Stupid Podcast Host #6,917
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Via Podcasting News: another hosting service for the mathematically challenged. This one’s called PodshowCreator.com.
The name is a striking example of audacity — or perhaps the scarcity of podcast-related domains now. I’m no fan of Podshow, but I suspect they’d be entirely justified in nailing these guys to protect their trademark. I hope they won’t have to, however, as I sincerely hope there aren’t too many people who’d sign onto a podcasting plan offering 2 GB of transfer for $14.95 a month.
I’m saying this not specifically to embarrass PodshowCreator.com (they don’t need my help there) but because they’re exemplary of an entire class of hosting providers that consider themselves “podcast friendly.” The main problems with these providers needs to be made obvious and conspicuous, for the benefit of newbies Googling for a podcast host.
In PSC.c’s case, the long division is easy. At their cheapest level you get 200 MB of disk space and 2 GB of bandwidth. Let’s say you run a twice weekly music podcast, and your files are all 20 MB each. 2000 MB / 20 MB = 100 downloads. If you’ve posted ten shows in a month, you can afford a maximum of ten subscribers before you get hit for extra bandwidth charges. At $14.95 a month you’re paying a buck fifty per subscriber. And you’d best hope no one ever downloads twice, and your MP3s don’t get crawled by engines like Podscope, Podzinger, etc.
“Ah, but you can upgrade!” the provider would probably say. That’s just shoveling money into the fire. Their highest level, at $97/month for 20 GB, boggles the mind. You could get a dedicated server with unmetered transfer for just a bit more than that.1
So what should you do? I’ll have a post about that shortly. For now, the significant takeaway is that any hosting plan you ever consider for podcasting should be measured at least in the hundreds of gigabytes, if not unlimited. That will give you room to grow. High-bandwidth and unlimited plans are available for much cheaper than $14.95 a month — they’re even available for free. That doesn’t mean that “free unlimited” is the right answer for everyone, but getting less than you need for more than you need to pay isn’t the right answer for anyone.
- Believe me, I’ve thought about it. ↩
Good review of PodShow Creator. The pricing is out of line with industry standards. My LibSyn account gives me a heck of a lot more for a heck of a lot less money.
Comment by Rob S — February 27, 2006 @ 4:10 pm
Right now the only workable model to beat is Libsyn. Sure I think their storage is small for my needs, but unlimited bandwidth?! If nobody else can come close to what they have to offer, then no podcaster should even consider them. The only other choice is DIY. I like owning my domain and having full control over my site.
Comment by Paul Puri — February 27, 2006 @ 5:38 pm
Good one Steve, some deserving targets. I appreciate your “skepticality” myth debunking approach to the “podosphere.” It is both refreshing and needed. So far the LibSyn people not only provide a reasonable economic hosting model but really seem committed to the community as well.
Comment by Brooklyn Bluesman — February 27, 2006 @ 7:23 pm
[…] All right. It’s about time this blog started putting out some productive advice and opinions. This post is an extension of today’s warning about bad bandwidth plans, and is meant to answer the question, “Okay then, smartass, what should I do for hosting?” […]
Pingback by The Podcast Pedant » Good Hosting Ideas — February 28, 2006 @ 12:25 am