Podcast Safe Music

Podcasting is the new thing in broadcasting nowadays. Practically anyone can create his own podcast and make himself known to the world. Perhaps the best thing about podcasting is that it is meant to be free. In addition to that, podcasts transcend the boundaries of traditional broadcasting. You may be from the US but anyone with access to the internet can listen to your podcast. A person may be in Timbuktu and yet have access to your podcast.

Music is inherent to the success of any podcast. It adds spice and flavor to an otherwise bland broadcast. That is why a large pool of resources has been developed by people in the podcasting community. Beginners and veterans a like search for the perfect background music or filler sounds for every podcast they make. So how do you go about looking for that spice?

Despite the freedom provided by podcasting, there are some issues you must address before jumping into the bandwagon and creating your own podcast. Copyright and intellectual property rights have been a main concern in all aspects of broadcasting for some time now and podcasting is not exempt from that. As a result, the term podsafe has come into existence. What exactly is podsafe? This term encompasses any material that may be used for podcasts without violating any copyright or license. A special thing about podsafe material is that the very same material might require some sort of license in other media but totally safe for podcasting. Due to the open community nature of podcasting, many songs, music, and other type of materials are allowed to be used for free exclusively for podcasts. While you might have to acquire the permission of the copyright holder for other broadcasting media, with podsafe material, you can use it freely in podcasts.

Some specific kinds of work are inherently podsafe. Works that fall under the public domain or some works with Creative Commons licenses can be used in podcasts without any issues. They are meant to be used, and used freely.

There are some entities on the web that license music especially for podcasts. Their podcast safe music is generally available to anyone for downloading and for use in free broadcasts over the internet. The only restriction they have is for the user to duly acknowledge the source. Anyone may also post music on their sites as long as the piece of work is totally original.

Some sites make their music available for no fee at all. On the other hand there are sites which promote artists – particularly independent ones – and charge a small fee for downloading their songs. Notably, these sites also offer labeled artists and are supposed to split the downloading fees with them.

The important thing to bear in mind when looking for podcast safe music is that most of the groups offering materials make them available to the general public for free. The caveat is that your podcast must not be used for commercial purposes. If that is the case, then you will have no problems finding the right track for your podcast.

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PodCast Marketing: How Effectively Are You Deploying This Definitive Marketing Solution?

Each day starts and usually ends with the same BIG question. Our clients and prospects ask us, "How can I grow my business and capture my fair market share?" Our answer is quite simply, "Build yourself a base of prospects and work that pipeline relentlessly and efficiently."

One BIG tip that I can offer you as read my short synopsis today, learn how to become a successful PodCaster and watch your bottom-line fly skyward!

Over the past decade, the Internet has created many new breakthrough marketing mediums. From successful ezine publishing and distribution straight through to more pronounced search engine optimization practices.

As a television and radio broadcaster/marketing consultant, I have had the sincere pleasure of understanding just how important both the radio and television marketing methods are to businesses and individuals in getting the word out to their prospective audience.

Our weekly online radio show, Net Talk Radio has been received very well amongst listeners and advertisers alike. I guess I always knew that in time, connectivity speeds and portable hand-held devices would ultimately allow for a more expansive target audience reach.

The day has finally arrived!

Although, we began using our online talk radio format years ago, we are now able to sweeten the pie by allowing our listeners to almost effortlessly download our show (information and entertainment) right into the iPod and iRiver devices. Now our audience can listen where ever and whenever "they" like. Plus, as an added-value benefit to us and our valuable advertisers, we can track every hit (listener) around the clock for about the cost of a cup of coffee! We make all this happen by deploying one of today's best emerging audio/blogging technologies popularly referred to as, "PodCasting".

PodCast Marketing: *Anyone Can Do This!

First, What is Podcasting?

Podcasting is a term that manifested as a fresh way to describe the technology used to push (share) audio content from web sites down to consumers (clients) of that content, who usually listen to it on an iPod (hence the term "pod") or any other type of .mp3 player (iRiver) at their command, convenience and control.

PodCasting is somewhat similar to the concept of time-shifted video software and devices like TiVo, which let you watch what you want exactly when you want it by simply recording and storing video, except that PodCasting is primarily used for audio to date. (Universal video deployment is most likely just around the corner.) With that stated I should explain, however, that this easy to use emerging technology can be used to push (deploy) any kind of file such as photos (images), software updates, videos and/or text.

PodCasting uses an XML-based technology called RSS (Real Simple Syndication). Content publishers (PodCasters) describe new content in an XML RSS file which includes dates, titles, descriptions, and specifics links to the .mp3 files. This "automatically" generated file is referred to as an RSS feed. Dave Winer is considered by many to be the creator of RSS and a pioneer in the environment of applied XML. The component to making PodCasting work with RSS is "enclosures" (remember that term), an element supported by RSS 2.0.

As a consumer or end-user, you simply run an "aggregator" (remember this term, too) program like MTV's Adam Curry's iPodder software on your local computer, which lets you easily subscribe to RSS feeds. Programs like Adam's will either by schedule or by random design, download the RSS files, and check to see if any fresh content is available. If new content exists, the audio files are automatically downloaded and put into a folder (of your choice) on your hard disk or directly routed to your mp3 player.

I used an asterisk as noted above to make this very honest and often painful-to-some disclaimer. When I stated that "Anyone Can Do This", I should more accurately state, "Anyone that properly learns (from a real professional) and activates their own PodCast process can reap the significant harvest of BIGGER numbers by creating and nurturing their own emerging community. As an online business owner this is HUGE and required! This marketing solution can not only make you financially solvent, it can even make you a "STAR"!

Fitting The PodCast Magic Into Your Arsenal

Here now is a list of things to do to prepare yourself for your first PodCast presentation.

1. Research The PodCast Element

Learn precisely what PodCasting is all about and how it works. I recommend visiting http://www.google.com and typing, "PodCast Radio" into the search field.

2. Physically Search Out Only The True Professionals

Create a list of those PodCasters that undeniably know exactly what they are doing. Align your yourself with only the best. From this list, call them on the phone and pick their brain(s). If you cannot locate an actual telephonic point of contact, I strongly urge you to wipe them from your list. You want to do business with those that believe in "touching" their market with more intimacy and one-to-one personalization rather than just an email. Remember, you are looking for a friend. A mentor. Not necessarily someone to take your money and be off. A solid partnership (friendship) is your objective here.

3. Discover Your Passion

What passion do you share with others? What true value will your audience glean from you? Who is your target audience? Understand your "WHY"!

4. Develop Your Plan & Work Your Process

What do you need to learn? What do you need to do? What specific date will you be ready? Who will provide you with the support you will need to fulfill your plan. What equipment is required?

5. Make Your Podcast Happen!

As you roll out your "new-to-you" adventure, don't expect total perfection on day one. Be kind to yourself and know that you will evolve. We all started from square one. You should have heard my first radio air check from my first radio gig in Bakersfield, California. I sounded just like a bumbling knucklehead. :-) Enough practice and desire can make you near perfect, but do be fair with you and give yourself time to grow.

Listen to other Pro-PodCasters. Listen to your local radio stations. Read books and articles like this one on a daily basis. (I do it everyday!)

6. Finally... No Excuses!

If you "really" want to crank up the heat on your marketing efforts, than PodCasting will give you the significant marketing advantage.

Know this...

Others will talk about it, but never make their move.

You, on the other hand, will except no feeble excuses and get working on your very first PodCast right away! (At the very least, be sure to move PodCasting up near the top of "TO-DO" list!

In closing today...

I have illustrated only a fraction of what you must know before you go piling into your PodCast endeavor full steam ahead. Be sure to identify and experiment with all angles of marketing when it comes to producing an on-going, money-generating PodCast production for all the world to hear and take notice!

Happy PodCast Marketing!

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Podcast Learning

Imagine a mobile classroom that’s accessible to the student wherever he or she may be, and that holds lectures whenever he or she is in the mood for it. This is the kind of learning scenario that those with the knowledge to share are able to provide through Podcasts. With these downloadable files from different learning sources, portable digital audio and video players now offer the anytime, anywhere option to learning.

Before the iPod and other portable media players became popular not so long ago, on-demand learning was possible through audiotapes and compact discs primarily featuring audio versions of books. Now that more advanced technology has made it possible for more people to make podcasts at a smaller cost, more and more of these audio lectures are turning up, thus more information in this format has become available to just about anyone.

Aside from being able to choose the time and venue for your learning experience, as a podcast user, you are also able to dictate the pace, as well as be able to better retain the information by replaying, or learning by repetition. This method of learning, however, will not provide you with clarifications in case something in the content of the podcast is unclear to you. Yet it provides students a convenient means of preparing for class discussions and quizzes, even while on the commute to school.

Visiting podcast directories aimed to answer the user’s learning needs, one will find podcasts on science, language, philosophy, management, history, and arts, to name a few subject groups that may be included in the student’s curriculum at school. There are also podcasts on the topics of spirituality, self-development, and professional advice. Of course, podcast versions of many major literary works that may be discussed in class are also accessible through the Internet.

Meanwhile, you can also check on the biographical background of an important figure you’re studying, from scientists to philosophers, from artists to political figures. For the more practical learners, podcasts of language courses are becoming more and more popular, as the portable media players make it easier for learners to check back on different parts of the lecture without much delay. There are also pieces on hobbies, sports, travel, and even teaching for professional teachers.

Sooner or later, teachers and professors will catch on and even look around on the Internet for “recommended listening” to prescribe to their students. They may even rise up to the challenge of providing their lectures in podcast format and making them available to students online even for the purpose of reviewing or helping students who missed the actual lecture. Whatever development arises from this technological advancement, it just goes to show how much technology has affected how people learn.

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