Staples is opening podcast studios in six Boston stores
Customers will have access to professional equipment and discounted hosting.
Staples' latest ploy to get people into its retail stores is podcast recording booths. This week, the podcasting company Spreaker announced that it's part of a collaboration bringing recording spaces to six Staples stores in the Boston area. The booths are part of a new Staples Connect model, in which the retail stores offer coworking and community event spaces.
The soundproof Staples Connect Podcast Studios, developed in partnership with iHeartRadio, will include professional equipment -- a RODECaster Pro control board, RODE microphones and SHURE headphones -- and space for up to four people. A 60-minute session will cost $60, and a "dedicated in-store specialist" will be on hand to help with any recording issues. Customers will have access to discounted hosting and distribution through Spreaker and cut-rate editing through We Edit Podcasts.
Podcasts are undeniably popular at the moment, and while pretty much anyone can record their own, it requires the right gear to produce a quality product. The Staples Connect Podcast Studios could be an alternative to creating your own DIY podcast setup. Whether the studios can save brick-and-mortar retail is another question.
Update 2/19/2020 6:00PM ET: The company offering discounted hosting and distribution is Spreaker, not Speaker as previously written. The story was also updated to include iHeartRadio, which worked with Staples Connect to develop the studios.
