Why do so many Podcasts sound bad?

[jamesdelfresco]

I have been listening to many podcasts over the past few months trying to figure out the right and wrong thing to do and my question to all your audio experts is why are there so many shows out there that sound bad. Is it the inability to hear whats wrong or is it that they dont care? I was listening to a home improvment show and the content was amazing but the show sounded really bad. Makes it hard to listen to the show

[andrewzarian]

Well... It comes down to the things you listed.

1. Most people cant hear it. Their ears are not trained to hear whats good and whats not.

2. Budget. We have to remember that many people are working with a tight budget and can not invest a lot of money into their podcast. Its a hobby and it takes time.

[erictimmer]

Some people need to be told that they need to work on the quality. Perhaps email them and suggest a setup.

[BradShoemaker]

As Andrew said, a lot of people don't have that fine tuned ear. Some can hear music and tell when it is compressed, such as an mp3, and when it is not.

As for telling people. Be very careful when you start out that conversation unsolicited. You might be trying to help, but people get very touchy about what they do when criticism comes their way. I'm one that doesn't care and prefer people to give me an honest opinion and not sugar coat it, but a lot of people don't have the thick skin required for even the slightest of critiques.

[mcphillips]

When people ask my opinion, I willingly give it, but most of the time they just want to argue or disagree. That's okay by me.

[podcastcoach]

One other hurdle. Time. I've embarrassed myself a number of times because I was in a hurry.

[andrewzarian]

Brad you are 100% correct. Many people get very touchy when you give them constructive criticism. I was asked by someone to help them out and when I told them the things that were wrong they kept denying it and telling me they dont hear it.

[JaseRossi]

I think what Andrew and Mike have said is 100 percent correct. Most people can't or don't want to hear it. I have been doing this since 2003 and I still tweak and try to get the best audio. Getting perfect audio is an art form within it self.

You will always be battling that issue. Budget has a BIG thing to do with it too. Most people starting out are using low grade equipment. Which ALL of us have done that. We have to start somewhere. The best thing to do is to ask people, get help and do as many test broadcasts and recordings as you can do.

When asking for help DO NOT get mad about it. We are all here to help everyone become better broadcasters.

Trust me if Andrew or Mike or anyone came to me and said Hey! You got problems. I would be happy to hear and work with them to help me fix it.