Podcast · First Session

What should you know before booking a podcast studio for the first time?

First studio sessions fail for the same five reasons: no episode plan, the wrong session length, file formats nobody discussed, guests who arrive cold, and hosts who spend the first paid hour learning the room. All five are preventable with one email and this page. Union Square Loft has walked first-timers through it on Broadway since the 90s.

Before you book: three decisions

• The episode plan. Topic, segments, target runtime, written down. A one-page outline saves more studio money than any discount code — meandering is the most expensive thing you can do at an hourly rate.
• Audio or video. Decide now, not at the door — video changes wardrobe, session length, and which tier you book. If clips matter to your growth, book video; retrofitting video onto an audio session doesn't work.
• Engineered sessions. First-timers should book engineered ($500/2hr at USL): someone runs the board while you learn what a session feels like.

Choosing session length honestly

The 2-hour minimum isn't a tax — it's the realistic floor. A 45-minute episode takes 90+ minutes to record well: 15 for levels and settling, 60–75 of recording with natural retakes, a buffer for pickups. Booking exactly your runtime guarantees a rushed ending. Full session-length math here.

What to ask any studio (including us)

1. What file formats do I leave with, and when?
2. Are per-host tracks included?
3. Who runs the board at my tier?
4. Does my clock start at arrival or at record?
5. What's the overtime rate?

USL's answers: WAV/MP4 same session; yes, included; an engineer at the engineered and video tiers, start with an engineered walkthrough; at record; your tier's hourly rate, flagged before it starts.

What to bring

Your outline, water, a phone on silent, and for video: solid colors, no fine stripes, nothing with logos you don't own. For guests, send a one-paragraph brief two days out: address (873 Broadway, Suite 408 — minutes from the Union Square trains), arrival time fifteen minutes before record, what the show is, and the three things you'll ask about. A briefed guest gives a better first ten minutes than an ambushed one — and the first ten minutes are usually the episode.

How the day flows at USL

Arrive, get a five-minute room walkthrough, mics set and levels checked while you settle, record, and leave with organized files the same session. The operator who built the room is the person checking your levels — ask anything; first-timers who ask questions leave with a better second session already planned. Deposit 50% holds your date; reschedules handled like humans, with notice.