Zach Moreno, SquadCast’s co-founder and CEO, and Arielle Nissenblatt, our Community Manager, are on the show today for a quick check-in chat. Listen in to hear about V5, how to get featured on our show, our new podcast, and more. We’re back next week with another feed drop from an amazing SquadCast content creator!

Here’s what they discuss

  • SquadCast’s upcoming software update and when to expect it; including new features, pricing changes, and how it’ll better amplify collaboration among creators
  • How to apply to have an episode of your podcast dropped into our show’s feed
  • The new SquadCast podcast (coming soon)!

Links mentioned

Credits

  • Written and produced by Arielle Nissenblatt
  • Mixed and designed by Vince Moreno Jr.
  • Artwork and logos by Alex Whedbee
  • Hosted by Zach Moreno and Rock Felder

Episode Transcriptions

KEITH CASEBONNE: Hi, my name is Keith. And before we get to this week’s episode of Between Two Mics, I want to tell you about another show I think you’re gonna love, and it’s recorded on SquadCast. I host You First: The Disability Rights Florida Podcast. We dig into issues of national and global importance to people with disabilities. You may or may not have a disability, but you probably know someone who does. So tune in and learn a thing or two. You can find it wherever you get podcasts or on our website at disabilityrightsflorida.org/podcast. All right, let’s get to Between Two Mics. 

ARIELLE NISSENBLATT: Hey, welcome to the show! This is The SquadCast Podcast. 

ZACHARIAH MORENO: I’m Zach.

ARIELLE: And I’m Arielle. And if you’re new here, SquadCast is a remote recording platform that empowers content creators to record studio quality audio and video. I am not usually Zach’s cohost, but I am here today. I am SquadCast community manager. And Zach, what are we obsessed with?

ZACH: Our mission is to amplify collaboration. And we do that for content creators. And we’ve been doing that since we got started in 2016.

ARIELLE: On the show, we demo our own software. We discuss current podcast events. We interview creators, and we explore podcast tech and thought questions. Let’s get into today’s show. 

So thank you for tuning in. For the past few weeks, we’ve been showing off podcast episodes that have been recorded on SquadCast by way of feed drops. We’ve shown off the work of Espree Devora, Pat Flynn, ‘I Know Dino,’ Jordan Harbinger, Manny Faces, and many, many more creators. And there is so much more to come because we recently did a contest. We had folks leave us reviews on Podchaser during hashtag reviews for good month in April. And a lot of people left us reviews, and that means all of them are entered to have their podcast dropped on our feed. We’re gonna be getting in contact with them shortly, but that was a really fun way to learn about some amazing podcasts that are being recorded right here on SquadCast. Zach, why are we doing this? 

ZACH: For one reason, we love showing off the incredible content that gets recorded on this platform. We also love giving your content a larger platform. And last, but certainly not least we’ve been working on revamping our podcast and running feed drops from SquadCast recorded shows lets us take a break while also showing y’all off. Notice that when you first tuned in, we didn’t refer to this podcast as  Between Two Mics, but The SquadCast Podcast. That’s because we’re toying around with some new names, and we’ve got some changes coming very soon. 

ARIELLE: So today, as you might have noticed, we’re taking a break from the break. No feed drop today. Though, we’ll be back next week with another one. So stay tuned because we’re gonna let you know how to apply to have your podcast dropped on this feed. But today we wanted to take a break and tell you about what we’ve been working on behind the scenes at SquadCast.

ZACH: Yeah, we’ve been working on revamping the podcast, but we’re also working on a huge update to the SquadCast platform. A really, really big update, our biggest update yet. So we wanted to take the next few minutes to tell you about what to expect and ideally when you can expect it.

ARIELLE: So Zach, I was thinking, since you are the architect behind SquadCast, since we started in 2016, I just ask you some of the questions that have been popping up on our Slack channel. And you could tell us what to expect and tell us about some of the new changes coming to SquadCast. I am pumped, I’ve seen some of the sketches. I’ve seen some of our new branding pop up here and there. Our YouTube channel is showing off that new branding. And I thought we could talk about the redesign, a pricing change, teams and shows, Squad shots, and a few smaller things. And you can choose to tell us as much or as little as you would like to give away at this time. How does that sound?

ZACH: Sounds great. I’m excited. It’s been a long time in the works, so to be able to talk about it is very refreshing.

ARIELLE: So Zach, what is going on with the redesign? We have a new logo. Why the new logo? Also you’re wearing a hat with it right now. We’ll have to take a Squad shot. Tell us about the redesign.

ZACH: Yeah, it really started with kind of coming back to our, our mission that we mentioned a moment ago, amplifying collaboration. And like reimagining what that means for our entire app. I think the studio in SquadCast, our cloud recording studio, the actual recording session production is very collaborative and, you know, empowers this new form of content creation where we don’t need to be in the same location to sound and look our best. But SquadCast is more than just the studio. So what does it mean to amplify collaboration when it comes to scheduling, and setting up the, the recording sessions, and preproduction? Um, what does that mean for post production with, uh, with producers and your editing team, or whoever’s next in, in the workflow? Uh, what does it mean to be able to kind of access those recordings in the formats that we provide so that they can, uh, get it into that next phase of the workflow? All the while we’ve been noticing this growth in podcasting, uh, towards having multiple shows and teams of creators working on multiple shows together, maybe in a network, maybe at a company, um, maybe it’s just indie creators pulling their resources together to produce dope content. And we want to empower all of those forms of collaborations for, for those creators that we’re proud to serve. So that’s really where the redesign came from is, uh, when you, when you ask big questions like that, you kind of gotta, uh, start from scratch and you know, of course, keeping and, and learning from all the lessons that we’ve picked up over the years, and all the recording sessions that have been created on the platform, just kind of keeping the best of that and taking the opportunity to put a fresh coat of paint on it. Uh, make a lot of improvements along the way when it comes to performance. You’ll notice it’s not just new pixels, it’s also a way faster experience. And we’re really, really excited about bringing that experience to life.

ARIELLE: Yeah. So just to really spell it out, what does teams and shows mean?

ZACH: Let’s say you as a creator, right? Arielle Nissenblatt. You have multiple podcasts, don’t you?

ARIELLE: Yeah. I work on a few shows.

ZACH: Yeah. So each one of those shows, uh, you probably have different people that you collaborate with. Maybe it’s the same people, for some, groups of creators pulling their, their resources together. So do you all need SquadCast, credentials to sign in, to share access, all of that stuff. Uh, no. Arielle can just set up all of your shows that, that you have and can have, uh, you know, a producer role on the, Between Two Mics, [laughs] or the on the, The SquadCast Podcast and, and have kind of shared access to, to all of those, whatever the role you have on, on those teams and, and more.

ARIELLE: So I can have a host role on one show that I’m a part of, and I can have a producer role on another show that I’m a part of. And sort of just have different access on the different shows that I’m a part of.

ZACH: That’s right. And you only need to have one SquadCast account and you can switch between those different shows and, you know, do your thing.

ARIELLE: So I’m looking at the SquadCast logo now. The new one that you’re wearing on your hat and it is different. Why is it different? What was the thinking behind changing the logo along with this new big software update? 

ZACH: Yeah, we want our, our logo to, um, of course, you know, communicate and, and it is our, it is our brand. We love our logo that we’ve had since we launched. And this update is a, it’s exactly that, it’s a refinement, it’s an update of our previous logo. Um, but it’s got some improvements to it that make it look equally as awesome on like small screens on, small sizes and big sizes. And, uh, and then also to be, communicate more clearly what, what we do. We, we have a new typeface in our new design system, and the logo is also in that updated typeface. Really grateful for Alex and the design team for putting in a tremendous amount of work and research and love into this, uh, into this version five, this, this new SquadCast studio and backstage experience. And no, no stone is left unturned. The logo is included with that. New icons, new colors, new typeface, um, in studio. So you have different, different options there. If you’re sharing screen or you have to 10 people like really, really dynamic design there.

ARIELLE: And we will share all of this o nce V5 is out into the world. We will have a blog post outlining all of the changes and why. And we’ll really get into it, both on the podcast here and in blog form on our YouTube channel. We promise Zach is not giving everything away right now, but he is giving some things away. And one more thing that I would like you to give away, tease a little bit, is the big, our pricing change. So what’s going on? 

ZACH: Yeah. So I, I think it’s fair to say that our pricing today, or it has been in the past is, is pretty complex. There’s a lot of options, and a lot to choose from. So, um, we took the opportunity to do a lot of research and talk to a lot of people in, in both the community and our, our, our kind of customer community, the Squad pod, and, and really kind of see how, what, what’s the opportunity for simplifying our pricing and making some of the, some of the features that, you know, really set SquadCast apart, more, more accessible for creators. So, uh, that’s all I can really say right now, is we we’ve simplified our pricing and look out for that when we launch here soon. 

ARIELLE: More soon, more soon. Promise.

ZACH: Arielle, let me ask you a question. Uh, Squad shots. You, you, uh, are, are a huge champion, uh, of this as a, as a feature, as of an organic thing, that’s happened in our community, as our community manager. What are squad shots? And, uh, yeah. How is that in, in the next update here? 

ARIELLE: So we’ve been calling screenshots of SquadCast sessions, Squad shots for a little over a year now I wanna say. And it’s really just when you’re in a session with somebody, and you say, let’s take a picture. So that we can post it on social, so that we can blast it around on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, wherever, to say, look at this person who’s on our podcast. Maybe you’re teasing an episode. Maybe you’re using it as the cover art for that week’s episode, who knows. We’ve been calling those Squad shots. And right now it’s a very manual process. Command shift four, if you’re on a Mac. And Control shift four, I think if you’re on a, if you’re on a PC. Many people have been asking us to make this process a little more simple and we thought, okay, how could we do this? So we built it into V5, where you just have to press a button, and people within your session kinda opt in or opt out of that Squad shot. And then once you’ve taken the shot, you can post it on social media, and it’ll have your branding on it. And that’s just a way for us to help you amplify the content that you are putting out into the world. You can post it right on social. You can tag us, and we are very happy to retweet it. We’re very happy to repost it on our stories on Instagram. We just wanna show off that you’re making good stuff here on SquadCast. And each of the pictures that are taken, each of the portraits that are taken, are also gonna be available to download by themselves. So if you wanted to use those pictures for your branding, or to have a new headshot of yourself, or that person who is in your recording, you can do that just the same. Just how we have the ability to download ISO tracks of our audio and of our video. You can do the same with these new Squad shot images. So I’m very excited about this update. I think it’ll be a great way for the community to continue showing off the amazing stuff that they create here. And of course, go to squadcast.fm/share to share your stuff with us, whether it’s Squad shots, maybe it’s videos, maybe it’s pre-roll ads that we can include on our podcast, whatever it is, we wanna be able to show off your stuff. So just do that by going to squadcast.fm/share. So Zach, when can we expect all of these changes to be revealed to the world? 

ZACH: Yeah, I think, uh, you know, as soon as possible, it’s fair to say the team has been working really hard. We’re, uh, we’re in the final stages of beta, and we’re not eager to squander our reputation of being, you know, very reliable and high quality. That’s something that we are, um, tremendously proud of and how we uphold that as we make big changes like this one is by really testing and making sure that, you know, we’re, we’re crossing that finish line to launch with, uh, with confidence. So that’s what, we’re what we’re doing now. And, uh, to answer your question, the target is June. So we’re really excited for y’all to use the new version of SquadCast, the new studio and backstage in all of its glory to, uh, yeah, amplify collaboration in new ways, in some of the same ways, but with new features, and it really is a solid foundation for us to continue our, our culture, uh, of innovation here at SquadCast.

ARIELLE: And like I said before, we’re gonna have blog posts, we’re gonna have YouTube videos, we’re gonna have podcast episodes surrounding this new big release so that you can keep up to date with when to expect things and how to best utilize these new changes and how to incorporate them into your workflow. So stay tuned, make sure you’re following us on social media so you don’t miss anything. Okay. And one last thing before we head out, next week, we’re back to dropping amazing episodes that have been recorded on SquadCast onto this feed. And that next episode could be you. All you have to do is submit one of your episodes to squadcast.fm/share. I mentioned this URL just a moment ago, but this is where you go to post anything that you’ve recorded on SquadCast. And we are very happy to show you off to the world. So that again is squadcast.fm/share. If it feels like a good fit for us, we will get in touch via email. And we may show off your podcast to the world of SquadCast!

[music]

ZACH: Thanks for tuning into this quick check in episode of The SquadCast Podcast. We really appreciate you taking the time. If you like what we’re doing, or you just wanna say hi, please consider leaving us a review. Wherever you’re listening to this episode. 

ARIELLE: We are back next week with a feed drop from an amazing SquadCaster.

ZACH: By the way, if you want to get more involved with the SquadCast community, join our Slack channel. Just go to squadcast.fm/community to learn more. We’d love to have you there. Thank you to our production team for putting this episode together. Vince Moreno Jr., Alex Whedbee, Arielle Nissenblatt, Sean V., and me, Zach Moreno.

ZACH: We appreciate all of you. And rock who couldn’t be here today. He’ll be back soon. Happy Squad casting, everybody