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Hosting podcasts - allowed on any shared hosting?
Hey
I wanted to host a podcast and saw that dedicated podcast hosts are very expensive, so I was thinking if any normal shared hosting sites allow hosting podcast files. File size could be say upto 150MB. I don't expect to have a lot of traffic on the podcast (should be within the plan), but is there any shared hosting provider that allows this for cheap?
Or should I just consider cheap VPS for this?
Comments
I think you have seen example of live podcast host as it use a lot bandwidth and server resources so this is a reason why it so expensive.
150Mb is small file and nowadays plenty of bandwidth is provided by shared hosting companies so should be no issue.
If you get a burst of activity -- perhaps one episode becomes popular for example -- you run a real chance of hitting the typical and mysterious "shared fair usage" limit, so I'd stay away from shared hosting for a podcast TBH and go for a VPS. It doesn't cost that much more to get a decent little VPS - better than running the risk that your shared hosting has a problem when it matters the most, and you'll be hit right when your podcast audience decides to grow all at once. And if it grows too rapidly even for your VPS, then you can usually scale your VPS pretty easily and quickly as needed. Plenty of great deals on VPSes here from good providers on LET. Good luck with your podcast!
Here is seven years of my podcast creation/ hosting/ streaming journey summarized in150 words:
a. Spikes in traffic will be your biggest challenge, not bandwidth.The former is a good problem to have.
b. Stick with the old guard (Libsyn / Blubbry, etc) - base plans start at US $ 5 or so per month. Considering setup time, analytics, traffic management, embed player.... overall works out cheaper than VPS.
e.g. https://libsyn.com/plans-and-pricing/
Plus
They also offer 'webpage hosting' - for posting credits, transcripts, links of relevance, etc. No need for separate hosting.
c. Consider 128 kbps mp3, max. 192. Anything higher is an overkill. Not all apps support adaptive streaming.
d. If you are really constrained for budget, host on archive.org. This may be frowned upon by many, copyright to audio becomes a grey area.
e. If you are committed to using Shared hosting, look at https://softaculous.com/apps/music/Podcast_Generator
Have fun!
It's probably fine (and I think most shared hosts will tolerate it) as long as your file usage is low, and bandwidth usages/averages are also fairly low. They'll probably yeet you if you're trying to blast 1 Gbps 24/7 or something similar, but if you're only using the bandwidth occasionally/not much (i.e. <100GB of bandwidth usage), most shared hosts will probably be able to do that.
A VPS might be best if you are more worried about it, a host like Frantech will probably tolerate your usages just fine as long as you aren't maxing out 1 Gbps 24/7 or something like that.
I used to recommend people starting out in podcasting to use services like Libsyn as well, but no longer. But I totally understand your recommendation. It definitely eases the on-ramp to podcasting significantly. So maybe it would be a good way to start for him. But In recent years I've become opposed to any kind of vendor lock-in, even a little bit, especially at first. If he wants to migrate out later, it's a pain the neck. Doable of course, but still a pain in the neck. I've known too many people that have ended up migrating out with a lot of disruption and headaches. And that's the same problem with any of the typical top podcasting hosting services that have tons of features.
Once you become heavily reliant on their system/platform and build your content, links, workflow, feed, and even website around their resources, it becomes increasingly painful to migrate out if you ever want to. And if he starts using a podcast platform's monetization features, it makes it even more difficult. A podcasting service with all those features really becomes an increasingly big marriage if you think about it long term, but it's not a decision a beginning podcaster is fully equipped to make yet, IMO. I get the idea that when you use a service like that, you don't need to use the whole platform at first, and it simplifies life for him, but believe me, it sucks you in and doesn't really want to let you go. So choose wisely. And frankly it's too early for them to know what they truly need/like anyway! So for those reasons, I've stopped recommending using services like Libsyn at first. Even with "export/import" features, it's still a pain in the neck later on.
Hosting a podcast is actually very simple once you learn the ropes of the feed, so now I tend to recommend going solo and avoiding any kind of lock-in. And over time, build UP to the features you need, curating them yourself so you understand each part of the process. That can be a lot of fun too. Of course someone who is technically challenged will probably have a tough time with the learning curve though, so maybe I should have asked how "technical" he is and if he's willing to learn the technical side of it. I kind of assumed that since this is LET, he's open to the technical side, but maybe he just wants to set up a mic and hit record, and have everything done magically?
The cool thing about going solo with it, building piece by piece yourself, is that once you understand the landscape of features that you want to have in your podcast, you are then very knowledgeable and can decide to migrate to something like Libsyn or one of its competitors later on, since you'll know exactly what you need, and vendor lock-in could then be okay for your specific long-term goals. And migrating IN is easier than migrating OUT.
But it's good he's getting both sides of advice though, and he can make an informed choice.
Agree 100%!
Separate webpage hosting is no problem - I already have it, and can build a simple webpage for credits, transcripts, links, etc. I would have to check out self hosted options for analytics, ember player, etc. though.
I will look into this one, and avoid use of any copyrighted music. Anyone can upload their podcast here and archive.org will host it?
Will look into this, thank you.
Will it be allowed on this plan?
Yes, I am more on this side and willing to put in time to set it up properly once (provided I don't have to keep spending time on this on an ongoing basis), although I have no prior experience about hosting podcast before so if you can point me to a good guide then that would be really helpful.
Here are some good starting links for the DIY approach for RSS feeds, worth reviewing:
https://www.wikihow.com/Create-an-RSS-Feed
https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/why-you-need-a-podcast-only-rss-feed-and-how-to-make-it-tap128/
https://help.apple.com/itc/podcasts_connect/#/itcb54353390
https://help.apple.com/itc/podcasts_connect/#/itcbaf351599
https://support.google.com/podcast-publishers/answer/9476656#create_feed
https://www.rev.com/blog/media-and-entertainment/how-to-create-an-rss-feed-for-a-podcast
A good google search will of course give you tons of stuff, Youtube walkthroughs, etc., but I'm old school and I also love a good book sometimes -- and I originally learned podcasting principles from the "Dummies" series many years ago. I think I still have the first edition of this book! It still has valuable info, and the current edition (I believe 4th edition) is worth reading for any podcaster today:
https://www.amazon.com/Podcasting-Dummies-Tee-Morris/dp/1119711819/
If you're learning about setting up a VPS to provide basic hosting too, then take a good look at the Linode tutorials... the concepts pretty much apply to any VPS service (within reason, obviously Linode wants you to use Linode, but the basic steps are essentially the same):
https://www.linode.com/docs/guides/set-up-web-server-host-website/
https://www.linode.com/docs/guides/how-to-install-a-lamp-stack-on-ubuntu-22-04/
https://www.linode.com/docs/guides/how-to-install-a-lemp-stack-on-ubuntu-22-04/
And so on....
Enjoy the adventure! And for all the VPS stuff, you are definitely in the right community here.
Maybe something like cloudflare R2 object storage would work
free 10 GB / month, then $0.015 / GB storage
bandwidth is free, you pay for requests, they include 10,000,000 / month, then it's $0.36 / million
@komdsfojn
We recommend considering cheap VPS for your goals. It may be really better for you, especially since, at a discount, you can snatch it at a hosting price.