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We all have something to say, and podcasts are a great way to get your voice out there. No matter the topic, from sports, to politics, to entertainment, and everything in between, podcasts can get your ideas and thoughts out into the world.
While it’s easy to have an idea for podcast, it isn’t always easy to come up with the tools needed to create your podcast. That’s where Podcast Detroit comes in. Self-proclaimed by its co-owners and co-founders Bob Waltenspiel and Dave Phillips as the “easy button for podcasters,” Podcast Detroit gives aspiring podcasters all the tools they need to make a successful podcast.
“We’ve got the tech and the engineers, while [podcasters] only have to worry about the content. We have built a fun, unique environment,” Phillips said.
Waltenspiel and Phillips began their own podcast in June 2013 called “IT in the D,” which they described as what tech guys would talk about at a bar over a couple drinks. That show has grown over the years, so much so that they needed their own studio to record it. When people realized that they were using the studio for just two hours a week, they began to ask if they could also use the studio, and that gave Waltenspiel and Phillips the idea of Podcast Detroit.
They launched the studio in July 2015 and by January 2016 they were so overbooked they needed to find another studio, which they did in Royal Oak. Podcast Detroit is now home to over 90 shows a week and continues to grow.
Waltenspiel and Phillips do semi-regular Podcaster Meetups where they meet with local podcast hosts and talk about their shows. These events were great, but they realized they could help even more people get into podcasts if they offered Free Podcast Day, which they began late last year. The response has been fantastic and is regularly overbooked with aspiring podcasters.
Free Podcast Day takes place on the first Saturday of every month and attendees are able to enjoy all the amenities Podcast Detroit has to offer for free. Podcasters are able to go to Podcast Detroit’s studios in Royal Oak and use their state-of-the-art equipment to record one 30 to 60 minute episode with an engineer assisting them throughout the process. If you are interested, you must register beforehand on the website specifying how many people you’ll have, when you want to record, and how long you think the episode will be.
“We do everything we do for our regular clients. An engineer is there to walk them through everything and all they have to worry about is the content,” Phillips said. “It allows people to get the experience and to see the process of making a podcast.”
It’s a great way to see if that podcast idea you have is something you can turn into a reality. Waltenspiel and Phillips were able to do that with “IT in the D” and now want to return the favor to metro Detroiters with that same dream. The two have created both a wildly successful podcast and a podcast studio, and say that commitment is the biggest key to any successful podcast.
“It’s gotta be something you’re passionate about and you have to be committed,” Phillips said. “Training listeners is a time consuming process, if they expect weekly you have to give them an episode every week.”
To learn more about everything Podcast Detroit has to offer, be sure to visit their website and Facebook page. Along with the Free Podcast Day, Podcast Detroit will also be having its Metro Detroit Podcaster Meetup on May 10.
