Premiere Podcast Studios

We spoke to Premiere Podcast Studios about their studio space in Shoreditch…

What inspired you to start Premiere Podcast Studios, and what sets it apart from other podcast studios?

The Podcast Studio in London, actually sits on the site of my previous music studios, which itself had a great history as Andrew Weatherall’s Scrutton Street Studios in Shoreditch. The space had long been known for its music production, and taking over the site in 2016 I continued that legacy with another fantastic few years as an electronic music studio. However, at the start of Covid the lease ended and the landlord refurbished the whole building, which meant the music studios were no more at this stage. Fast forward through lockdown, and I saw the opportunity to rebuild – this time as a podcast recording studio, keeping that creative energy alive but evolving it into a new proposition.

What really sets us apart is the attention to service. We support clients from arrival to recording to final edit, with in-house engineers and a full studio team on hand throughout the session. It’s a complete experience, not just a hire space and we pride ourselves on the personal touch. This enables hosts and their guests to fully concentrate on their performance and subject matter.

If you are hosting multiple sessions on one day we can handle meet and greet and staging of the interviewees to make sure the experience between recordings is seamless. Many clients bring a whole team of producers and brand managers. We have a production area specifically for this, with a live feed from the studio which also has a talkback facility for producers and hosts in the room. There are also a host of on-site facilities most of which are provided free of charge. We also offer wheelchair access.

Lastly, its location, location, location. Our proximity to London transport hubs means you can attract a wider (sometimes global) pool of guests with minimal travel hassle:

• 5 Minutes walk from Old Street, Liverpool St & Moorgate which boast direct connections to Stansted & Heathrow and airports through the Elizabeth Line and Overground rail.

Can you walk us through the facilities and services your studio offers to podcasters?

We offer multiple set-ups with various fireside options plus 2–4 people in a cross-desk format. We also have a production area with live feed and seating working area for producers and brand managers to utilise without disrupting the recordings.

We only offer engineer-managed sessions, we are not a self-service studio. The prices often advertised by our competitors frequently have a lower “from” price, we try to avoid too many “add-ons” with our pricing to keep things transparent.

Our core services: as would be expected with any podcast studio, cover multi-cam recording in HD – 4k, with live editing options, recording, mixing and mastering of Audiobooks and audio productions such as digital radio shows, plus the full gamut of podcast editing options including trailers and thumbnail creation and social cuts.

The studio itself was custom built with external sound isolation in mind using the traditional room-within-a-room design. Built with extra high-grade materials such as Fermacell boards (instead of plasterboard) and higher density 100kg/m3 rockwool layers rather than standard RW3 which has a rating of 60kg/m3. All designed to give the best possible recording environment for customers.

The wider building space has modern facilities with a large reception area for hosts and guests to meet and prepare for their recordings, a large kitchen area and private meeting rooms for hire should clients want privacy or hair and makeup services, it can all be provided to assist. Ultimately, if you’re looking to rent a podcast studio in London, it should have amenities to cater for all types of guests. We also have wheelchair accessibility.

Something which also sets us apart is our ability to provide Digital expertise through my agency Fused Seven. Over the last 14 years I have worked with a lot of businesses in a range of sectors driving Digital Awareness, Global SEO strategies and ROI-focussed customer acquisition activity. This expertise is utilised for clients who are looking to scale their podcast, especially in an algorithm-driven social media world, where, depending on your sector or podcast niche, finding your right audience can require a more precise strategic approach than just blanket coverage through social advertising.

Finally, the behemoth AI. There’s so much ongoing noise around AI tools and its usage, it’s impossible to ignore the use cases for it across our business and the client’s final product. However, the quality of AI output is much more advanced within the creative sphere, than pre- / post-production. We take a very considered approach to AI deployment, utilising it where appropriate to add value to the production and recording process (like Riverside remote recordings), but we also offer hybrid solutions, utilising AI to offer cost benefit whilst keeping the human element needed for premium quality control.

What are some of the biggest challenges podcasters face when recording, and how does your studio help overcome them?

There are 4 main areas:

1. Recording
2. Hands on Support
3. Attention to Detail
4. Vision / Quality of Final Product

In regard to the recording process, it’s the environment, and being able to control the macro factors that might affect the recording. We’re always running back up feeds which means we’ve never (yet) encountered any lost recordings (which is never a good look). We do everything we can to mitigate technology failures. They obviously can happen, and the purpose of having engineers monitoring for issues as soon as they happen is the peace of mind using a studio setting provides.

Hands-on support is something some studios lack and clients are left to figure it out themselves. We only work on a managed session basis, we stay with you throughout, making sure every detail is handled so you can focus entirely on the conversation.

Where possible, laser focussed attention to detail will enable you to put the best version of your production out into the world. Measure twice, cut once if you like. You don’t want to be watching back footage and realise there is incorrect framing or some visual / audible noise affecting the quality. Of course, if relaxed and loose is the nature of the podcast, then it’s less of an issue but, s#*t can always go wrong regardless.

Lastly, it’s just about striving for quality regardless of your aesthetic / brand. Having a clear idea of how a professional podcast should look and flow are factors that we as a studio will work with the hosts to achieve the desired final product. That guidance helps hosts stay in the zone while we handle everything behind the scenes.

Have you worked on any standout podcasts that you’re particularly proud of?

Some of the guests and hosts that come through the door are definitely surreal moments.

We recently hosted a 2-day recording with Maisie Williams (of Game of Thrones fame) through Cup and Nuzzle productions for the Famously… Winona Podcast.

We’ve also hosted a range of high-profile guests from Riz Ahmed to Rob Delaney, and recently recorded a number of episodes for HRH Queen Camilla’s – The Queens Reading Room. These are just a few of the names people might be aware of.

What advice would you give to someone starting their first podcast in a professional studio?

Preparation is everything. Make sure you have done your research and understand that you’re investing in your choices, just like you would a new car or something high value. If you’re serious about the podcast and are in it for the long run, then it pays to take things seriously from the get-go and evolve from there.

Using a studio such as ours allows you to focus on your performance, making sure the message you’re getting across with your podcast is the stand-out, instead of worrying about technical issues or scrambling for support and trying to fix problems in post-production, especially when recording with an elusive guest, you may only get one chance with them!

How do you see the podcasting industry evolving, and what role do professional studios like yours play in that growth?

I feel there’s already been an interesting divergence, the growth in B2B podcasting is really interesting, it presents a real opportunity across the board. It’s easy to look at the higher profile entertainment podcasts and assume the medium of podcasting is all about that. Increasingly that’s just not the case. Really niching down (from a B2B perspective) drives highly targeted and engaged audiences which can deliver valuable return on investment for businesses. At Premiere we not only have the production expertise but we also have the strategic experience from a media perspective to be able to facilitate the amplification of the product.

What’s next for Premiere Podcast Studios – any exciting plans or expansions on the horizon?

More locations and a broader range of set-ups. We’ve got a huge proof of concept project in the pipeline but, unfortunately, I can’t say any more at this stage!

How can Pod Bible readers find out more about the studio?

Find out more on our website, email us at bookings@premierepodcaststudios.com or give us a call on +44 7916 250090.

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