How to Make a Podcast Intro Drop and Show Opener

A podcast intro drop is a DJ drop rendered on Club Ready Music's DJ drop tab with the Imaging or Smooth voice, a 10 s Length and an Impact hit or Riser bed, then turned down about 8 dB in your podcast editor so it sits at the usual −16 LUFS. The drop names the show, gives a tagline and hands over to the host in under ten seconds. Club Ready Music renders three reads at once, so you can pick the delivery that fits the show before you download anything.

Steps

1. Write the opener line

In What should the voice say? write the show name, one line of tagline and the host hand-off, within the 200 character limit. A pattern that works: "You are listening to The Late Shift, with your host Dana Reyes." Spell unusual names phonetically, as the hint under the box suggests, so the voice does not stumble on the one word that matters most. Cut filler; a podcast opener is heard every episode.

2. Choose the voice

Set Voice to Imaging for the processed, station-ID sound that most interview and news shows use. It reads at normal speed with medium stability, so the words stay clear. Choose Smooth for a storytelling or late-night show; it reads at 0.95× speed with high stability and sounds like a radio host introducing a record. Hype is tuned for club MCs and adds an exclamation mark if the line has none, so leave it unless the show is a party format.

3. Pick the FX

Untick Stutter, which is on by default; a repeated first syllable sounds wrong on spoken-word. Keep Reverb tail on for a little room around the voice, or turn it off if the host records in a dry space and you want the opener to match. Echo suits a dramatic show name. Skip Pitch down unless the show has a dark, heavy tone, because it slows the read as well as lowering it.

4. Choose the bed and length

Set Music bed to Impact hit when the opener should land with a hit at the start and settle under the words, or Riser when you want tension that peaks right as the host starts speaking. Dry (voice only) is the choice when you already have theme music and only need the voice. Set Length to 10 s. The clip is never cut short, so if the read is longer than ten seconds the file runs until the voice finishes, up to 60 s.

5. Render and choose a read

Press Render 3 variations and wait for the three files to appear in the Renders panel. Variation 1 is the most stable read; 2 and 3 are a touch faster and looser. Play all three with the show's theme music in your head and pick one. Download the MP3 for the version with FX and bed, and download Dry as well if you plan to put the voice over your own theme.

6. Place and level it in the podcast editor

Import the file at the head of the episode. Club Ready Music drops are normalised to −8 LUFS and most podcast specs ask for −16 LUFS stereo or −19 LUFS mono, so pull the drop down by about 8 dB, then check the episode's integrated loudness. If you used the Dry file over your own theme, duck the theme under the voice and let it come back after the last word.

7. Save the link for next season

Press Copy link so you can find the exact render again. When the show changes host or tagline, come back to the DJ drop tab, paste the old line, change the words and render again with the same voice and FX so the opener stays recognisable from season to season.

Tips

• Keep the line under about 25 words. The Imaging voice at normal speed covers that in eight to nine seconds, inside the 10 s Length.
• Render a second drop with just the show name and the Riser bed as a segment bumper. It reuses the same voice, so the show sounds consistent.
• The Dry download is the safer choice for shows with a music theme, because the Impact hit bed sweeps down to 40 Hz and will fight bass in your music.
• Podcast MP3s are usually exported at 128 to 192 kbps. The drop's 320 kbps source has plenty of headroom for that.
• If the show is mono, listen to the drop after the editor sums it. The Reverb tail and Echo are mono-safe but the balance shifts slightly.

Common problems

• The opener is far louder than the host. Drops are fixed at −8 LUFS and there is no loudness control on the DJ drop tab. Lower the clip about 8 dB in the editor.
• The first word stutters. Stutter is on by default. Untick it and press Render 3 variations again.
• The host's name is mispronounced. Rewrite the name phonetically in What should the voice say? and render again; the hint under the box exists for exactly this.
• The reverb tail hangs over the first words of the episode. The wet MP3 carries about 1.2 s of room after the last word. Start the host track after the tail, or use the Dry file and add your own shorter reverb.