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View Full Version : Thinking of Switching to Libsyn



BradShoemaker
02-12-2014, 06:06 PM
After some tweaking, adding shows, working on a new website, etc. I am rethinking my choice for Amazon S3.


The costs have been steadily rising (still very cheap compared to typical hosting).
Setting up metrics are a bitch.


Granted they are two things that aren't that horrible; however, I have to setup almost everything manually each time. Libsyn, seems like it will be just as cheap (especially as more and more people listen or download the shows) and it seems like the metrics would be more reliable.

I know I have been a fervent supporter of S3 as it is kind of a Dumb Host where I can just host it and do what I want how I want, but sometimes as I am taking on more responsibility, it seems like it might be easier to let a host like Libsyn to the heavy lifting...What are your thoughts?

PaulSaunders
02-13-2014, 11:54 AM
Libsyn has really good stuff. If you have one or two shows its pretty good. If you do a lot of shows it can cost a pretty penny

BradShoemaker
02-13-2014, 11:57 AM
Libsyn has really good stuff. If you have one or two shows its pretty good. If you do a lot of shows it can cost a pretty penny

Yeah we do one a week and I'm thinking to host the audio on Libsyn while keeping the video on S3, as posting all the video would put me up to well over $300 a month.

andrewzarian
02-13-2014, 12:22 PM
Many podcasters use Libsyn and love it. Its definitely worth checking out.

Brad is that what you are currently spending with Amazon?

jamesdelfresco
02-13-2014, 12:27 PM
they are the best for hosting and providing stats. I really like the service.

BradShoemaker
02-13-2014, 12:34 PM
Many podcasters use Libsyn and love it. Its definitely worth checking out.

Brad is that what you are currently spending with Amazon?

Not yet. As the show has gotten more popular and as I've added more shows, which have their own audience, it fluctuates between $25 - $100. (depends mainly on what the audience is for that particular month).

So I started looking at alternatives because I can see this getting out of hand at some point. It should be noted that several months ago I started adding video into the mix as well. Before I was content with just letting a free service like YouTube host it.

(side note) Before YT I was using Blip, but decided to move off of it early due to their myriad of changes... Plus, the shows hosted on Blip we canceled. I never moved our main show over there. (end side note)

So Over the last several months as I've been rethinking and trying to get a better workflow going, I've been changing up a lot of the things that I started with 3 years ago.

I would also say that stats are the driving factor. I have been using s3stats which isn't the laid out stats that I would like. They are more into giving you the raw numbers of hits, etc and I have to basically extrapolate conclusions myself.

podcast411
02-13-2014, 01:19 PM
If anyone has any specific questions about libsyn - please let me know - rob (at) libsyn (dot) com

Per the question of Libsyn or Amazon S3 - all I will say is look where Amazon actually hosts their podcasts :)