The podcast industry has exhibited a massive growth spurt over the last decade, with almost one out of three people listening to at least one podcast on a monthly basis.
Like any new industry, growth doesn’t always stay on pace with tools to streamline processes.
Audio technologist Dan Radin spent most of his career developing audio technology. When he ventured into podcasting, he noted a cumbersome editing process that could take up to two days per episode.
The workflow included creating the audio content, recording, processing, and distributing.
“Other podcasting tools focus on making amateur creation easy without regard for quality,” Radin tells Hypepotamus. “Professional creation tools are highly specialized and powerful, without regard for difficulty, complexity or time investment. I was shocked I couldn’t find an easy-to-use, time-efficient, high-quality audio creation platform.”
Radin founded Asheville, North Carolina-based Auxbus as an end-to-end automated podcast platform for creators.
This week, the startup announced a seed investment led by patent equity fund Ideaship, which will be used to continue scaling the platform after launching earlier this month at the world’s largest podcast conference, Podcast Movement.
The tool now has more than 800 users.
“That’s great validation to us that we’ve built something that people really want. And more importantly for the business, something people are willing to pay for,” he says.
Auxbus guides podcasters and audio creators through show format, planning, and setup by giving access to reusable artwork, intros, and calls to action. Once an episode’s recording is completed, Auxbus builds and polishes it with studio quality.
It also provides resources including an educational library, built-in background music, and automatic distribution to podcast channels like Apple and Spotify.
“Auxbus helps our users focus on being the subject-matter expert, and takes away all the burdensome administrative and technical tasks. We have developed some unique tech such as our custom-crafted audio processing that makes you sound better,” says Radin.
“We’re really all about making it easy and helping our users feel supported, rather than focusing on leading with the tech.”
The team will shortly be introducing tools for remote recording.
“We’re working to enable everyone to create the audio that’s right for their needs—whether that’s podcasts, audiobooks, skills and flash briefings, learning and lectures, meditation, and more,” Radin says. “The key for us is unlocking and demystifying the power of audio so everyone can participate.”
The SaaS platform is available with a free trial for up to three episodes.
Auxbus also donates part of their revenue to fund cochlear implants and services for children born with hearing impairments.
“Sound has had a huge impact on my life — from being able to hear my parents’ voices as a baby to owing my entire professional career to it,” Radin says. “Receiving a cochlear impact prior to six months of age can have remarkable benefits on brain development that last a lifetime.”
“For someone who owes so much to hearing, it’s my honor to support this work.”
