The hidden cost of modern podcasting

Modern podcasting requires managing content across every platform where audiences actually live. YouTube became the largest podcast platform in 2024, with Spotify hosting half a million video podcasts. Industry research shows 57% of new podcast discoveries now start on social feeds, not the full episode. Independent creators face a brutal workflow tax: six different tools costing $200-300 per month, plus 11-19 hours per episode spent on distribution alone. That's half a working week on top of recording and editing. The biggest shows solved this by building teams, but most creators with 500 or 10,000 subscribers end up skipping the very surfaces that would grow their audience. Subwave aims to solve this workflow problem by turning one recording into everything: audio episodes, video pages, social clips, article drafts, newsletters, captions, chapters and show notes. Built for independent creators who need the distribution capabilities of a media company without hiring a team. Published on Subwave https://subwave.app/@paul/post/the-hidden-cost-of-modern-podcasting