# Meeting Notes: Podcast Hosting Platform Product Review

**Date:** July 31, 2026  
**Time:** 10:00–11:00 a.m. ET  
**Location:** Zoom  
**Facilitator:** Maya Chen  
**Note-taker:** Jordan Lee

## Attendees

- Maya Chen — Head of Product
- Jordan Lee — Product Manager
- Priya Shah — Engineering Lead
- Daniel Ortiz — Senior Backend Engineer
- Emma Brooks — Product Designer
- Leo Martin — Growth Lead
- Nina Patel — Customer Success Manager
- Sam Wilson — Finance & Operations

## Agenda

1. Review creator feedback from the private beta
2. Confirm MVP scope and launch timeline
3. Discuss analytics, distribution, and monetization priorities
4. Identify launch risks and owners

## Discussion Notes

- Beta creators consistently praised the guided publishing flow but found the RSS import process confusing, especially when moving shows from another host.
- Several creators requested episode-level retention charts. The team agreed that basic downloads and listener geography are sufficient for launch, but retention data is important for the next release.
- Automatic distribution currently supports Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music. YouTube Podcasts will require additional development and should not delay the initial launch.
- Dynamic ad insertion is functional in staging, but campaign reporting still requires manual reconciliation. Customer Success recommended limiting the feature to a small group of approved creators until reporting is reliable.
- The free plan’s proposed storage cap may be too restrictive for weekly shows with long episodes. Finance will model the impact of increasing the cap while retaining bandwidth safeguards.
- Support documentation must clearly explain RSS ownership, redirects, analytics differences between platforms, and the expected migration timeline.
- Engineering flagged feed reliability and media-processing queues as the main launch risks. Load testing is scheduled before the release candidate is approved.

## Decisions

- Target public launch remains September 22, 2026.
- MVP will include podcast creation, RSS import, episode scheduling, automatic distribution to supported directories, basic analytics, team member access, and embeddable players.
- Listener-retention analytics and YouTube Podcasts distribution will move to the post-launch roadmap.
- Dynamic ad insertion will launch as a controlled beta for up to 25 creators.
- RSS imports will include a preflight validation step and a migration-status checklist.
- The team will offer email support on all plans; priority response times will be reserved for paid plans.
- No pricing changes will be announced until the updated storage and bandwidth model is reviewed.

## Action Items

- **Jordan:** Finalize MVP requirements and circulate the updated launch checklist by August 4.
- **Priya:** Publish the load-testing plan and launch-readiness criteria by August 5.
- **Daniel:** Add RSS preflight validation and improve import error messages by August 14.
- **Emma:** Deliver revised import-flow designs and migration-status screens by August 6.
- **Leo:** Draft the launch messaging and creator onboarding email sequence by August 12.
- **Nina:** Recruit 25 creators for the dynamic ad insertion beta and document eligibility criteria by August 8.
- **Sam:** Model revised free-plan storage and bandwidth limits by August 7.
- **Maya:** Review pricing recommendations and approve the final MVP scope at the August 10 product review.

## Open Questions

- Should private podcast feeds be included in the first post-launch release?
- What download threshold should trigger bandwidth overage notifications?
- Can ad campaign reporting be automated before the controlled beta expands?
- Which analytics metrics should be available through the public API?

## Next Meeting

**Date:** August 10, 2026  
**Focus:** Launch-readiness review, pricing model, and unresolved MVP risks