Today, I've been putting together the next episode of the podcast. Not quite so many contributions this month, but it still added up to a show of around 1h 30min. Several Hive folk will be on the show: @steevc, @purplesinger, @todayslight and new girl on the block @anna-newkey, as well as myself @daniellemurray .
I ask for all of the contributions to be sent as mp3s to try to cut down the sheer volume of tasks I have to do. I write up a script in advance, mostly so I can keep track of the playlist and the running order, which forms a three-column table. I then write my intros into the table and usually manage to keep the whole thing to just two pages.
I try to add a couple of new, homemade jingles and stings with each new episode. This month, I have a new one contributed by @steevc this week, including a sting I made with the meow of the late beloved @mildredcat (with permission!).
The standard of recordings is usually pretty high, with many people making fresh, multitrack recordings, and it's quite exciting seeing what everyone has come up with. I also don't mind playing out people's back-catalogue, if they haven't had time to record anything.
When I'm done editing, which I do in three part chunks to make it handle better on my monitor, I export as an mp3, then put a still image on the soundfile, and render it as a video in OpenShot. This is a user-friendly non-linear video editor that is quicker at rendering than the more full-featured Linux prosumer option, KDEnlive. I don't need the video to be high quality; only the audio.
Then it's time to upload to YouTube and set as a premiere. There's usually a copyright claim, but I don't need to monetize. The claims usually come either from commercial sound effects that I paid to download, or ripped from an mp3, or if people use commercial backing tracks. Apart from that, we're pretty homegrown. The area of amateur cover versions seems to be tolerated by the music industry, so I'm hoping it stays that way, and we can carry on recording and broadcasting the music we love. We're not all about the covers, either. Several people have sent in original songs this month as well.
Hope to see you there!
Radio Liquorice premieres at 8.00 p.m. tonight. Tune in!
