Thursday, August 11, 2011

How Podcasts on iTunes Work

A client of mine just asked me a question that I get often regarding podcasts on iTunes. Questions on this topic are frequent and there seems to be a general lack of understanding about how podcasts on iTunes work, so I thought I'd post my answer for others to read as well.

This explanation of how a podcast works with iTunes may help.

iTunes is simply a marketplace for people to find podcasts.
For a podcast to successfully show up in the iTunes store, a few things need to be in place:
1. The podcast file itself (in mp3 or other acceptable format)
2. JPG image that displays as the artwork on the page and on the playback device
3. XML file - which is essentially a file that contains programming that gives iTunes the information it needs to display the podcast info correctly and allow iTunes to know when a new podcast in a series is created

All of these things need to live on a server, somewhere on the internet. iTunes does not store any podcast files.

For a company to put all their podcasts under one account, they'll need to gather all the podcasts together and create an XML file that has the proper iTunes info pointing to the podcasts. Then that will need to be placed with the audio files on a server and that feed will need to be submitted to iTunes.
There is then a review process that takes between 1-7 days before it goes live.

This is a service I provide for my clients during the podcast creation process.

I think the key takeaway here is that all of these files are stored on a server somewhere that is NOT iTunes. iTunes does not store podcasts on their server. The iTunes store is just a good place to find podcasts.

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Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Richard Dodd's Top 10 Recording Tips

I'm not one to recycle copy, but I came across this blurb in the Mix Magazine email and thought it was too apropos not to share with all of you.

Rock on

Ben
www.javboyrecords.com


RICHARD DODD'S TOP 10 RECORDING TIPS

Nashville-based engineer Richard Dodd, whose career credits include artists such as the Little River Band, George Harrison, Joan Baez, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sheryl Crow, and many more, says that in recording, "There are no rules, as long as no harm can come to man or gear."

Here, Dodd offers his personal Top 10 recording tips:

1. Do no harm, step back and make sure that you are not getting 'in the way’ of a good 'sound.'
2. Change, don’t 'tweak;' no one hears 'tweaks.'
3. If someone asks for the vocal up 0.2 dB, laugh as if it’s the funniest joke you’ve ever heard, burst out laughing later, too, and quote the joke. Repeat as needed.
4. Don’t use 'brickwall limiting' on your mix for any reason other than you like it. A good mastering engineer can make it louder/better than you can, but they can’t remove an inappropriate decision.
5. If in doubt, don’t.
6. If it’s 'right,' do it.
7. Be ready: The 'wrong' gear choice that is ready beats waiting past the 'best available performance window.'
8. Share your knowledge.
9. Keep something secret.
10. Stop when you aren’t having fun anymore.

For more on Richard Dodd, watch for Eddie Ciletti's "Tech's Files" column in Mix's May 2008 issue.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Great little multi-tracker

Here's a great little multi-tracker for a little less than usual due to a factory misprint!

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Artists In Their Own Words

Hey all,
I know I haven't posted in a LONG time, but I promise to get back to reviewing gear and giving you some great free advice soon.
In the mean time, check out my new video blog at: www.artistsintheirownwords.blogspot.com

The videos are of me interviewing the artists that come through the studio, finding out about why they make their music. I find it very interesting, although I am a bit biased...

Rock on

Ben
www.javboyrecords.com

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Friday, August 24, 2007

SpiralFrog.com

Just a quick note about the cheapest LEGAL music downloading site out there right now.
It's well-known that I'm a faithful eMusic.com and LaLa.com user, but my latest resource is the not-yet-public SpiralFrog.com.
I think it's by invitation only at this point, but I've been checking it out for the last couple of days. User interface kinda sucks, it's definitely annoying to download albums because you have to sit there and initiate each download as it finishes, and there are many holes in their catalog, but...IT'S FREE!!
The company and the artist get paid through paid advertising on the site. That's why the interface makes sure you sit there and look at the screen during the downloads. An interesting concept, I wonder if it will remain vital. I doubt it, but maybe...
One more downside is that the downloaded files are WMA with Windows DRM protecting them. So for iPod users like me, you have to strip the DRM and convert to MP3 to make any use. Just a couple of extra steps, but worth noting.
Now you have to ask yourself, is it worth the time it takes to get these downloads for free or is your time more valuable?

Right now I'm listening to the excellently funky and beautiful Feist album,
Let It Die. Downloaded from SpiralFrog of course :-)

Rock on

Ben
www.javboyrecords.com

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Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Another Construction Update...




Got some good work done on Tuesday with the help of Dennis Hancock Sr. and Larry Lavelle.
The drywall is up in the iso booth and most of the large live room.
Thumbs healing. Looks like I'll keep that bit. Won't be as impressive, but probably better overall...
















Don't I look like I'm having fun?

Rock on

Ben
www.javboyrecords.com

Friday, July 13, 2007

Ceilings are done!!


Alright!!
The first layer of drywall for the ceilings is done! Thanks to Bob McCouch for helping me start and finish.


Only one problem...I nearly chopped my thumb off!
On the very last cut of the whole thing, the knife slipped off the rule and went through my thumb. One trip to the doctor later, and I may or may not lose that bit. But who really needs the inside quarter of their thumb anyway? Here's a picture of it the next day after it's all fixed up. Now I can truly say that I put my sweat and BLOOD into this project!

Rock on

Ben
www.javboyrecords.com

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Studio Construction Update

Friday, July 06, 2007

Still Under Construction...

Here we are in the middle of July and we're still under construction. But I'm done waiting for contractors, woo hoo!!
Now it's all up to me. Drywall, drywall, drywall.



Rock on

Ben
www.javboyrecords.com

Monday, June 11, 2007

If It Ain't Broke...Audio Recording and Windows Vista

Hola y escuchame

I do a fair amount of remote work (recording and editing). You know, live concerts and such, and recently working with Dr. Pat Carrington (author of books like The Book of Meditation: The Complete Guide to Modern Meditation) on some of her EFT Meditation audio products. So I need a laptop that ALWAYS works and works well without glitches. I don't need a top of the line machine, just something that can record 4 tracks simultaneous (I usually use Cubase for this) without problems and something to run Wavelab for editing sessions. So I've been getting by with a used Dell with a P3 (that's right, less than a gig of processing power). And that's been fine. But during a recent concert recording, it started giving me troubles and then shortly thereafter the power cable started disconnecting randomly and I decided I needed a new laptop, pronto.
I checked around briefly and found a good price on a Toshiba Satellite A135-S2386 with an Intel Dual-Core processor and everything else I need (sans firewire, but let's not get greedy) for only $479. Problem: Windows Vista.

But really, I didn't see one laptop during my succinct search that was running XP, so Vista it is. I'd heard horror stories already about it but I figured it looks kinda like Mac OSX so how bad can it be? The answer: BAD.
I started up my new workstation and it dragged and dragged. Every time I clicked on something I got multiple boxes popping up asking if I really wanted to do that (even just running a program!) and God knows what was running in the background that I couldn't see! Not to mention that most of my audio hardware is not yet compatible with Vista.

So after a short affair with the "latest and greatest" from Microsoft, it was back to Windows XP for me. It was a pain getting the correct drivers for everything, but an evening of frustration is better than a year of anger working on a Vista laptop.

My suggestion to anyone thinking about upgrading just to get the newest thing: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I've been very happy with XP since I started using it about 5 years ago. Until my hardware requires it, I'm staying right where I am. Sorry Mr. Gates.


Studio construction is halted right now while I wait for the electrician to come in. I found a great guy to do the work, Terry Conrad of TL Conrad Electric, but these electrician types are BUSY! So I've just been doing what I can with running my audio cables between rooms and strengthening the frame-work. I may even get to putting a new exterior door in this week...stay tuned.

Right now I'm listening to a great album, Badly Drawn Boy The Hour of Bewilderbeast. Great melodies and great DIY production.

Rock on

Ben
www.javboyrecords.com