6 Best Podcast Recording Tools

Modern media is changing and more businesses and individuals are turning to podcasts to get their message out rather than using the radio or writing training manuals related to small business processes. Podcasts can be used for virtually anything and are audio recordings that can be posted online for others to listen to. While many podcasts do stream live, most are pre-recorded and software is needed to accomplish this.

Fortunately it’s easy to record audio on pretty much any modern computer, regardless of what operating system you use. As long as your computer has a peripheral or built-in microphone, which comes as standard on most desktops and laptops, then you’ve already got all the hardware you’ll need – that is unless you take your podcasting really seriously and you have the spare cash available to build your own studio!

These are some of the best podcast recording tools that can integrate with Skype or that can be used as a standalone audio recording application. Make your choice, download and start podcasting today!

CallBurner [Recommended]
For those who want to record and have the opportunity to listen back to business meetings or training sessions with their employees and clients, CallBurner is a software package that records Skype calls in live time. It’s a really simple application to use with record, pause and disconnection buttons plus access to call history and recordings by date. CallBurner is affordable for Skype users, especially since it only takes a reasonable one-time fee to download on each computer. A free trial is available for 30 days.

Pamela [Recommended]
Pamela is a podcast tool that works exclusively with Skype. Not only will Pamela record Skype voice calls but it can also record Skype video calls and text chats. Although some of their software packages are free depending upon user requirements with regards to specific features, if you are serious about your podcasting then you would be best to invest some money in the more advanced versions where you can record calls for an unlimited length of time.

Freecorder
For those looking for a simple option that’s entirely free, Freecorder offers all of the basics with no strings attached. It does simple recordings of Skype conversations between 2 individuals, and recordings can be converted to MP3 or other popular formats to upload as a podcast. Freecorder can record sound from any website and as an added bonus you can use it to easily download online video from sites like YouTube.

Powergramo Skype Recorder
This is another tool that allows multi-person group podcasts to be recorded, plus there is the integration of chat text recording as well which is a useful feature if you intend on supplying an accompanying transcription for readers. With Powergramo’s podcast recording app music can also be applied in the background, a particularly useful feature should you be podcasting for business and require a more professional finished product. Powergramo is free for calls made between Skype users.

WebPod Studios
This is a comprehensive tool that’s designed to do far more than just record online conversations. It offers integrated publishing, transcription and many other features that users may require to put together a more professional, business-class podcast.  It can be integrated with Skype or iTunes and has advanced features that other podcast recording tools don’t offer such as teleprompting of podcast content and the ability to capture a screencast.

iSound
iSound for Windows is a full-featured podcast recorder capable of capturing any streaming online audio from media players, games and DVD players etc. and archiving it in a choice of file formats. It also integrates with Skype, allowing you to easily capture Skype conversations. It boasts all the usual features with a couple of other interesting additions including the ability to convert cassette tapes or vinyl discs to MP3 (assuming you have the necessary hardware to actually play such old formats) as well as an integrated scheduler that can record audio at predetermined times.