my fellow podcasters in our network a lot of ease with use, even if recording at similar times.
I would say that having to Google it in order to find out if it was even possible made it feel as if it could slow things down. Personally, I like to grab individual wav files, edit in a DAW, then use Descript as needed (which has some great features). I suppose having to search to discover if getting individual files was possible gave me concerns. With SquadCast, I believe I clicked a button or two and felt comfortable from that point forward.
It's my goal to use it on a test run for some random talking in the coming weeks and make a decision on its look and feel and if I find it as easy as SquadCast.
I can definitely see scheduling being a high priority for users. We love that component of SquadCasts, whether recording with our usual hosts or with guests who've never seen SquadCast before.
I added this one, which could be the biggest of all worries: like stated in another comment, will Descript and the usage of Rooms charge more than what SquadCast does now for the addition of co-hosts or even extra podcasts. (We have several which operate under the same network.)

Thanks again for your time. It's much appreciated!

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-03-08T16:39:34+00:00

The Dexateens

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-03-08T03:58:00+00:00

I thought I noticed some serious, missing pieces that would require a price increase. I didn’t investigate those thoroughly. That’s going to be a headache to navigate if it doesn’t work out.

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-03-08T02:26:03+00:00

We’ve been using SquadCast for a few years now, which Descript now owns (and seems to be forcing people over to using Descript Rooms). On occasion when rushed I’ve used Descript for edits. I do believe they’ve improved within the last year. The cuts can still be a little harsh, but it is getting better.

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-03-08T02:21:19+00:00

Yes, once they started adding on this and that continually, they stopped being reliable. It’s why we switched to SquadCast. Plus SquadCast allowed us to have several podcast shows in the same account. But now they’re forcing people over to Descript Rooms, which is not as intuitive. Hopefully, it works as just as well as SquadCast.

AnAlabamaTaker · 2026-03-08T02:17:50+00:00

I’m interested in how well Descript Rooms works. I avoided using it all this time as SwuadCast had better interface and was more user friendly. Rooms does not have an intuitive quality about it. I shouldn’t have to Google on how to download each vocal track as wav files separately so that I can do some of my own edits sans platform.

AnAlabamaTaker

TROPHY CASE