A few weeks ago at Podcast Movement, our community manager, Arielle Nissenblatt, interviewed our co-founders, Zach Moreno and Rock Felder, at Podcast Movement. Hubspot set up a recording booth in the expo hall so we had a chance to chat without having to step too far away from our booth.

Listen in for

  • One word to describe the Podcast Movement experience
  • How SquadCast showed up to the event
  • Our favorite sessions
  • A discussion on video and podcasting

Also in this episode

Credits

  • Written and produced by Arielle Nissenblatt
  • Mixed and designed by Vince Moreno Jr
  • Artwork and logos by Alex Whedbee
  • Music by Shawn Valles
  • Hosted by Zach Moreno and Rock Felder
  • Transcripts by Sabeena Singhani

Episode Transcriptions

HILARY RUSSO: Well hello there. This is Hilary Russo, host of the HIListically Speaking podcast, a show that is chalk full of inspiring conversations of trauma to triumph through health healing and humor. And yes, we are proud to say we record on SquadCast. You can find us wherever your headphones take you and on our website at hilisticallyspeaking.com.Okay. It’s time to pass the mic over to Zach and Rock for this week’s episode of The SquadCast Podcast.

[music]

ARIELLE NISSENBLATT: Greetings listeners. This is Arielle Nissenblatt, SquadCast’s community manager. In a moment, you’re gonna hear a conversation that I recorded last month at Podcast Movement with Zach and Rock, the two co-founders of SquadCast. Before we get to that conversation, I just wanna say hello from Malaysia. I was here for Radiodays Asia. A few quick notes from the SquadCast world. Before this week’s episode, we wanna hear from you. And we wanna feature your podcast on our podcast. If you’re interested in submitting your podcast, all you have to do is go to squadcast.fm/share and tell us about your podcast. And if you are a fit, we will reach out to you. We are also planning an event in New York City with Gotham Production Studio on October 7th. And we’d love to have you there. It’s gonna be a happy hour. More information will be in the show notes of this episode. That’s it for now as always. We’d love to hear from you. We’re available on the internet. If you go to squadcast.fm, and we’re very available on social. Just search for SquadCast FM on all platforms. Hope you enjoy this week’s conversation with me, Zach, and Rock.

ARIELLE: Welcome to The SquadCast Podcast. We are so excited to be here at the Hubspot creator’s booth. My name is Arielle Nissenblatt. I am the community manager at SquadCast. 

ROCKWELL FELDER: I’m Rockwell Felder, the co-founder of SquadCast.

ZACHARIAH MORENO: I’m Zachariah Moreno, co-founder of SquadCast. 

ARIELLE: We’re really excited to be here recording live. So let’s get into it.

ROCK: Oh my gosh, in person, y’all.

ARIELLE: We are in person!

ZACH: It’s kind of weird.

ARIELLE: Kind of cool. 

ROCK: Do we know how to do this?

ARIELLE: I’m sitting across a table from you two, recording a podcast, and we are here at Podcast Movement ‘22 in Dallas. It’s the last day of the conference. We are currently recording in the Hubspot creator’s booth.

ZACH: Yeehaw.

ARIELLE: Excited to be here. We just wanted to get together while we were here to talk about Podcast Movement, to talk about SquadCast, to talk about our experience the past few days, so that we could put this up on the internet, on our feed and that folks who did not have a chance to join us at Podcast Movement could hear what we learned. And then folks who were there could hear our recap. How does that sound, boys?

ROCK: Let’s do it!

ZACH: Sounds great. 

ARIELLE: All right. So first I would like to ask you: One word to describe the last few days of Podcast Movement. Let’s start with Zach first. One word.

ZACH: Video.

ARIELLE: Video. Well, I’ll have you explain that in a moment. Rock.

Loud.Truth. 

ARIELLE: Ooh. Okay. 

Truth. 

ARIELLE: So video, why video? 

ZACH: It’s hard to have a conversation and video not come up. It’s hard to watch a presentation or a panel at this event and video not be included. Uh, I was part of some of those panels with, uh, with Descript and Patreon and LinkedIn yesterday, uh, on the topic of multi-format content creation. Uh, so it’s really interesting, this dynamic of podcasting evolved-evolving to embrace more video because it being, uh, you know, an audio centric medium historically. So that evolution has a bunch of people asking a lot of questions about how do I evolve and what is the, the goal there? Uh, what’s on the other side of us, uh, as creators embracing more video?

ARIELLE: So, and for SquadCast, how does that fit into SquadCast roadmap?

ZACH: I mean, we help content creators record audio and video and screen and take photos, all collaboratively, remote, from anywhere in the world, together. So, uh-

ARIELLE: We’re ready.

ZACH: Yeah, we don’t have a ton of opinions about where the content you create ends up. We want it to be super high quality and easy for you to produce into amazing episodes for your audience to really enjoy and engage with. So, yeah, we’ve had video on the platform for the real time conversation since day one. Um, and then that was kind of inspiring to our customers for it, to be our most requested feature and launched on our platform a few years ago. So, uh, yeah, stable, lot of usage, new pricing makes it more accessible as of, uh, our most recent update. So great time for, for, uh, content creators from video to embrace podcasting and the other way around, for podcasters to embrace video.

ARIELLE: And we are going to start making more videos. Our YouTube channel is very active. We post a weekly video.

ZACH: Shout to Maribel.

ARIELLE: Talking about SquadCast. Yep. Shout out. And, um, we also are gonna do some more webinars on video and content creation that involves video. So folks who are listening, if you have a specific topic idea for a webinar about videos, we’d love to hear that. We’re just very, very interested in creating programming that is helpful for you, especially in this new, what seems like it’s gonna be the age of video, you know, until something else comes up.

ROCK: Well, it’s wild, right though, because in 2019 is when we heard Tom Webster give his talk about the importance of YouTube and how the trends are changing with the listener and how folks are finding audiences and why YouTube was gonna be, or video rather was gonna play a pivotal role. And that was quite some time ago. And here we are, and still having those same conversations, but it seems like folks are listening now. So I, it, it’s funny how long things take to start to become more mainstream and more. Um, I don’t know, like it, it it’s like un, undeniable now. 

ARIELLE: Or at least that you need to be testing it out, right? Not saying everybody needs to have a video element to their podcast, but if you want to, other people are. Other people are at least testing it out.

ZACH: And I mean, you’re working super hard to create this content already. So, uh, on SquadCast anyway, it’s the same button you click to record and stop and you get more files to work with, to publish on more platforms and reach your audience. So that’s not necessarily like more of a lift, but there is absolutely more of a lift in your post production and storage and distribution and thumbnails and titles and all the things, right. That we can talk about.

ARIELLE: Rock, let’s go to you. Loud. That’s the word that you chose. 

ROCK: Mm. 

ARIELLE: Why?

ROCK: Yeah. Well, as you know of from attending previous Podcast Movements. And for anyone that hasn’t had the pleasure of joining, it’s, uh, it’s a marathon, there’s a lot of parties that happen. And I feel like this, these ones were especially loud, but I think it’s a better indication of just the energy, the vibrance of this event. Like, I was kind of curious how, uh, the, the economic environment, you know, talks of recession, inflation, all that stuff. How would that impact our industry? And things are jumping. I’m getting good vibes here. It seems like things are going great. Uh, so that’s what, that’s where that loudness, that energy. I I’m, I’m loving it. I was really excited to see that. Cause we’ve also went to VidCon recently. And so I was gonna be, uh, I was kind of comparing how those two markets are doing right now. And, um, while VidCon was a little bit bigger than this, this is, I don’t know, it feels like the biggest Podcast Movement I’ve ever been to, which is a good thing.

ARIELLE: Me too.

ZACH: I heard 3000 and in the past we had heard 2000. 

ARIELLE: Yeah. 

ZACH: So that’s really great. On the other side of a, you know, global pandemic.

ROCK: It feels like it, and it’s definitely a bigger venue. Sometimes that can have an impact on the feeling of things. And I feel like this could feel small with how big it is, but it doesn’t. Even with that size. So.

ZACH: It’s interesting. When we come to a conference that’s focused on audio creation and then we all have our voices and ears abused for three days together as a collective. So…

ROCK: Our poor money makers.

ARIELLE: [laughs] Yeah. So let’s talk about the expo hall. We have a booth at the booth. We are giving away little fans that plug into your phone. People have, uh, people have been enjoying those. We have stickers, and we had bags on the first day, and we had hats as well. Those went pretty quickly. What, what’s the expo hall been like for you all that this past Podcast Movement has, have we seen great traffic, meet any cool folks?

ROCK: It’s been busy. It’s been a lot of fun. Uh, we just released, uh, our big update. And so it was really interesting to see what the reception would be like when people have the opportunity to tell us in person, and we had a good idea of what the general feedback was. Cause we sent out a survey, and it was very favorable. Although, you know, there was plenty of findings and feedback that we’re listening to and incorporating, but yeah, people are really loving SquadCast, and it’s just so good to see that because, uh, you know, we really care. We’re we really are here for, we have the best intentions. We really care about the community. We really wanna lift the creators up. And so. Yeah. Just seeing how they’re using the product and how, how awesome it is for them. And yeah, I guess, I always tend to expect or prepare for the worst. So I was ready. I told you, I was like, I’m gonna, gonna come in here with a, a, a metaphorical bulletproof vest, you know, and, uh, didn’t need it. Everybody was so everyone, so sweet. So that’s awesome. 

ARIELLE: Yeah. What about you, Zach?

ZACH: Well, it’s, it’s, it’s a bit weird because our business and our product and us have changed a lot during COVID and…It’s uh, how people, uh, approached us before the pandemic is completely different than how people are approaching us after the pandemic. And, uh, you know, I don’t know that SquadCast was always seen as an integral part of this industry, or even our category of cloud recording studio. Uh, it was seen as an integral part of podcasting, but, uh, now 2022, it is absolutely an integral part of our infrastructure. And. And how we create content. Um, so I think that that vibe is also something that we didn’t necessarily know because we never had the opportunity to get together during that time when we became increasingly integral to people’s workflow. 

ROCK: And it’s not binary, you know, they’re, they’re, it’s, it’s um, oh, what’s the word that everybody’s using where it’s a combination of both some stuff’s remote, some stuff’s in person. That’s just how it is.

ARIELLE: Hybrid.

ROCK: Hybrid. Thank you. I’m tired, y’all. [laughs]

ARIELLE: Day three. Yeah. Yeah. So a lot of people. Might have a subscription to SquadCast, but then also have an in person studio that they go to every once in a while. They make those decisions based on their guests. They make those decisions based on if they wanna go into the studio. So I like, I like the idea that people are taking this hybrid approach.

ZACH: Yeah. It feels like we all learned how to do things remotely. That’s the silver lining here. Right. Of like, I find it fascinating there’s all these companies who are like super eager to jump back in and like, uh, into, in person and go back to only in person. Uh, what about all those, like new capabilities and skills that your team just like learned to evolve with? That’s like value to, you know, how dynamic your organization can be. So not eager to like squander that, and I don’t think we’re in this boat, but I, I, I get that vibe from other companies and, uh, and teams. We’ve always been remote. So, you know, yeah. It was, uh, kind of, first nature for us.

ARIELLE: So let’s talk about some of the sessions. I would like for both of you to choose a session that you went to, and tell me one takeaway from that session, just to note that we broke a record this time around at Podcast Movement. Collectively Zach, Rock, and Arielle spoke on eight panels. That was a lot, a lot of stage time. It was fun. We’re tired. But let’s talk about some other panels, something that you attended as not a panelist or a speaker. Let’s start with Rock this time.

ROCK: All right. Thank you. So, because y’all were so busy talking, especially yesterday, I was running the booth solo for the majority of the day yesterday.

ARIELLE: Sorry.

ROCK: It’s all good. I, I, it was, it was fun. I, I, I, uh, was surprised how, how, how much I handled it. It’s fun. Yeah. I was not that I, I was expecting to be way more tired. 

ZACH: Thank you, Rock. 

ROCK: I’m not asking-Okay. Let’s-

ZACH: No, I appreciate it. 

ROCK: The talks that I did get to see that I, I really enjoyed was the Sounds Profitable business leader summit. Uh, the first talk, hearing all those high quality content creators talking about incorporating video and just like trying to, it was just a really interesting discussion to see how all those production teams are incorporating video, and they don’t have it figured out that was definitely, uh, pretty clear and, and, and a good thing. And so it’s like questions, like, how does true crime do video? Like what, how does that work? And so it kind of started got my mind going where it’s like, okay, how can SquadCast help those people? But yeah, so that was a great event. I, I loved that it was like an event before the big event.

ARIELLE: Um, that’s a really good takeaway question. We can take that back to the team. See what we can do. 

ROCK: Oh, I’ve been noodling on it like crazy. Cuz if we can make that easy, woo!

ZACH: Word up.

ARIELLE: What about you, Zach?

ZACH: The, the only other talk that I was able to attend was, was yours. Panel on community and podcasting with, uh, collaboration, with Descript and LinkedIn and Hala Taha, uh, I believe were the panelists there and, and your, and yourself uh, so I learn, I always learn from you thankfully. And, um, I’m grateful for that. And, uh, yeah, I feel like community is such an integral part of what we do at SquadCast. So not only did like you represent, because I do think you are the best in the world at that in our industry. And, um, and seeing other people like, uh, learn from some of the things that you’ve learned and, uh, and then hearing, yeah, how, how, uh, the team at LinkedIn thinks about this, how, you know, Hala been able to do amazing things with her or with her brand and her community. It was really interesting how kind of, um, how the variety of ways that you can approach community. I tend to think of it from like a, a company perspective, but, you know, um, but I think Hala’s coming out of more from like a creator perspective and then LinkedIn’s like, we are a place for a community. So it was a really wide range of perspectives. And I, I think that, um, you know, also, uh, Descript runs a, a really great community as well. So absolutely it was, uh, it was really um, complete in the conversation on community.

ARIELLE: Okay. Dallas, we’re in Dallas. What is your favorite part about Dallas? A meal you’ve enjoyed, uh, you know, Rock, you came a little bit early and you enjoyed a concert. What about this trip, I always just like to, it’s so awesome that we get to travel to all these places around the U.S., us, uh, hopefully around the world for podcast conferences. So it’s important for us to acknowledge the, the city that we have found ourselves in. So what about this city have you learned or have you enjoyed? 

ROCK: I’ll start. So the Uber drivers here have been incredibly friendly. Yeah. And wanting to talk all the time and it’s like making me question how, uh, much of a people person I thought I was. But one in particular, the gentleman that drove us, uh, I forget where, but he was listening to a podcast. 

ARIELLE: I love that.

ROCK: That was like one of my favorite things that happened all weekend. 

ARIELLE: He was listening to a true crime podcast. 

ROCK: Yeah. 

ARIELLE: And he didn’t even pause it. 

ROCK: No. [laughs]

ARIELLE: Kept on going. 

ROCK: And he was so delighted to hear that we were podcasters and that there was this podcast conference and. I think we might have made his day just as much as he made ours. So that was my favorite thing. And it’s just a unique thing when, um, you know, the, the vibe of the people are just really nice, so. Um, but he was, he was the highlight for me. 

ZACH: I’m looking forward to trying out some barbecue later tonight. So that’s something I’ve been, been looking forward to. Aside from that, I feel like I’ve just spent a ton of time in the expo hall. I haven’t really gotten outside very much, but walking around, uh, you know, seems like a really, really nice city.

ARIELLE: I like that, uh, coffee shop we went to this morning for the SquadCast breakfast. Yeah. Yeah. 

ZACH: Very good pick. The avocado toast.

ARIELLE: Shoutout to Bernie’s, Bernie’s coffee shops. Was delicious. Okay folks. Well, thank you to the Hubspot creator’s booth for hosting this. It’s really fun to look out onto the expo hall as we chat in person. Fun thing to be together, to chat in person, but we’ll be back to remote recording shortly.

ZACH: Can I ask you a question, Arielle? 

ARIELLE: Oh, please. 

ZACH: Do we have time?

ROCK: It’s so rude. We don’t even ask her.

ARIELLE:Apologies.

ARIELLE: That’s because I’m interviewing you. 

ZACH: Well, you know, I wanna know what you said. What about, I mean, you caught way more sessions, it sounds like than we were able to. What was your kind of takeaway maybe on the video or just, uh, where people’s kind of heads are at here?

ARIELLE: I, I actually did not get to attend too many talks, other than my own, which was a lot, but I really…

ZACH: It’s like your own track, the Arielle track. 

ARIELLE: I really like to see how the different booths show up. And it’s often a, a how the different companies show up. It’s often an indicator of, you know, what they’re prioritizing so it’s interesting to see who sets up a coffee shop, because that means they’re probably interested in facilitating conversations. They want people to hang around. It’s interesting to see who’s giving away shirts because they want you to wear their logo. Who’s giving away something smaller, just because they’re interested in treating the people who are joining, but don’t necessarily need the logo to be shown off. I went upstairs to the Stitcher booth, and Stitcher gave away some really cool swag from all of their really big podcasts, the Earwolf Podcasts, Office Ladies, and TV, I Say w/ Ashley Ray And they’re really, you know, they really want people to be proud of the podcast that they put out there, and I am proud and I’m so, it’s just, so I love the podcast space. So, so that’s my answer to your question. I had to dodge it a little bit because sadly, I didn’t get a chance to go to too many of the, of the sessions. There’s so much going on because the real magic just happens in really, the schmoozing. Just the fact that we’re all here together, and that we all care about this thing that we all flew to Dallas to hang out together and facilitate the growth of the podcast space. It’s cheesy, but it’s true. 

ROCK: It’s true.

ZACH: Usually we’re on the kind of consumption end here on, uh, listening to people at our booth, listening to presentations. This year, I felt like we were much more part of the show. Much and more on the creator side of it. Yeah. And, um, glad we’ve gotten both experiences and, uh, we’ll find more of a middle ground for ourselves. Not, not doing eight presentations, maybe next time. Something a little more manageable where we can, we can, uh, watch some cool presentations that are going on too, but everything’s recorded. And apparently it was live streamed this year. 

ARIELLE: Yeah, it was. 

ZACH: So that’s really cool. Um, mm-hmm I always try to watch the recordings I missed after. So still have to do that this year.

ARIELLE: There will be a good deal to catch up on.

ZACH: Well, thanks for allowing me to flip it on you and ask you a question. All right. Thanks everybody for listening. Check out Podcast Movement for those live streams. Check out SquadCast.fm. I’m ZachInSpace on Twitter. What’s your handle? 

ROCK: @ Rockwell Felder.

ARIELLE: @ AriThisAndThat. We’d love to connect with you.

[music]

ZACH: Thanks for tuning in to The SquadCast Podcast. This show is hosted by us, Zack and Rock.

ROCK: It’s mixed and designed by Vince Moreno Jr.

ZACH: It’s edited by Arielle Nissenblatt.

ROCK: Our music is by Shawn Valles.

ZACH: Our transcriber is Sabeena Singhani. 

ROCK: Our designer is Alex Whedbee.

ZACH: And you are our listeners, and we appreciate you. Bye!