Are we, podcast editors and service providers, charging too much?

​I’d like to invite you to the podcast editing service pricing seesaw I’ve been riding for the past couple of months. Sometimes I think I’m/we’re not charging enough for my/our services and sometimes I think I’m/we’re charging too much. Up, down, up, down. The prices go in my head. Let me explain.

It’s not just the global economic downturn.
The fallout from three years of covid and the havoc it has had on the global economy is definitely a factor in an industry reevaluation. But it’s not the whole thing. The industry is possibly going through an early 20’s identity moment and we are possibly supportive aunts and uncles trying to cheer it on from the sidelines. With this coming-of-age analogy, there is a bit of letting go and a bit of extreme honesty. Honesty for the coming-of-ager (the podcasting industry) and to ourselves.

Others put words to my thoughts in a more succinct way
Before I could verbalize these observations I started to see others do so. Evo had a powerful episode of Podcast Pontifications, 2023: The Year Podcasting Has To Pay, where he very aptly summarized my hunches with this shift with a much wider (U.S.) industry lens. Then Heather Osgood highlighted this and similar trends in Podcast Advertising Playbook episode 6 Podcast Advertising Trends To Watch 2022. In fact, at 8:50 she dives into how content development is changing, with “…a higher level of intentionality” as a driving force. Both of these and many other podcast episodes, articles, and such were talking about a downturn. Or a reevaluation of podcasts.

I’m/we’re seeing it in my/our business request
I’m also seeing more folks wanting an injection of consultation time instead of monthly services. It feels like things turned on a dime last month but it took me a while to notice it. I kept wondering why I wasn’t finding that ideal 1 client I had room for only to realize I had 5 unexpected consultation calls that month. Errr, that equals a new client, financially. Consultations are not as stable as monthly clients but technically, I was hitting an income target I had. But it was a big shift. At first, I thought it was me but then I saw folks getting nervous in various service groups I’m in. Clients were stopping their outsourcing and downsizing their packages. It wasn’t just me. What happened last month?

What does this have to do with our fees?
I’ve had the opportunity to reduce a client's monthly package OR let them go. It took me a few days to reframe that as “opportunity” because my first instinct was to stick to my guns and say that’s our package: take it or leave it. But I had a feeling that they were not utilizing what I provided for them monthly. I couldn’t know for sure since I was not in their heads. That’s not in my contracts.

This downsizing made me really think about what I could do for them with the most audio bang while respecting my time and skills. And I shaved away half the services and cost. Of course, I got rid of the heavier lifts for me in the process. And I made some audio compromises (using video audio instead of doing a separate podcast edit). There will be a slight decrease in audio quality but you know what, it won’t be drastic. And I doubt most listeners will notice. I’ve never gone backward in audio quality before but if it means that they get consistent service and I get to keep a very nice client with content I like, it felt like a good risk.

And it got me thinking, why don’t I offer this as a basic package? I know it would be nice to have all premium monthly service clients who wanted the best audio I could create for them but if there is a tightening of budgets it makes sense to reevaluate, right? Within reason. I’m not advocating for no edits or talking into a laptop mic. There are baselines. For sure.
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What do you think? If we are in a downturn, what possible adjustments are you willing to make to keep your business?