Before this course: Podcast Growth: audience and monetisation (course 4.6.3), which builds on Podcast Production (course 4.6.2) and Podcasting Basics (course 4.6). You can already record, edit, publish, read your numbers, grow and earn from a show. This course asks a new question: how do you run shows when other people do much of the work, or when the show belongs to someone else?
01
What a podcast producer does
In simple words
A cook makes one meal. A head chef runs the kitchen: plans the menu, picks the cooks, checks every plate before it goes out, and makes sure dinner is ready on time every night. A podcast producer is the head chef of a show.
Key facts
- Common roles on a show (names vary between teams):
| Role | Main job |
|---|---|
| Host | The voice of the show; leads the conversation |
| Producer | Plans episodes, books guests, runs the schedule, checks quality, keeps the show on time |
| Editor / audio engineer | Edits, mixes and masters the audio (and video, if any) |
| Executive producer | Owns the budget, the client relationship or the network's direction |
| Network | A group of shows that share people, standards, sales or promotion |
- A producer owns four things: the show (what it is and who it is for), the pipeline (how an episode goes from idea to published), the people (who does what, with what access) and the standards (what must be true before anything goes live).
- An expert producer is measured by whether the show is reliable without them doing every task: episodes go out on time, at the right quality, with every right, release and disclosure in place.
- Numbers still matter. Apple Podcasts Connect counts followers, listeners, engaged listeners and plays (course 4.6.3, lesson 1). A producer picks a few numbers and checks them on a schedule instead of watching everything.
Step by step
- Write one sentence for your show (or a client's): "This show helps [listener] to [result] in [format and length]."
- List every task needed for one episode, from idea to publishing.
- Next to each task, write who does it today.
- Mark each of the four areas (show, pipeline, people, standards) as Strong, Shaky or Missing.
- Choose up to four numbers you will check, and how often.
- Check: you have a half-page "producer's page" with one sentence, a task list with owners, four ratings and your numbers.
Watch on YouTube
Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.
LESSON 01What a podcast producer does
Read the video script
[Host] "A cook makes one meal. A head chef runs the kitchen."
[Text on screen: Show. Pipeline. People. Standards.] "A producer owns four things: the show, the pipeline, the people and the standards."
[Screen: task list with names] "Write every task for one episode, and who does it."
[Host] "Your goal is a show that runs well even on the day you are not there."
Try it now
Write your producer's page: the show sentence, the task list with owners, the four ratings and the numbers you will watch.
ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude
Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.
For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.
I'm learning "Podcast Producer: run a show or network" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "What a podcast producer does". What the lesson teaches: - Common roles on a show (names vary between teams): - Role - Main job - Host - The voice of the show; leads the conversation - Producer - Plans episodes, books guests, runs the schedule, checks quality, keeps the show on time - Editor / audio engineer - Edits, mixes and masters the audio (and video, if any) - Executive producer - Owns the budget, the client relationship or the network's direction - Network - A group of shows that share people, standards, sales or promotion The exercise I'm working on: Write your producer's page: the show sentence, the task list with owners, the four ratings and the numbers you will watch. I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "What a podcast producer does" from the course "Podcast Producer: run a show or network". Here's what the lesson says: A cook makes one meal. A head chef runs the kitchen: plans the menu, picks the cooks, checks every plate before it goes out, and makes sure dinner is ready on time every night. A podcast producer is the head chef of a show. The activity: Write your producer's page: the show sentence, the task list with owners, the four ratings and the numbers you will watch. Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Sources
- Apple Podcasts for Creators, Analytics (followers, listeners, engaged listeners, plays): podcasters.apple.com/support/5392-listener-analytics
My notes
Saved on this device
02
Producing for clients: brief, scope and ownership
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03
Build and lead a production team
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04
Accounts, access and handing over a show
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05
The pipeline and the quality gate
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06
Running a network: shared standards, feeds and advertising
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07
Guests, privacy, reviews and teaching others
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++
Final project
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??
Quiz
What four things does a podcast producer own?
The show, the pipeline, the people and the standards.
What should a scope of work say about ownership?
Who owns the raw recordings, the finished episodes, the music and artwork made for the show, and whether the producer may use the work in a portfolio.
Why should a client normally own the feed and platform accounts?
So the show does not break if the producer leaves; the producer is invited as a team member.
What is a change request, and how should you handle it?
Work outside the scope; write it down, price it and get a written yes before doing it.
What decides whether a team member is an employee or a contractor?
The real working relationship, not just the word in the contract; check your country's rules.
Three shows each publish 4 episodes a month, and each episode needs 4.5 hours. How many hours is that, and with a 20% buffer?
54 hours, and 64.8 hours with the buffer.
On Apple Podcasts Connect, what show access does a new user get if you do not change it?
Access to all shows.
Why should every person have their own login?
So you know who changed what and can remove one person without affecting the others.
What loudness and true peak does Apple's audio guidance give?
About -16 LKFS with a ±1 dB tolerance, and true peak at or below -1 dB FS.
What must never change about an episode when you move a feed?
Its GUID.
How long does Apple say to keep a self-hosted 301 redirect and new-feed-url tag?
At least four weeks.
What makes a teaching session work?
A clear goal, one idea, one example, one practice task and one check.
EX
Final exam
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CE
Certificate
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