Hi, I’m Jamie Kennedy, Executive Podcast Producer at Brave Moon Podcasts. In this episode, I’m diving into one of the most important aspects of podcasting – choosing the right music. Music can make or break your podcast by setting the mood, telling a story, and leaving a lasting impression on your listeners.
Whether you're just starting or looking to update your existing podcast, I’ll guide you through the process of selecting music that enhances your message and resonates with your audience. I also share five hacks, including where to find royalty-free music, how to choose based on your target audience, and why instrumental tracks are often the best choice for podcasts. Tune in for tips that will help you create a podcast that sticks with your listeners!
In this episode, we talk about…
Why choosing the right music is essential for setting the mood and tone of your podcast.
How music tells a story and sticks with listeners, impacting recall and emotions.
Top five hacks for selecting the right music, from royalty-free sources to understanding your target audience.
Transcribed Podcast Episode
Do you know how important it is to choose the right music for your podcast? Music can make - or break - a podcast.
Music sets the mood, it tells a story, and it sticks with listeners. The music you choose, whether you mean to or not, will affect the way that a listener feels, thinks and reflects on your podcast.
So it’s important you choose the right music from the very start. Already started your podcast? Don’t worry, it’s not too late to adjust it. I’ll explain how to do that later in this episode.
Thank you for joining me today. I'm Jamie Kennedy, Executive Podcast Producer at Brave Moon Podcasts. We’ve produced podcasts for Virgin Active health clubs, Functional Training Institute, wellbeing coaches and speakers, and many more.
I started this podcast to show you that creating your own podcast from home is entirely achievable. No, really. I’m recording and editing this podcast, my very first solo podcast, from the comfort of my home, with my Rode Podcaster mic, my trusty MacBook, and my dog Riggs at my feet.
My goal is to share everything I’m learning from this podcast, that will ultimately help you produce your own podcast. Plus I’m including all the insider secrets I’ve learned along the way being a podcast producer for some of the top health and fitness brands on the charts today.
So whether you're a small business owner, health and fitness professional or a wellness enthusiast looking to boost your brand through podcasting, this podcast is for you.
For a comprehensive list of the equipment and software my clients use, head to my website and grab my free Start-a-Podcast guide. I've condensed months of research into this guide, offering you the industry's best choices. Download it today; the link is in the show notes!
Now, let’s jump into it: how to choose the right music for your podcast.
The first thing you need to think about when choosing music for your podcast is that music sets a mood. When a listener hits play on a podcast, the music they hear is what sets the mood for the podcast. It also establishes the mood of the listener.
Think about it.
When you listen to a sad song, do you feel it?
And vice versa, do you feel a little more lively in your step when you hear an energetic song? This mood shift is not a coincidence.
Music affects our mood regularly, and a podcast is no exception.
The second thing to consider when choosing music for your podcast is that music tells a story. With or without lyrics, music is expressing a story to your audience.
Is your podcast fun, playful, profound, or mysterious?
A listener can tell instantly from a song what it is they want to know about a podcast.
Will they get the motivational tingles of a personal training podcast?
Or a soothing, grounding sensation from a meditation podcast?
Stories are the windows into our soul, and music is the door.
The third thing to consider is that music sticks with listeners. Have you ever listened to a song and had it stuck in your head long after you stopped listening to it?
You're not alone.
Around 90% of people say they get a song stuck in their head at least once a week.
Music beds for podcasts are no different. This "sticky" effect creates greater recall of your podcast and, most importantly, creates an emotional state in the listener that will make them tune in again and again.
If you haven’t already started a podcast, it’s great to choose a background song from the get-go. Use it in your trailer aka podcast elevator pitch, as well as your intro of the podcast. I also recommend adding it in your outro, as well. This creates a cohesive feel to your podcast. I highly recommend sticking with your music in every episode.
Now if you’ve already started a podcast and you feel it needs to change. Maybe you’re realizing it’s not fitting the mood of your podcast, or you’ve gotten negative feedback about it. Then it’s not too late to change. If I were you, I would change the music in a few steps. First and foremost, update your trailer to reflect the new music. Oftentimes, this is the first thing new listeners hear when they find your podcast. So get them started with the updated music. Second, I would recommend introducing your listeners to the new music. Why not? Explain the reasoning, the behind the scenes about the change. This will make them feel as if they were part of your decision, and get behind your decision more quickly. Then stick with the new music with all new episodes. Don’t worry; you don’t need to go back and fix every single episode (unless you want to). Podcasts are always an evolution, and showing listeners that evolution is all part of it.
So now that you know the why, the question becomes, how do you choose the right music for the podcast?
Here’s 5 hacks to choosing the right music for your podcast.
Hack #1 - Always choose copyright-free or royalty-free music. I know how tempting it is to choose a catchy song everyone knows. But songs you've heard on the radio are more than likely copyrighted and against the law to use.
Listening platforms will catch these and reject your podcast episode immediately!
So here are my top three favorite places to download royalty-free music from.
1 - Podcastle (your one-stop shop to edit and add music directly from their platform!)
2 - Artlist (a monthly subscription for commercial use music)
3 - Pixabay (free for commercial and non-commercial use)
I’ll add links to these in the show notes.
Hack #2 - Know Your Target Audience aka Dream Listener. As every first step should be for brands, you want to identify your dream listener. Picture them.
What do they look like? Where are they based? What do they do for work? How old are they? How much money do they make? And most importantly, why are they tuning into your podcast specifically? Knowing your listener makes it easier to understand what they will like.
For example, let's say you are a yoga teacher creating a podcast about meditation.
Picture a listener who has a hectic day. Their day is full of work, kids, and devices. All they want at the end of the day is to put on their Airpods and disappear into the soothing sounds of a meditation episode.
Which means you're not going to play a dance or hip-hop track in the background.
Instead, you'll give your listener precisely what they need: soothing, settling, quiet sound.
Hack # 3 - Look at Music as Moods. Search by moods when searching for music that will please your ideal listener.!
On a website like Podcastle mentioned earlier, they allow you to search by moods.
For example, if you're a fitness coach starting a podcast to help people achieve their goals, an excellent place to start is looking up "uplifting", "powerful", or "exciting" songs.
Hack #4 - Lean toward instrumental music. Lyrics can be a good or bad thing, depending on the usage. Lyrics can be used to boost the story you're telling. However, lyrics playing while you're talking is a hard no.
It can confuse the listener and make it difficult for them to hear you on a podcast.
A nice balance could be finding a lyrical song with extended instrumental sections so your editor can work with both parts.
But in general, we recommend instrumental music because of its ease of use. In fact, lyrics can even work against a listener's emotional state. For example, let’s say a listener is going through a tough breakup. They listen to your podcast to quote/unquote escape and a song with romantic lyrics starts playing. Not only are they more than likely affected by the lyrics, they probably will need to turn your podcast off - which hurts your average retention rate. And you don’t want that!
Hack #5 - Get feedback and advice. Once you've selected some music bed options, reach out to your friends, family or podcast producer.
Tell them about the premise of your podcast and ask them to have a listen to your top three (3) songs and let you know which one resonates with them most.
Another idea is to join our free Facebook community group - which connects like-minded health and fitness podcast hosts and guests. You’re welcome to post your song choices as a poll and ask the community to weigh in. I know I sure will!
And there you have it!
Thank you again so much for joining me on your podcasting journey. Don't forget to subscribe, and if you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review.
Until the next episode, keep those conversations flowing, and keep being the amazing powerhouse that you are. And as always, remember that consistency, authenticity, and promoting your podcast are key to your success! Happy podcasting.
BONUS: Want free feedback from a group of likeminded health & fitness professionals? Join Brave Moon's FREE community group - and ask everybody to weigh in on your music choices!
We're producers here at Brave Moon Podcasts! Reach out to us today to learn how you can use a professional editor to launch a successful podcast. You can even leave music selection to the experts with our launch offering. Reach out to us today to learn more!
Ready to improve your podcast with the perfect music?
Let's get started! Download our 'Podcast Launch Guide' to launch your podcast fearlessly and be confident that your music selection shines. Don't miss out on this valuable resource – take the next step towards podcast success today!
Happy podcasting.
