TPU EP:30 – The Importance of Audio Quality with Aman from The Bibliobabu Show

00:00:05 Amandeep

For me, as you said, yes, quality comes first. Content is king. You can have an amazing food cooked by the best chef of the world.

00:00:16 Amandeep

But if you're serving it on a tissue paper, the food is lost its purpose altogether. Content is king, but the Queen will always....

00:00:25 Amandeep

add colors to your king so the queen is a production quality.

00:00:31 Dilip

Welcome to the podcasting university looking for help on starting your own podcast. Then this is the place to be.

00:00:38 Dilip

We will help you with everything from selecting your topic to promoting and monetizing your podcast in the simplest language possible. Listen to other broadcasters who've been through the grind.

00:00:50 Dilip

And learn from them as we interview them every week. You can find more details on thepodcastinguniversity.com.

00:01:05 Dilip

Hello and welcome to episode 30 of the podcasting University. This is your host, Dilip. And in today's episode we have a guest who's going to talk to us about production quality. Now, the primary difference between somebody tuning into your show and.

00:01:25 Dilip

dropping off and somebody tuning into your show every week judiciously lies in the quality of your audio and the quality of your audio is not something that will happen overnight. While I keep saying that you should just start out without trying to be perfect.

00:01:46 Dilip

It is also important that during the course of your journey, as your podcast progresses through every episode.

00:01:54 Dilip

It is important that you keep learning how to better your audio and how to create better sounding audio for your podcast.

00:02:03 Dilip

It is important that you keep learning and keep implementing, and they say that the day you stop learning you are dead. The importance of constantly.

00:02:14 Dilip

upgrading yourself, your knowledge.

00:02:16 Dilip

your information can be best understood in today's times when the decay factor is not months or years. In fact it is just weeks and days and when we are talking about learning and knowledge, who better to talk about this than a bibliophile? So today's guest on the show is a bibliophile.

00:02:37 Dilip

who is in fact more than a bibliophile? His passion can be heard in his words, and he makes listening, a passionate experience for you.

00:02:45 Dilip

with his subtle humor. He is a professional hotelier with a hunger for books, writing and storytelling, and in his

00:02:54 Dilip

own words, he started his podcasting journey in 2019 to explore the world through a bibliophile's eyes. He's the host of two very interesting podcasts

00:03:06 Dilip

the first one is the BiblioBabu show and the second one is, Tich button, which is basically a Punjabi podcast and probably India's only

00:03:14 Dilip

active Punjabi podcast which is also an HT smart cast exclusive.

00:03:19 Dilip

Let us welcome Amandeep the Biblio Babu to the podcasting University. Hey, Aman. Welcome to the podcasting university. Glad to have you on the show and I'm sure it is going to be an interesting conversation, but more than the conversation, it is a fun that we have on a Sunday morning talking to each other.

00:03:39 Amandeep

Thanks, thanks Dilip. Thank you so much. Have been planning for this for so long. Yeah this looks fun. This is gonna be fun. Sunday morning, I had a very late night yesterday so that's why you hear the bad throat. But glad to be here. Glad to be here.

00:03:52 Dilip

Right, lovely. So Aman, just to start off with, let's go with the ritual. So first of all I would like to know a little more about Amandeep Singh and the two shows that you host the Biblio Babu Show is your older one.

00:04:07 Dilip

Yes, it's quite some time that you've been doing it so about that and the second one is about the

00:04:13 Dilip

Tich button which I think you

00:04:14 Dilip

started the last year.

00:04:17 Amandeep

Yes, so. I am now based in Pune but I'm basically, from Punjab and I'm a hotelier by profession. So in 2018 yeah 2018

00:04:27 Amandeep

When I shifted to Pune as a hotel transfer I had this thing that I have got do something now. I'd already spent about 15 years by 2018. I already spent about 14-15 years in the industry.

00:04:38 Amandeep

And there was nothing that I could pursue of my passion. So I'm a bibliophile. I love reading books.

00:04:43 Amandeep

To an extent that if I buy another book, I'll be sleeping in the balcony that's ultimatum from my wife, so.

00:04:49 Amandeep

So I thought that OK, let's do something about books and I had a little bit of knack towards clicking pictures and recording videos.

00:04:57 Amandeep

I was never on Tik T.O.K or anything but hotels mein kya hota hai ki (Hindi for what happens in hotels). The working hours are extensive like you start early in the morning about seven 7:30 and it goes on till like 11-11:30 in the night. So in 2018.

00:05:08 Amandeep

When I took the plunge, I said, now let's change the domain because I wanted to pursue my passion because my daughter was growing up.

00:05:15 Amandeep

And , I had to have some example in front of her that what her father is done, whatever .

00:05:19 Amandeep

That entire sentimental thing also was there. So 2018. I switched jobs and I switched to academics. So now I'm working with a very renowned hotel management institute in Pune.

00:05:31 Dilip

OK.

00:05:32 Amandeep

What this helped me with is my schedule was fixed 9 to 6 to start of with. So then I was like OK now.

00:05:39 Amandeep

Nine to six. The job part is taken care of. Now I have time. Let's figure something out. So I've always had this fascination to be a pilot, an RJ and a stunt driver. Eventually nothing happened.

00:05:48 Dilip

OK.

00:05:53 Amandeep

So for piloting itna padhai kiya maine (Hindi for - I studied so much)

00:05:56 Amandeep

ki mereko chashma lag gaya (Hindi for - that I got specs) so then that was out of the way. I wanted to join Air Force. Then I started for CPl, tried for CPl Commercial piloting. Didn't happen because physics and I don't go along.

00:06:08 Amandeep

In the name of stunt driving, only thing I could manage was an Activa. So uspe to kya hi stunt honge (Hindi - what stunt can I do on that). So that is also gone..

00:06:15 Amandeep

Then in 2000, early 2019 - 2018 only I thought ke chalo, let me try giving a shot at RJing because I love talking.

00:06:22 Amandeep

There's so much stories that I've seen, there's so much humor that I've seen around people being in hospitality, I said so let me just let's figure it out types. OK, I went to a couple of radio stations and I told him that isn't I don't want any kind of money from you, I'm just.

00:06:35 Amandeep

Looking to explore.

00:06:36 Amandeep

This as a passion and as a hobby, and I'll make sure that I entertain your crowd, right? So but conventional radio traditional approaches, they said no baba, na.. cannot happen.

00:06:46 Amandeep

You need to work as an RJ. You'll have to bring business and you need to have experience. So alright, fair enough. And then by that time I had already started listening to a lot of podcasts.

00:06:56 Amandeep

On Google podcast.

00:06:58 Dilip

OK.

00:07:00 Amandeep

Now for podcast. Also I have a very weird kind of a history. I never knew what a podcast is unfortunately.

00:07:06 Amandeep

So in 2012-2013, one of my friend he came back from US in Goa and he had that sexy iPod and he had this music playing on loop and hum log gareeb (Hindi for- we were poor)

00:07:20 Amandeep

Used to have those memory cards who would run out of space.

00:07:22 Dilip

Right

00:07:26 Amandeep

What is podcast? He said it's a playlist of music or the first podcast that I downloaded from BitTorrent was.

00:07:32 Amandeep

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ki Qawwaliyan

00:07:35 Dilip

So for me.

00:07:37 Amandeep

That was a podcast for me. OK, so I downloaded Google podcast in 2018. I said chalo music hi sunenge.

00:07:43 Amandeep

by the time the podcasting industry had evolved in US and UK and everything and Google Podcast interface is very clean, right?

00:07:52 Amandeep

It kind of hooked me and whenever I used to travel to and from office

00:07:57 Amandeep

So I would just plug in my headphones and start listening to different people what they're talking and I landed up on.

00:08:03 Amandeep

Business wars - the Wondery show. I have that company's ka history samjhneka. I mean I'm a little history buff so I thought again let's listen little bit more about the industries and the companies whatever.

00:08:16 Amandeep

So I used to binge Listen all the episodes of the podcast and then in April 2019.

00:08:24 Amandeep

I thought, how about starting a podcast? So then I started doing my research in India because 2019 early 2019 podcasting was still close to non-existent in India. It was very very.

00:08:36 Amandeep

so my first thing was to understand what it is and how to do it. So I went on YouTube. I went on Google and

00:08:46 Amandeep

Everything was like Western standards, it used to be very overwhelming partnership, I said paisa kahan se laoonga (Hindi for - Where will I get the money from)

00:08:52 Amandeep

Then I decided ki chalo let's see who are the podcasting? Which are the podcasting platforms in India? So I started cold calling. First one I called was IBM podcast so that call security ke aage hi nahi gaya (Hindi for - it didn't go past the security)

00:09:08 Amandeep

And , then second was anchor. But Anchor never had a base in India. Spotify, to aukat ke baahar hi tha (Hindi for - Spotify was out of reach for us), right..

00:09:14 Amandeep

So then I called up HubHopper, and HubHopper was my last call and uske baad I was like theek hai yaar, I'm done. If it doesn't get answered then let's drop it. Let's do something else. So I called up HubHopper and

00:09:26 Amandeep

fortunately a person picked up the phone and I said I'm. I'm exploring this podcasting opportunities.

00:09:33 Amandeep

I want to speak to somebody who can guide me and tell me what it is. They connected me with Shanton Dutta. He used to be the creative producer, used to be the head at HubHopper. Very very nice gentleman.

00:09:44 Amandeep

Eventually, we've become very good friends now. He's very close now. Shanton got on the call and we spoke at length. He told me the entire structure of it, what it is and what not. We exchanged emails.

00:09:56 Amandeep

Yeah, that's that's when I decided to start a podcast, then the biggest challenge that I faced was

00:10:05 Amandeep

while deciding my name as in the show name because I want to do something around books and there was there were a lot of book reviews shows already and Indians anyways, were going away from books.

00:10:16 Amandeep

So I want to give him give give the show are different.

00:10:19 Amandeep

Twist so to and fro, to and fro karte karte (Hindi for - a lot of to and fro) The Biblio Babu show happened. Now Biblio is a direct reference to me being a Bibliophile because I read a lot of books right?

00:10:29 Amandeep

So bibliobabu rakh diya or wo show that was. I mean I. I laugh when I'm when I think about this now, but that show was.

00:10:39 Amandeep

Basically flaunt of my talent

00:10:48 Amandeep

So I laugh when I when I think about how stupid approach that was. But yeah, that's how the bibliobabu show evolved.

00:10:54 Amandeep

I mean, started. The first mic. I bought this Maono ka. the podcasting kit..

00:10:55 Dilip

OK.

00:11:05 Amandeep

OK so.

00:11:06 Amandeep

It got delivered at home, me, my wife and my daughter were opening up that box as if you've just got delivered a Mercedes.

00:11:15 Amandeep

My wife is like tu successful ho gaya

00:11:16 Amandeep

So yeah.

00:11:18 Amandeep

My mother will be so happy he and so yeah learned the trick. So one thing that I always had in my mind that wherever I start, whenever I start wherever I go.

00:11:32 Amandeep

Business wars, right? David Brown has been my idol. I said this is the quality and this is the structure that my show will always have.

00:11:42 Amandeep

OK, and I and I and I tried a lot. I mean if you go back to my earlier episodes, i am now at 70 episodes I'll upload my 71st episode this Wednesday.

00:11:50 Amandeep

Say if you go back to my previous episode, the first 2-3 episodes, I don't even want to listen to them.

00:11:57 Amandeep

But of course they are my early episodes, I used to play a lot with sound designing and reverbs and dialogues and whatnot, so that's how the bibliobabu show eventually started. And then last year.

00:12:11 Amandeep

2020

00:12:13 Amandeep

So Tich Button happened which is my Punjabi podcast and fortunately unfortunately I now call it. Unfortunately, we'll speak about it later, but I'm the only one in the country who has an active Punjabi podcast.

00:12:26 Amandeep

Iskar reason yeah ethe that the trigger point for for this podcast is very very funny. I want to do something about my, my people so there are lot of stereotypes with around Punjabi people. Imagine if I tell you now that I don't drink.

00:12:38 Amandeep

You'll be like are tu kaisa sardar hai..

00:12:41 Amandeep

That's how it is. People think that Sardar hai to daru ka drum hai.

00:12:44 Amandeep

I correct and I don't know if you've lived in north. You've lived in Delhi, so how it is there and I've I've never drank right.

00:12:44 Dilip

Are correct.

00:12:49 Dilip

Right?

00:12:52 Amandeep

So it so happened that this Canadian elections happened 2019 and the Deputy Prime Minister, is a Surd.

00:12:59 Dilip

Correct

00:13:01 Amandeep

And I am in Pune.

00:13:11 Amandeep

It's not like all Sardar getting any server get into politics and then he gets a plane chartered to India.

00:13:19 Amandeep

How stupid and then even this Sidhu moose Wala and Bollywood was happening. So I thought let's do something and let's try breaking these stereotypes and that's how Tich button kind of started. And now though the show is live and

00:13:33 Amandeep

I'm on episode eight of season 2 of Tich button and both these shows also go on YouTube. Yeah, so that's my journey.

00:13:42 Dilip

Interesting. So the context behind starting both of these podcasts. There's an interesting story to it. So on your show, that is the Biblio babu show. I understand that.

00:13:54 Dilip

Because reading was your your hobby. You read you had a lot of information.

00:13:59 Dilip

about books. So it is just easy for you to say, OK, I'm going to start a podcast around books, but when you did that, did you think that there is going to be a market that is going to listen to your show or anything specific that you thought you would be doing so that you stand out from the crowd?

00:14:19 Dilip

And have a unique selling proposition or something like that.

00:14:22 Amandeep

So when I started, I was very enthusiastic with book reviews, so I always have this slight pinch of humor in.

00:14:29 Amandeep

Whatever I say and whatever I do, I try to have some healthy humor around it, so I thought I'm not going to go conventional reviews.

00:14:36 Amandeep

like author said that, but I said I'll add a little bit of pinch of humor to it and let's see how it goes.

00:14:43 Amandeep

And by the time I was recording my third episode, I realized this is not gonna work, and so the third episode was.

00:14:50 Amandeep

An episode that I made around Raavan, . So the Shiva trilogy, the Ram trilogy written by Amish Tripathi. I just finished Raavan that time when I created.

00:15:00 Amandeep

A story around Raavan and I thought I'll make a series around it of 3 episodes and the first if you see there's a lot of reverb, sort of sound.

00:15:08 Amandeep

designing action, bombs falling in all of it, but deep down as you said, right? Because when I was new and at that time there were no resources like there's nobody who I could call and pick up and talk about. I'm giving this problem.

00:15:20 Amandeep

I'm having that problem, so this Ravn episode that is there on the directory. The final upload that went online was my 13th edit. They were like.

00:15:29 Amandeep

12 recordings and edits which I had. I completely trashed. I spent about 17 hours just on that episode.

00:15:36 Dilip

Oh God

00:15:37 Amandeep

yeah so. I was figuring I was learning episode by episode. When whenever you do something Dilip, you have this instinct.

00:15:45 Amandeep

This inner thing that tells you can no yaar, this is not good. This is this can get better.

00:15:49 Amandeep

This can get better so that thing constantly kept me pushing that this is not gonna work. This is not gonna work.

00:15:57 Amandeep

And then one day what happened? I had gone for a meet up early 2020 late 2019.

00:16:04 Amandeep

I'd gone for a meet up here. OK, it was a book readers meet up and, writers meet up, so I went there I met a metal lady there and now she's a very good friend. She is a mental health expert. She's actually a clinical psychologist.

00:16:18 Amandeep

So I was talking to her and I said sure let me host you on my show. OK, I didn't know how to do it.

00:16:23 Amandeep

I didn't know how I didn't have the equipment to do. I didn't have the Internet, my mobile hotspot, so I used to upload my stuff and network used to be terrible. But then I said take it slow. Now let's let's do it so.

00:16:32 Amandeep

So we recorded her the first episode on some platform. I am not. I don't even remember the name now, but when I was talking to her during the conversation, right?

00:16:42 Amandeep

And that's a very funny not funny, but that's that's where I. I would say that my actual podcasting journey started, so I was recording by the window.

00:16:52 Amandeep

Setting. My phone was outside the window so I don't get disconnected laptop was.

00:17:00 Amandeep

Maybe on my wife's that sewing machine, I had kept the laptop and my mic I was holding in my hand and what not sent but despite sitting in such an awkward position I was very connected and that's where I guess boss I am not gonna do book reviews solely.

00:17:21 Amandeep

Let's pick out stories from lives of people in an interview format, because that ways I will also learn a lot.

00:17:28 Amandeep

So that was the seed, and from there I gradually started evolving the podcast into a complete interview format now, and I don't call it interview, call it conversational format, because if because we don't follow a script, I never.

00:17:41 Amandeep

Tell my guest or send them any script just like we are having a very candid conversation. That is what I love to have on on with every guest.

00:17:48 Dilip

OK, yeah, that's what I was wondering because I saw that a transition in your show. So I was wondering as as in why would you switch from or reviewing podcast to?

00:17:57 Dilip

Because I see a lot of interviews in the recent podcast, so that's something that I was wondering. So coming back to the content of the show, as in picking the guest.

00:18:07 Dilip

So what? What is the process that you follow? How do you reach out to guests? Because I see that the guests who are coming on your show are from different parts of the world and it's.

00:18:18 Dilip

Different genres, so how do you reach out to these guests? Rather, how do you get information

00:18:23 Dilip

about people that you want to bring on your

00:18:25 Dilip

show and how do you reach out to them.

00:18:27 Amandeep

Alright, so I would say very, very honestly and candidly Dilip. There is no structured approach that I have.

00:18:33 Amandeep

When I say structure, I don't have a criteria that all the guests should have ticked all these boxes. When I when I was migrating into the interview format, my idea was to share stories and that's the same philosophy.

00:18:46 Amandeep

That I have with Tich button also, I very firmly believe that every person has a lot to share with every.

00:18:54 Amandeep

Anybody, it's just that somebody gets a platform somebody does not get a platform. Somebody is good at talking somebody is not good at talking and expressing themselves.

00:19:03 Amandeep

Now that's one thing. Second thing I'm very, firm you can. You can call me a little hesitant or little ziddi (stubborn) there, but I.

00:19:14 Amandeep

Decided that I will never have anybody who has big numbers on the social media, but I would rather have somebody who's done something in their life who have to struggle who created something, who done something out of the odds, or normal people who are going about with their lives facing different.

00:19:33 Amandeep

Challenges because see the books that I used to read even today are mostly non fictional. OK, very rarely I read fiction.

00:19:41 Amandeep

I read very selective fiction, but I read everything under the sun, so in nonfiction, ultimately, if you filter everything down, everything gets down to helping yourself in and pulling yourself up and motivation and whatnot.

00:19:54 Amandeep

Right and hands on our hearts. All of us, including you, including me. We are doing that already in our daily lives.

00:20:01 Amandeep

Today is a Sunday morning. We had a weekend. Tomorrow is work week. Today is a resting day, yet we are here talking to each other.

00:20:09 Amandeep

That shows that we know how to plan our time that shows, that shows our priorities. That shows that we want to share some information with each other, so that is what I had.

00:20:21 Amandeep

That if I'm going to invite normal people like you and me on the show and share their stories, tell them rather let them express themselves. Let the world know that you don't need to be Mark Cuban.

00:20:34 Amandeep

To lead a happy life, you can lead a happy life just like that. That was the foundation now approaching the guest and figuring out who to invite.

00:20:42 Amandeep

So when I started it was of course from, the not the inner circle, but from the circle of people around me. You also must be facing it now that when you approach somebody for the first time. That listen boss I want to host you on my show and they'll suddenly get chills.

00:20:54 Amandeep

Down their spines so I don't want to do. I can't be a guest so that's where I tell them that this is not about me.

00:21:01 Amandeep

This is about you. You come on the show, whatever you want to speak, you speak, it's your platform. My show is your platform.

00:21:07 Amandeep

But now what I do is we all are on social media and I keep a very close tab for a lot of individuals who are doing some amazing stuff for for anything for in in any domain example.

00:21:22 Amandeep

Very soon I'm going to be hosting the founders of Zen Caster on my show. Now the the reason for that? Why am I doing it? Because during the pandemic Zencastr did something which nobody else thought of.

00:21:34 Amandeep

And it's a it's an upstart, they just started amazing quality. There are lot of other platforms also but what what Zencastr did during the pandemic they said they will not charge anything to podcasters.

00:21:45 Amandeep

The platform will be free, right? That's a great deal for a business Dilip. Imagine the number of people across the globe using Zen Caster and Zencastr not.

00:21:54 Amandeep

Charging anything to them right and on top of it, giving them post production credit so that in case somebody wants to get their content filtered.

00:22:02 Amandeep

Ready patched into a single file, just click off a button, no costing. Now that's a great deal for me.

00:22:08 Amandeep

It takes a lot of guts in a business to do that. I hosted a gentleman from from a club called J 4 E Just for entrepreneurs, so it's basically a business community is based in Pune. He's built up a community around.

00:22:22 Amandeep

Entrepreneurs, now those entrepreneurs are not some those people who will flash their cars and mobiles. I've been to their meetups have a part of their group. Fortunately I became a part of that group after my after I hosted Vishal G on my show.

00:22:35 Amandeep

So I went to their meetups, they are normal people, let me help you if I can help you with some reference if I can help you with some product if I can help you with some service, that's what entrepreneurs do.

00:22:44 Amandeep

Normal people sitting on a dinner table discussing their problems that that's what entrepreneurs do. But what the what, what Instagram and YouTube tells us is that entrepreneur will have a Lamborghini. He'll have, .

00:22:55 Amandeep

, Pitbull, the wife will get down with a Shih Tzu in her wallet nonsense. It doesn't happen then. I've hosted 2 girls, 2 students from college

00:23:04 Amandeep

they decided to start up an Instagram page and from there now they've built up a whole community. But early days of their startup and I met them in one of the stand up shows that I had gone to

00:23:14 Amandeep

I'd gone for one open mic as a comedian. There I met these two 2 girls and they see normal after the show. Hi hello.

00:23:24 Amandeep

Alright, and they happen to ask me that we are doing this and if you can help me somewhere I said of course, why not.

00:23:30 Amandeep

I have a podcast come on the show so I hosted them. Why? Because they were doing something different to break the stereotype around women around student around girls who are studying.

00:23:38 Amandeep

Lot of stuff today.

00:23:39 Amandeep

So yeah, that's how I tap my guess that's how I approach them. I approached them on Instagram like I messaged you on Instagram.

00:23:45 Amandeep

I messaged him on Instagram that my name is Amandeep. These are my shows. I would love to host you and then I wait for their Message and that's how we connect

00:23:51 Dilip

and that's that's a unique thought process behind starting the podcast. So while everybody wants.

00:23:58 Dilip

To reach out to one of those big names just so that you can use their mileage to kind of get the promotion required, you have a completely different approach

00:24:08 Dilip

it's it's more like giving back to the community. So very, very interesting thought process behind it.

00:24:14 Amandeep

One reason when somebody asks me how much money do I make out of this, that's the common question. You also must be getting it a lot of times that how much do you earn and how can you earn?

00:24:23 Amandeep

I've not earned a single penny, so that's a different topic, but I tell everybody that I'm not doing this for money, and even for all the platforms that I speak to, all the creators that I talked to I said I'm in this for real.

00:24:34 Amandeep

No, what is that long term? I say I have to give these podcasts and now my YouTube channel to my daughter as a legacy that i have done my part now

00:24:44 Amandeep

It's your turn, so my idea is to share healthy content. Everybody is wearing sarees and dancing around trees. I don't want to do that. We want to spread some healthy content because I very strongly feel Dileep.

00:24:54 Amandeep

And I believe it in that this country needs a lot of content creators, to clear all the dirt that's floating in the air,

00:24:57 Dilip

Right? So completely agree with you on that. Coming back to key question that I want to understand from you.

00:25:05 Dilip

So now I see that you have two podcast. One is hosted on HubHopper, the other one is on HT Smart cast and there are some other platforms as well. And just to give you context, last week I hosted a clubhouse chat.

00:25:17 Dilip

And one of the question that I was asked by somebody was at what is the platform that you would prefer?

00:25:23 Dilip

Similarly, in in some of my podcast discovery calls, there are people who have no clue about what podcasts is.

00:25:29 Dilip

But they've still seen these names somewhere, so they come back and ask me. OK, if I am to start a podcast, and if I go with HT Smartcast, how much are they going to charge me and things like that?

00:25:39 Dilip

So this becomes a very interesting and very important topic from a podcasting perspective. So what I want to understand from you, you are with HubHopper and you said your first conversation where you started broadcasting.

00:25:50 Dilip

It was with somebody in Hopper which is Santon so So what I want to understand from you is how different are these two platforms?

00:25:59 Dilip

What is the and both of your shows? I think originals for these platforms. So what is the process behind producing these originals for them?

00:26:08 Amandeep

And what is the kind of support that you get from these platforms as in Newbie podcaster? All right, so we'll start with HubHopper first, because that's the oldest one in the Biblibabu show is my oldest podcast.

00:26:17 Dilip

Right?

00:26:19 Amandeep

That's where I started. So it started off with HubHopper as HubHopper originals, of course. And at that time, because HubHopper also had just started up and they were also exploring.

00:26:29 Amandeep

All I had from them in the name of original original was the tag on my thumbnail and the hub hopper.

00:26:36 Amandeep

Original pre roll and post roll, intro and outro Jingle that's it will hub Hopper. I never really had any, guidelines and I'm not a part of Hub Hopper anymore. I've just migrated my entire.

00:26:50 Amandeep

Show to Idea Brew studios. OK so when I started with Hopper I asked them they tell me what is it to be done? What are the structure? Is there anything dos and don'ts whatever? So nothing there.

00:27:00 Amandeep

'cause of course there was a lot of assistance that was provided. There is no doubt in that they they were very helpful.

00:27:04 Amandeep

I, I remember having very, very long conversational when telephone calls with the founder, Gautam and Nishant. They would get on a conference call and I would.

00:27:15 Amandeep

I was very frustrated because the show was wasn't getting anywhere and I was not happy with what I was doing so I wanted some.

00:27:20 Amandeep

Direction so yeah, in terms of originals being on Hub Hopper, I never truly had any guidelines. There was nothing when I just had that Jingle and, and that's it, right? So in terms of Tich button, so I pitched Tich button to HT smart cast. Tich button was never.

00:27:31 Dilip

OK.

00:27:38 Amandeep

Tich button it was, a show that I had to create around Punjab, Punjabi culture. The entire Punjab province including the other side and to break the stereotype.

00:27:50 Amandeep

So that was the theme that was the idea that was the vision, so I pitched it to a lot of platforms. And everywhere I couldn't reach anywhere. Then HT smart cast.

00:27:59 Amandeep

ke saath, the conversations started. We came up with the name of Tich button, but HT Smartcast.

00:28:06 Amandeep

I must say they they have. They have a process like after spending a year and a half with Hub Hopper as a podcaster. When I started with Tich button started taking form pre release form format with HT Smart cast I.

00:28:20 Amandeep

Used to get overwhelmed. I said, wow man, there's so much to take care of, so much to do so right from the inception, the ideations, the duration, the content.

00:28:29 Amandeep

In the name of the show, the thumbnail of the show we had so much of conversations going to and fro.

00:28:36 Amandeep

OK, because your HT is very clear that HT smart cast is a brand and every brand has some things to follow and eventually the podcasters grow into what?

00:28:49 Amandeep

The platform defines for them because as creators we are very flexible. Creativity is very flexible, so we kind of evolved into it. But then yeah, there was a very good XP.

00:28:59 Amandeep

So in terms of restrictions, I don't have restrictions as long as I'm not cursing as long as I'm not talking something which can hamper the serenity of the country.

00:29:10 Amandeep

If I'm not doing, if I'm not hosting terrorists as long as I'm not doing that, I'm I'm all good.

00:29:16 Amandeep

, yeah. So one guideline that I have with HT smart cars that my show cannot cross 30 minutes. Oh OK.

00:29:23 Amandeep

Yes, because as per the the directory analysis that they have, 25 minutes is so I was given a limit of 25 minutes. I said I can't do it in 25 minutes.

00:29:34 Amandeep

'cause if I'm hosting a guest and I'm asking him to introduce himself.

00:29:41 Dilip

Right?

00:29:42 Amandeep

So I said cannot happen. So we discussed and pushed it to 30 minutes and then the file size, the file, audio bitrate that gets uploaded on the platform had to be, decided so. One thing that I that I do is my files are very, very heavy. My one episode of.

00:29:58 Amandeep

the bibliobabu show is close to 150 MB because I record it at a very heavy bitrate and export at a very high bitrate, so the files are very detailed and very heavy. So with HT smart cast we had to maneuver.

00:30:09 Amandeep

The way I got on call lot of times with the sound engineer and we understood the numbers and that's how it's lovely. It's lovely even for season 2.

00:30:19 Amandeep

I mean, now we're entering season three, so I just had a call with them 10 days before. Now we're entering season 3.

00:30:24 Amandeep

Now these these are things that I have in my mind. Let me know how do we take it further? What can we do about this this this is this.

00:30:31 Amandeep

With HT Smart cast is so very very structured approach.

00:30:35 Amandeep

Yeah, and with with Hopper I don't blame them. I don't know if they if they have a structure now because I am one of those early ones who start in 2019.

00:30:43 Amandeep

That time they were also testing the waters. They were also very new, right? And the the basic structure was just that. You can't be cursing openly and you can't be hosting terrorists and you can't talk anything against any.

00:30:55 Amandeep

Any government whatever. So yeah. That was it. OK, so I hope that answers your questions.

00:30:59 Dilip

Yeah, that does so. In order to be called as a original so.

00:31:04 Dilip

There are some requirements because if you see today, Audible has their original but then audible has a lot of requirements for a show to be or for a podcast to be called as audible originals.

00:31:15 Dilip

So what were the key requirements with HT Smart cast? And you said that there weren't any restrictions with Hubhopper? Were there anything that they said OK, saying that, OK, In order for it to be original, at least this criteria needs to be met,

00:31:24 Amandeep

Yes, so one very important criteria that I can't have touch button anywhere else without the HD branding in the sense so the distribution can only be done by HD smart cuts. That's the way I will put it wherever the show is being pushed, it goes.

00:31:38 Dilip

OK.

00:31:42 Amandeep

With Hindustan times Smartcast branding, they are very, very consistent, clear and to an extent very very definitive about the audio quality.

00:31:55 Amandeep

So that is one thing that they had clear, so I had the Bibliobabu show catalog to, show that. OK, this is the audio quality.

00:32:02 Amandeep

And this is the kind of format that I have. What I really appreciated. What I really liked about Tich button about HT smart cast is they look at the longevity of the show, the sustainability that how long.

00:32:16 Amandeep

Is the show in the sense? How long are you planning to run this podcast for. After two episodes, you will be like

00:32:24 Amandeep

no guests, I can't do it anymore, so they they are very clear that it has to be minimum.

00:32:29 Amandeep

13 episodes per season, right in the first season because it was our first season for both of us as a creator and as a platform.

00:32:36 Amandeep

Both of us you wanted that window to understand each other. So after every three or four episodes we would go back and see how it.

00:32:43 Amandeep

It's going, any feedback that they have. DeeptIs the single point of contact in HD Smart cast and she's an Angel.

00:32:50 Amandeep

I mean, anytime anytime of the day, anytime of the night I we have a challenge, just ping her up and she'll be up and running and she'll tell you what is to be done but not to be done. OK, I think I am somebody who takes most of her.

00:33:03 Amandeep

time, because whenever we get on a call that call stretches to around 45 minutes.

00:33:09 Dilip

OK.

00:33:09 Amandeep

Imagine so, because I take a lot of feedback from her. , I talk about what do we do?

00:33:15 Amandeep

Where is my audience? How are they approaching? , let's figure out the drop of timing so I can tweak the show a little bit and she's not one of those P person who will , hang up the phone on I was. I don't have time so we have proper proper calendarized.

00:33:29 Amandeep

Calls and this stretch, and they're very helpful in that Shikhar leads, the uploading and the promotional aspect of it.

00:33:36 Amandeep

He's been very consistent and asking for thumbnails rejects the audio quality. Only then the episode.

00:33:42 Amandeep

uploads.. Without him approving the quality of the show. So imagine they've got more than 200 shows, but for every show the audio quality is checked individually.

00:33:53 Amandeep

Imagine understand the kind of hard work that they're putting in. if if a Creator does not appreciate the hard work that the platform is doing, I think.

00:33:55 Dilip

00:34:02 Amandeep

It's a little sad story, but yeah, they're they're very inspiring.

00:34:05 Amandeep

I would say like Shikhar always pings me. That Boss you need to start getting onto reels. You need to start getting onto clubhouse.

00:34:12 Amandeep

I am somebody who, runs very tight on my schedule because I've got two shows YouTube, my regular job and then family and and whatnot.

00:34:21 Amandeep

It gets a little difficult for me for realz I have a challenge with short form because once you.

00:34:26 Amandeep

Start getting into long format and reels for me is just another way of Tik T.O.K. So the only benefit that reels may I see is the reach which I don't need.

00:34:34 Amandeep

I don't run behind numbers, but Shikhar has been very, very consistent. That plus you need to go there. Send me your video sending every Monday or Tuesday and send me a message box. Where are your videos? Where are you videos so?

00:34:45 Amandeep

Yeah, they're very good that way, so they develop you as a creator. They force you to think out of your sandbox of creativity that what needs to be done so they're very good.

00:34:55 Dilip

That is, so yeah, I think it is required now that it's been almost about what two 2 1/2 years at podcasting has kind of taken off in India. And just like in.

00:35:05 Dilip

Blogging sometime back what happens is that all of these blogs start to mushroom similarly

00:35:11 Dilip

if you see during the pandemic there were so many shows that just started and all of these platforms were kind of flooded.

00:35:18 Dilip

But then what is the quality of information that is being given out? As in, is there any real content and how consistent are they?

00:35:26 Dilip

Because today when I go and look at some of these podcasts, they are. They haven't gone beyond maybe an 8 -

00:35:32 Dilip

10 episodes, so I think from that perspective what HD smart cast is doing is something that is required right now at least to refine and build that kind of bringing that kind of maturity into this entire podcasting.

00:35:45 Dilip

Thing well, so I think from that perspective and most other platforms should also try doing that, which is something that I feel in order for this industry to have something for people to get.

00:35:55 Dilip

Into it, seriously correct.

00:35:56 Amandeep

So adding on to what you said Dilip. I'm sorry I'm cutting you short there. The biggest not a roadblock, but the biggest difference that I see between a consistent broadcaster or a seasoned broadcaster and a new podcaster is.

00:36:12 Amandeep

Everybody thinks that podcasting equals to quick money. That is the problem and that is where all these platforms need to kind of put their foot down and start educating creators.

00:36:24 Amandeep

I talk about educating creators that as you very correctly said, right? What is the content that is being shared? What is the audio quality that?

00:36:32 Amandeep

You are using. I receive calls, not that I'm, showing off or something, but I receive a lot of calls because I'm part of lot of communities Iet called from lot of creators new who are about say 5, 7, 10 episodes old.

00:36:44 Amandeep

They would ask for feedback. I give them feedback that boss improve your audio quality and then they like. How can we improve, I say you do this?

00:36:49 Amandeep

Do this, do this and then they say, "Paisa Kabse milna shuru hoga (Hindi for - When will I starte earning money) and then I disconnect right then there itself. I said if you are in this for money, this is the wrong place to be, right?

00:36:58 Dilip

I completely agree. You can blame it on YouTube. Maybe because everything around creating content, the measurement is how. How much money I do.

00:37:06 Dilip

Do I make and how can I monetize it? As in, how can I make money? That's a important aspect to it, but then correct everything.

00:37:13 Dilip

You cannot be relating everything to the amount of money that you're going to make from the content that you leave.

00:37:17 Amandeep

Correct, and even on YouTube, it's not only those 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours. I am on YouTube.

00:37:23 Amandeep

You need to have those vouchers in one year. More than that it takes close to creating 150 videos.

00:37:30 Amandeep

After that you get that number of watch hours and those number of subscribers till the time you don't hit 200.

00:37:37 Amandeep

Two lacks subscribers on YouTube. It's difficult for you to make money out of ad revenues, right? That's what I said initially.

00:37:44 Amandeep

Right that Instagram YouTube. Facebook tells us that everything is easy money and lot of people are wasting their time, energy, efforts and their mental health into falling.

00:37:53 Amandeep

For this Whirlpool no I.

00:37:54 Dilip

I agree because , that's something that I'm I'm parallely running is related to this and I know the kind of mentality that people have around online making money and all of that.

00:38:04 Dilip

So while we are on that, so one important point that you brought up was the audio quality. Then I think that's something that I wanted to specifically talk about. Now when I listen to your podcast, something that stands out is.

00:38:15 Dilip

That the.

00:38:17 Dilip

Production quality is very nice. The content comes the next, but before that when I tune into the show and when I listen to that quality, it makes me listen a little more and that is where your content kind of hooks people into it and then they listen to the entire episode. So something that I really enjoyed.

00:38:36 Dilip

In both of your show is the kind of quality that you've put in into the into the show quality in terms of the production quality.

00:38:43 Dilip

So can you just tell me what are the kind of what is the setup that you have? What is the kind of microphone that you use and what is your post production work like where you are able to bring in this kind of quality into your show?

00:38:57 Amandeep

Thank you Dilip for your appreciation, coming from fellow creator, it truly means a lot.

00:39:02 Amandeep

Thank you so much. Now coming to the audio quality aspect. One thing that I've always been very, very clear about and even today like yesterday was Saturday.

00:39:11 Amandeep

Tich button episode had to go live? It didn't go because I did not like the quality of the production quality, so I'm going to sit again tomorrow with a fresh perspective.

00:39:18 Amandeep

Redo the entire thing and then upload it for me as you said yes. Quality comes first. Content is king so I was just recording.

00:39:25 Amandeep

I just made a video yesterday for my YouTube and I spoke in that video that you can have.

00:39:31 Amandeep

An amazing food.

00:39:33 Amandeep

Cooked by the best chef of the world. But if you're serving it on a tissue paper, the food is lost its purpose.

00:39:41 Amandeep

Altogether, right content is king, but the Queen will always add colors to your king. So the Queen is a production quality. Now I told you about Business Wars with David Brown. I was fortunate.

00:39:54 Amandeep

Enough and I was out of my brain for like so many days.

00:39:58 Amandeep

when David confirmed that he'd be on my shows. I've hosted him on my podcast and that was like my dream come true because Idolize him.

00:40:06 Amandeep

The kind of audio quality that that all the Wondery shows had, and I started my podcasting podcast listening thing from Wondery. Yes, it all starts with understanding the kind of.

00:40:18 Amandeep

Space that you have where you gonna record. So in my previous House where I used to stay, where I started with the Bibliobabu show

00:40:24 Amandeep

Oh, I knew nothing about microphones. ordered that Maono ka mic with the podcasting kit with the boom arm and everything. I plugged it in my laptop. I had, a laptop which was not.

00:40:36 Amandeep

Supporting heavy softwares I had no knowledge about audio but I put in that hard work Dileep I left hotels because I wanted to spend some time with my daughter and see her grow up and you can spend time with my family and have a relaxed life. But then this creativity bug bit me and then.

00:40:56 Amandeep

I still work long hours at my office today also is 9 to 6.

00:41:00 Amandeep

But I start my work at 7:00 in the morning, so seven to about 8:30, 7 to 8 one hour, and then once I'm back from office then till 11:30 in the night I sit with my production with my videos and audios, right?

00:41:12 Amandeep

You need to put in that hard work. So what I did is I had this Maono MIC plugged into the laptop and I would record the audio quality will be.

00:41:20 Amandeep

Pathetic. What I would do is I would keep pillows on the table and put my laptop on top of it and take a blanket over.

00:41:28 Amandeep

For me and then record so that there is some depth in the voice.

00:41:32 Dilip

OK.

00:41:33 Amandeep

And I was learning constantly. Audacity is where I started off and I have this habit of clicking on every possible button that I see everywhere.

00:41:44 Amandeep

And I and I tell everybody to do that, because that is how you will learn. You can never be perfect if you don't do mistakes, right? So the Ravan thing that happened, to fix up that reverb if.

00:41:54 Amandeep

Go listen to my episode about Raavan. There is one line where I say, Raavan, Raavan, Raavan. there is this entire cinematic that 7 seconds cut Jingle to create that. I spent three hours because I was not getting the right mix of reverb and echo.

00:42:10 Dilip

OK.

00:42:12 Amandeep

That's how I started. I learned, learned, learned, then what happened by the time I was a little better, I was getting a little happier with my production quality. My mic decided

00:42:23 Amandeep

to conk off. I don't know some electrical fluctuation happened and the entire wire got spoiled and lockdown happened. OK and then I with my camera I had the pop filter mic and I had a lab Mike already bought with the camera 2018-2019 so I started recording with them. You will not believe.

00:42:43 Amandeep

There have been about 10 of my episodes which I've recorded in my wardrobe, so I would close the door, put a pillow between the door and the floor to close the gap windows closed, pull out the curtains, open up the closet my wardrobe.

00:42:59 Amandeep

Put clothes on either side and the best thing is I was very keen to understand how audio works, including the physics of it.

00:43:06 Amandeep

So the biggest mistake what people do is when they're talking in front of a mic. They would keep something in front of the MIC that will absorb the noise. The sound, the vocals. It could dampen it up right, but.

00:43:18 Amandeep

Audio is a wave. It'll go behind, bump off the wall and enter your Mic. Those are the aspects of physics.

00:43:25 Amandeep

Also that I understood so using them I would , stand for like 30-30 minutes in my closet

00:43:26 Dilip

Right?

00:43:36 Amandeep

Imagine imagine a guy hot summer standing. big bed sheet on top of you and you're talking into a wardrobe. People will come and kick you.

00:43:38 Dilip

Right?

00:43:47 Amandeep

Great, I thank my star that my parents weren't there or they would have. They would have taken my daughter, taken my wife and my daughter with them.

00:43:57 Amandeep

So that's when I . So I was evolving all this way and then.

00:44:02 Amandeep

I thought that I now need to start investing in my gear because I was thinking big that chalo locked down as all of us was was thinking.

00:44:10 Amandeep

15-45 days may lockdown will be over and I will now start going and start interviewing people on site.

00:44:16 Amandeep

But for that to happen, you want a mic. You need an audio interface. you.

00:44:20 Amandeep

Set up OK.

00:44:21 Amandeep

So I started doing that research, spoke to a lot of people, and then I, invested in my first audio interface which was zoom H4 N Pro.

00:44:29 Amandeep

So zoom H4 N Pro also works as a handy recorder so I am a big fan of sound designing for my videos and for the shows so.

00:44:39 Amandeep

That helps me to capture the ambient noise and plus it gives me , those different mic inputs and XLR inputs.

00:44:46 Amandeep

What I constantly had is doo ki soch think about the future, what people do, and , I've learned this the hard way and a friend of mine. She keeps telling this to me every now and then whenever we speak. He's a camera maestro.

00:44:59 Amandeep

So we talk a lot about photography and cameras and , technicals and whatnot, so he keeps on telling me that think of the future.

00:45:05 Amandeep

Think of the future and I always had this in me that , I thought forward, so Invested that now for zoom H4N pro. I know I thought of I said before I buy a new mic.

00:45:16 Amandeep

Let me buy a new cable and see if it's cable problem. So I got in a new cable plugged into the Zoom H4N Pro connected to my laptop.

00:45:24 Amandeep

It started working. Then I understood as I told you right, I press every button on the zoom H4N Pro started pressing every button, started tweaking, learned audacity in and out back of the hand and.

00:45:36 Amandeep

Then very recently I again invested in a dynamic microphone. Now what I'm using is a dynamic mic. OK, so because this gives me a window of sitting under the fan.

00:45:45 Amandeep

Condensers are very sensitive, so understanding the basics, understanding the polar pattern of the mikes I constantly I'm not saying that I'm the best at it, but I still feel I have a long way to go and this is the only thing that will keep anybody going in creative life. In non creative, like the day you think that it all

00:46:05 Amandeep

you are done, you can't learn anything, so I have this hunger of learning learning. You will not believe the Zoom H4N Pro has been with me for two years, but I still have again started reading.

00:46:15 Amandeep

It's it's owners manual again to see what have I missed a freshie perspective because now I have an XLR input in a dynamic mic. Let me go back to the.

00:46:24 Amandeep

Manual again and see how it goes. Then there are these, so this is to equipment. Then there is this software thing that you need to understand.

00:46:32 Amandeep

You need to understand the noise gate. The low cut filter, the compressors, how these things work, a problem very common problem. everybody goes to that stage ke bas koi bata de ke kaunse button dabane hai (Hindi for - somebody tell me which button to press)

00:46:44 Amandeep

if I wish anybody could tell me which buttons to press and my audio is clear.

00:46:49 Amandeep

Most of us do that there is no harm in in in in that because all of us are newbies.

00:46:53 Amandeep

But eventually where I evolved is if I go and search on YouTube, I will go and search for a very specific thing, right?

00:47:00 Amandeep

A low cut filter in audacity is different than low cut filter in Adobe audition. Now I'm using wavelab cast the noise.

00:47:08 Amandeep

Low cut filter is completely different.

00:47:10 Amandeep

There, so how do these numbers affect your audio quality? What is the output? How will the bit rate effect right?

00:47:11 Dilip

OK.

00:47:17 Amandeep

Remember, we spoke about high quality bitrates, so my audio, my audio exports are very heavy because I export in 320 KBPS.

00:47:25 Amandeep

But there are platforms like HubHopper. Now they've started, but earlier they had a limitation of 10o MB file size

00:47:31 Dilip

Right?

00:47:31 Amandeep

At 320 KPS my file size would go to 151 seventy right now. HD Smart cast does not want a file size heavier than 40 MB.

00:47:39 Amandeep

Imagine 1:50 to bring down the quality to 40MB. Imagine the kind of numbers I had to play around with in the in the audio input. What is the difference between 44,100 kilohertz and 48,000 kilohertz so?

00:47:44 Dilip

Right?

00:47:52 Amandeep

These are the questions I always tell everybody to ask themselves - why. Don't just be

00:48:00 Amandeep

I saw it on Youtube and now let me do this and I'm gonna do this for my life.

00:48:05 Amandeep

It's it. It'll work of course to an extent, but what after that there's a. There's an entire world of audio itself, so yeah, and I've I've I've been very passionate about quality because as you said, right? So now what you said is a validation for me.

00:48:20 Amandeep

That my approach is working to an extent. I don't want thousand people to tuning in to my show. I just want two people tuning into my show.

00:48:27 Amandeep

But then those two people should stick around. So as you said, the moment you connect the headphones in the moment you click play on the show, the quality holds you for some time and then the content pitches in right? Correct? That's the game I always design.

00:48:40 Amandeep

End, but thank you so much and I'm glad that it's Working

00:48:42 Dilip

I think what you said it comes because of two things.

00:48:47 Dilip

One is the passion about whatever it is that you're doing. So considering that you haven't gotten into podcast just to become rich in maybe 6-7 days, make a ton of money and show off.

00:49:01 Dilip

But passion of yours which are trying to put it out through podcast one and second, your habit of reading and you being an absolute lover of.

00:49:11 Dilip

Books. I think these two things is something that is reflecting in in what you just spoke right now. But what I feel is that and I keep telling this to even when I have conversations with my brothers with my friends.

00:49:24 Dilip

, I said these. These are some things that you need to have irrespective of what you are getting into. One you need to be.

00:49:31 Dilip

Passionate about whatever it is that you're doing, and second reading, learning. Because in today's world partial information is very harmful.

00:49:40 Dilip

So so if you want full information read learn because that is what will get you where you want to get to, .

00:49:47 Amandeep

And what what you said, right passion, passion, education. Third thing is Garibi (Poverty) people think it's very So what?

00:49:53 Amandeep

As you as rightly said, partial information, Amazon everything is discounted, everything is EMI based. So people think that it's easy to spend.

00:50:01 Amandeep

Money on high quality gear. A high quality gear will not give you a good quality if you don't know how to use it.

00:50:07 Amandeep

You may go ahead and buy. I bought a dynamic mic and I did a selection out of endless possibilities.

00:50:15 Amandeep

I could have very easily bought a rode pod mic for 10,000 bucks, but I said it has a limitation because I understand the.

00:50:21 Amandeep

Acoustics I understand how.

00:50:24 Amandeep

I understand the capability of my audio interface to give a context really just for this part just put the unedited part when I'm saying this, the audio that is coming out of this mic through my interface.

00:50:26 Dilip

Yeah, right?

00:50:36 Amandeep

Now, if I had a rode pod mic connected instead of this current dynamic Mic that I have, the audio quality would have been.

00:50:44 Amandeep

Very less by quality I mean the volume. You would really have to bump up the gain. We have to add up the gain.

00:50:50 Amandeep

In in post production, so you need to also understand that don't waste your money. Don't just put in your money, it's only ₹5000 is only ₹10,000.

00:50:59 Amandeep

We'll take it on EMI, but then what? So we are fortunate enough as Indians to get a lot of softwares. Audacity is a great tool. I edit my YouTube videos.

00:51:10 Amandeep

Audio in audacity. Imagine I use Davinci, Resolve, Filmora and premiere pro. But I edit my.

00:51:15 Amandeep

Audio in audacity, because that's such a sexy tool, it gives you so much of leverage to play around just you need to know the numbers and which buttons to click right.

00:51:26 Amandeep

So save your money. I mean, that's the third thing that I would like to add up to the two that you said that don't waste money. Money will not get you quality. Your efforts will.

00:51:35 Amandeep

Your your understanding your education will get quality.

00:51:38 Dilip

Right, no, that's that's a very valid point, and I see a lot of people.

00:51:42 Dilip

just pumping in money even before they know, know anything about it, like for example in the photography hobby I see people investing in just like that and not even knowing as in the basics of photography. So something similar. Yeah, so coming back to the editing and the post production. Do you do

00:52:02 Dilip

all of that on your own. Or do you take any help from anybody?

00:52:05 Amandeep

No, so I do all the production all by myself.

00:52:09 Amandeep

Although HD Smartcast offers post production assistance I'm working with, creating.

00:52:15 Amandeep

One of the book that I was writing I'm I'm working on it to create an audio show out of it, but for there also it'll have a lot of sound designing folly ambient noises, but I do the edits myself because I feel that for this episode did you have a vision? You have certain emotions that you want to come out of this.

00:52:35 Amandeep

Episode if you send this file to me I will add up my emotions. I will not be able to understand your emotions right and I am my best critic. As I said, the audience may not even realize that this has happened.

00:52:48 Amandeep

But as a creator we have to be our best critic. If you don't like something, don't put it out there.

00:52:54 Amandeep

That's what I feel a lot of people say could just do it. Just do it. You may call me a little, quality freak, but what I feel is that tomorrow when you look back on your content, you shouldn't have a facepalm moment. K, What the hell was I doing?

00:53:11 Amandeep

Eventually every creator has it I also have it. My previous episode was not as good as my next episode because I messed up with the bit rate.

00:53:22 Amandeep

So I learned that from the previous episode right now, the audience may not realize it, but I realize it. So I'll work on it in the next episode.

00:53:28 Amandeep

So you have to be your best critic. I do all the post production by myself. I try to keep it, as minimum I don't over do one thing that I would.

00:53:39 Amandeep

, like to share through your platform. Dilip is for every creators new or seasoned. One of course knows about this.

00:53:46 Amandeep

Whenever you are creating, keep the edits in mind. Don't create and then go to the edit table because the software has a limitation right? Your equipment has a limitation, so we need to understand the kind of.

00:53:59 Amandeep

The kind of equipment that you have, the kind of software your system

00:54:02 Amandeep

supports the kind of knowledge you have about your software and then start writing your scripts so everything will fall into sync. You will not end up wasting a lot of time.

00:54:10 Dilip

No, I agree, completely agree. And one last point, once again on the post production, so I see that you're using a lot of music in your episodes and different music. So where do you source these musics from?

00:54:22 Amandeep

Youtube Audio Library, and I sourced them from there and for Tich button I got the music created and for season three again I'm going to be recreating the intro music and so that music I got created but the Bibliobabu Show, the music that you that you hear is all sourced from YouTube Audio library and I make sure that I.

00:54:28 Dilip

OK.

00:54:42 Amandeep

Don't use something that is not copyright free, right? So on that we imagine the because I did not want to.

00:54:48 Amandeep

Use , creators work without giving him credit. I almost bought a MIDI keyboard three months back. I have music Creation Software's in my system, but then I wanted to invest in a new camera.

00:54:59 Dilip

OK.

00:55:01 Amandeep

I'm upgrading my camera and my I had to buy this dynamic Mike. So I put up in there but , MIDI keyboard will come soon and I'll start creating my own music.

00:55:09 Dilip

OK, that's that's nice so.

00:55:12 Dilip

, you you.

00:55:14 Dilip

Seem very passionate about a lot of things, so on that note my last question. So if you want to give one advice to somebody who wants to start a podcast today.

00:55:26 Dilip

What will that advice be?

00:55:27 Amandeep

Ask three questions to yourself. First is why the hell do you want to waste your time in this?

00:55:34 Amandeep

And exactly those words, why the hell do you want to waste your time in this? Why do you want to invest your time in this? Second

00:55:41 Amandeep

Who are you doing it for? What is the reason? Third, can you be shameless enough of producing 50 episodes and per episode getting only five listens if you.

00:55:54 Amandeep

If you're able to answer these three questions, take the Jump

00:55:56 Dilip

OK interesting good.

00:55:59 Dilip

I think those three questions covers most of the challenges that people might face when getting into podcasting, so I think good three questions that people should ask themselves so a wonderful conversation. I mean then thanks a lot for coming on the show, sharing your experience. Sharing your thoughts.

00:56:18 Dilip

And sharing all of this knowledge and , like what I said, I was listening to the Tich button and I really loved the intro music and thank you.

00:56:27 Dilip

I like what you said, your theme or your idea around the Tich button was to bring in that that break that stereotype.

00:56:34 Dilip

and give that real culture. What exactly is Punjabi culture all about? And I could sense that in the music so I really loved that music so I would wait to see what your new intro music is going to be for season three so but the very nice conversation.

00:56:49 Dilip

Thanks a lot for coming on the show. I really enjoyed it and I'm sure the audience will also enjoy it.

00:56:54 Amandeep

Thank you so much Dileep, it really feels very very different. Being on the other side of the mic . So this is the first time I'm I'm being interviewed over a podcast. I remember I had.

00:57:07 Amandeep

Instagram live interview with RJ Russian last year. So yeah, it feels amazing to be on the on this side of the mic and I thank you for taking this initiative of bringing creators and sharing their stories because every creator has a different different pathway. Every creator has different obstacles that every creator.

00:57:26 Amandeep

This is day in and day out, right? So thank you so much and I really appreciate the the title. Also that you call it podcasting university because

00:57:35 Amandeep

Then everybody who wants to get into podcasting, no. Is it OK if I listen to this, they should be patient enough to listen the conversation, which goes beyond one hour, but they're gonna learn a lot from the host itself from the guest, right?

00:57:49 Amandeep

So thank you so much for this initiative Dilip. And it was my honor to be on the show, so thank you.

00:57:55 Amandeep

Look forward to many more conversations.

00:57:56 Dilip

Sure, Aman so thanks a lot once again and hope to talk to you sometime in the future soon.

00:58:02 Amandeep

Looking forward to thank you and please take care.

00:58:04 Dilip

I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Aman.

00:58:07 Dilip

If you did, then don't forget to subscribe to the show to stay updated. Do visit the podcasting university.com for the show notes and the resources mentioned in the episode.

00:58:19 Dilip

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00:58:27 Dilip

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00:58:42 Dilip

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00:59:02 Dilip

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00:59:16 Dilip

In there.

00:59:17 Dilip

That is all that I have for this episode. I'll be back again in the next one with another interesting conversation. Until then, keep listening to the podcast in university.