This series is all about Libsyn’s podcasters. It’s sole purpose is to introduce these awesome podcasts to the world as well as share their podcasting insight to empower the community!
Q & A with Brien from Barça Talk
When did you start podcasting?
I started podcasting back in February of 2017.
Why did you start podcasting?
I started podcasting as a form of self-determination.
I’m a musician by training, and I’m in the middle of getting a PhD in music, but with professional academia being a pretty tough scene to get into, I wanted to create something of my own where I could be my own boss, that utilized my skills in performance and audio engineering in a different way.
So, my goal is to generate at least some income from podcasting.
The topic I chose wasn’t my first idea. Even though I love FC Barcelona, I’m not what you’d really call a sports guy.
But, I figured a show about my favorite soccer team would probably reach a bigger audience than one about contemporary art music, which would have been a more natural fit for me.
What’s your show about?
Barça Talk is, more than anything, about being a fan of FC Barcelona.
Our main topic is always the games being played by our team, but we have a broader mission in mind, so we go off the field and talk about what’s happening in the front office of the club too, but it doesn’t stop there.
Lately, we’ve been talking a lot about the political tensions between Catalonia and Spain. Above all that, though, we’re committed to creating a community of English-speaking and English-listening Barça fans.
What’s your podcasting setup? Hardware, software, CMS, etc?
My setup has had some upgrades recently.
When I started, I was using a Behringer C–2 condenser mic, which I’d had for years and are really good for recording live acoustic music, but I always had to use a lot of processing to get it sounding good on the podcast.
Now, I have an RE–320 from Electro-voice, and I love it so much! It sounds great just as it is.
My audio interface is a PreSonus AudioBox 22VSL. It’s a two-input interface and the preamps are excellent.
It’s a really good buy. My partner Gabriel isn’t as much of an audio nerd as I am, so he uses a Snowball mic from Blue, which is a USB mic, so he just plugs in to his computer.
Since I’m in Buffalo and he’s in Madrid, we each record our own half of the conversation and I edit them together.
He records with Audacity and I do everything with Logic.
How have you promoted your podcast?
We promote Barça Talk through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our website barcatalk.net.
We use each one a little differently, but again our strategy is to focus more on connecting with other fans as fans, and then whenever we release an episode we let them know.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
I went into podcasting having done a little research, but I’ve learned a lot by just doing it and discovering the questions I didn’t know I had before I started.
But if there’s one thing I know now that I wish I had known then, its my partner Gabriel.
Making my podcast by myself took a lot of time, and the product was one guy talking into a microphone for 40 minutes.
Now with the two of us, we have a much more entertaining show since it’s conversational.
The other thing I didn’t know about, and still feel like I don’t, is promotion, but that’s a skill set that Gabriel brought when we joined up in August of this year, so I have to repeat that the biggest thing for me that I wish I had known when I started was Gabriel.
You know you know if this podcast is perfect for YOU! Who doesn’t want to know more about FC Barcelona? Right? If you’re ready to dive into all things FC Barcelona and what’s going on in Catalonia go ahead and subscribe!.
If you happen to have found your perfect co-host (aka Gabriel) and you’re finally ready to start a podcast, we’re ready for you! We’d love it if you hosted your podcast with us and if you need a little bit of help in getting your podcast going, we have a FREE Podcasting QuickStart just for you!
