Welcome to Anchor 3.0: the easiest way to make a podcast. Ever. Anchor just got acquired by Spotify along with Gimlet Media: https://www.recode.net/2019/2/6/18213456/spotify-podcast-gimlet-anchor-q4-results/?ref=producthunt

Hi, Product Hunt community! Not too long ago, we launched Anchor to the world right here on Product Hunt, quickly amassing an amazingly dedicated user base and a community of people all over the world sharing short form, social audio with each other. It was awesome and super inspiring. Anchor gave creators tools and a platform that made it easier than ever to be heard: by letting them create their own personal stream of audio, filled with music, sound effects, and voice captured by the high-powered microphones we all have in our pocket (our smartphones). But we heard time and time again that what creators truly wanted was to make a real podcast and have it heard everywhere people are listening. And that's where Anchor 3.0 comes in. Today's update, Anchor's biggest ever, features a re-imagined mobile app built for effortless podcast creation (free for iOS and Android), a brand new web dashboard with creation tools and analytics, expanded distribution options, and unlimited podcast hosting that's 100% free for everyone. Since our mission is to democratize audio, we believe in removing all friction that stands in the way of you creating your content and getting it heard — that includes paying for hosting. It's the easiest way to make a podcast. Ever. I'll be answering questions here on PH all day. Hope you enjoy the product!

@mignano congrats on going full podcast! I have loved watching Anchor evolve. I'll miss Stations. I really liked that interaction, but this makes so much sense.

@mattahorton Thanks, Matt!

@mignano I had an idea for a podcast recently and this might push me over the edge to do it. What do you think of a podcast that converts high quality business essays (e.g. @paulg) and articles to audio?

@adithya Thanks Adithya! Our goal is to make it easy for creators to not only make a podcast, but monetize it as well.

@mignano Hi Mike, Do you have full Tutorial / Demo videos - I think that will be very important for me to see if this product is a good fit for me. Rather than just downloading the app - stumbling around, and deleting it. Love the concept though.

It's been fun seeing Anchor evolve since it started gaining attention at SXSW a few years ago. The app started more as a "Twitter for short audio bits" and seems to have evolved into more of a creator tool. I'm curious how (or if) your vision for Anchor has changed, @mignano.

@rrhoover Thanks, Ryan! It's the same vision (we aim to democratize audio), but we realized that since there's so much demand for listening to podcasts right now, that that's what people want to create, too. We looked around at all of the awesome tech we had built over the past year and realized there was no better combination of products to solve an actual problem people struggling with: making podcasts without having to be a pro. You'll notice the app has a lot of the existing mechanics around short-form and casual creation. Whatever you're interested in making -- be it a short, two minute news briefing, or a full fledged 40 minute podcast episode, the new Anchor makes it easy and frictionless.

@mignano another question: Anchor doesn't ask me for my Apple ID when it submits to iTunes, so I'm assuming Anchor owns my feed + access to the iTunes analytics? Also, do all Anchor shows have the cover art watermark? (Noticed Joel Olsteen was using it here!)

@mijustin Hey Justin! You actually can decide whether you want us to distribute your podcast for you (the default for most people, who'd prefer easier setup and automatic distribution to new platforms) or whether you distribute it yourself (more manual control and access to things like off-platform analytics). You can also turn off the Anchor watermark in your settings :)

Anchor 3.0

The easiest way to make a podcast. Ever.

The easiest way to make a podcast. Ever.

Anchor 3.0

The easiest way to make a podcast. Ever.

The easiest way to make a podcast. Ever.

Do you use Anchor 3.0?

Do you use Anchor 3.0?