Adding Music and Sound Effects to Podcasts to Enhance Production Value

Podcasts are essentially talk shows. Whether they consist of just a single person doing a monologue, either scripted or improvised, a host and a guest, two or more cohosts, or any group of talking heads, podcasts reproduce the type of programming that has been on the radio for decades.

People tune into podcasts because they want to hear discussions about a topic that interests them, and they find the hosts and guests interesting. While podcasts are mostly about words, adding music and sound effects can make them more interesting and make them sound more professional.

Intro and outro music

The most common way music is used in podcasts is as a bed during the intro and or outro. A music bed is background music that's played while people are speaking. The music shouldn't be distracting, and it shouldn't be too loud; it's essentially there to frame the voice that it's backing. It indicates that this section of the podcast is not the main content, the same way a TV show might have music beds under credits.

Podcast intros are often pre-recorded and are reused for every episode. The music bed allows people familiar with the podcast to skip over that part of the episode, unless a podcast has different intros for each episode. The same as the case for outros: they generally say the same thing every episode, but they may mention a sponsor or a discount code related to an ad that was read earlier in the episode.

You might also want to use a cold open in your podcast episodes. This is when the first thing people hear is voices, and this may last for 30 seconds, a minute, or more. This is then followed by an intro with music and the name of the podcast. This is how Saturday Night Live works: by giving the audience a taste of the episode immediately before going into the intro.

Music as transitions between topics

If you have multiple topics in your episode, it can be useful to use some music as a transition between them. These clips don't have to be long; they could be just a few seconds. The music could be the same as you use for your intro and outro, or a clip from that music, or something different. It's like a chapter break in a book; it helps listeners know that the topic is changing, and gives them a point where they can pause the episode if they want.

Ad read music beds

Another good place to use music beds is during ad reads. The music sends a signal to listeners that what is spoken while the music plays is different from the main content of the podcast. You can use your theme music, or you can use different music for ads.

While intro and outro theme music can be punchy or even aggressive to attract attention, music under ads should be laid-back and mellow. The music should not overwhelm the ad nor distract from it. Your sponsors don't want your ad reads to be hard to hear over music.

Sound effects

Using sound effects in podcasts is risky. While some podcasts work well with sound effects - especially podcasts that tell fictional stories, or narrative non-fiction podcasts - it can feel odd to hear sound effects during a conversation or interview. Sure, you can add some applause, a sad trombone, or a "boing" every now and then to spice up your podcast, but don't overdo it.

You can find tens of thousands of sound effects on the BBC Sound Effects website. Note that these are free for non-commercial use, but if your podcast has sponsors, then you need a license.

Using music in podcasts

Can you legally use music in podcasts? This is a thorny issue. If you've composed the music, or if you've found it on a website offering royalty-free or Creative Commons music, then, yes, you can. If not, you could be in for a heap of trouble.

You cannot just take a snippet from a song and include it in your podcast, no matter how long it is, unless you wrote it. You'll likely get copyright claims on it, especially on YouTube, where YouTube's Content ID system is aggressive and flawed. One content creator discovered this when he uploaded a 10-hour recording of white noise (random audio hissing sounds), and had five copyright claims against it. I once uploaded an RSS feed of one of my podcasts to YouTube. It ingested more than 300 episodes, all of which had intro and outro music composed by my co-host, and one of them was hit by a copyright claim.

If you want to use music, make sure it's either music you or someone you know has composed expressly for the podcast, and has not been released. Or, check out some of the many sources of unencumbered music, such as Pixabay, YouTube Audio Library, Musopen, Free Music Archive, or check out Moby's catalog of nearly 500 tracks of free music at mobygratis.

Some examples of creative uses of music and sound effects

There are plenty of podcasts that use music and sound effects, and they can give you some ideas about what you could do in your podcast. Twenty Thousand Hertz is a podcast about sound design; as such, it is a good example of how music and sounds can be used in podcasts. However, it uses a lot of music, which may seem excessive over time. Radiolab is a radio show/podcast produced by public radio station WNYC, which features innovative use of music and sound effects. And Dust is a science fiction podcast presenting "immersive science fiction audio stories." Featuring a bevy of well-known actors, the sound effects in this podcast help make its stories compelling.

Music and sound effects have long been used in radio, and can be effective in podcasts. Don't overuse them, and be aware of the potential for getting targeted by copyright claims. Used creatively, they can make your podcast sound more professional.