# Meeting Notes: Podcast Hosting Platform Planning

Date: July 10, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM ET
Location: Zoom

## Attendees

- Maya Chen, Product Manager
- Jordan Ellis, Engineering Lead
- Priya Nair, Backend Engineer
- Sam Rivera, Frontend Engineer
- Lena Brooks, UX Designer
- Marcus Hill, Growth Marketing
- Aisha Patel, Customer Success
- Tom Becker, Finance

## Agenda

1. Review current MVP scope
2. Confirm upload, publishing, and analytics requirements
3. Discuss pricing and subscription tiers
4. Identify launch risks
5. Assign next steps

## Discussion Notes

### MVP Scope

The team agreed that the first release should focus on core podcast hosting workflows: account creation, show setup, episode upload, RSS feed generation, basic analytics, and public podcast pages.

Advanced monetization features, private feeds, dynamic ad insertion, and team permissions will be deferred until after launch.

### Upload and Publishing

Episode uploads will support MP3 and WAV files for launch. The platform will transcode WAV files to MP3 automatically. Maximum file size for the initial release will be 500 MB per episode.

Publishing options will include immediate publish, draft save, and scheduled publish. Scheduled publishing must use the creator's selected timezone.

RSS feeds must be compatible with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts.

### Analytics

Launch analytics will include:

- Total downloads
- Downloads by episode
- Downloads by country
- Listening app breakdown
- 7-day and 30-day trend views

The team noted that analytics should be clearly labeled as estimates because podcast download tracking can vary by client and platform.

### Pricing

Three initial tiers were discussed:

- Starter: one show, limited monthly downloads
- Pro: multiple shows, higher download limits, custom branding
- Network: unlimited shows, priority support, custom contract pricing

Finance requested updated infrastructure cost estimates before final pricing is approved.

### Launch Risks

Primary risks identified:

- RSS compatibility issues with major directories
- Storage and bandwidth cost overruns
- Slow upload experience for large audio files
- Incomplete analytics due to inconsistent user-agent parsing
- Support volume during directory submission setup

## Decisions

- MVP will launch with public hosting, RSS feeds, scheduled publishing, and basic analytics.
- Private podcast feeds will not be included in the first release.
- MP3 and WAV will be the only supported upload formats at launch.
- Episode file size limit will be 500 MB for MVP.
- Analytics will include download totals, geography, app breakdown, and trend views.
- Pricing will use a three-tier model: Starter, Pro, and Network.
- Directory submission guides will be created before launch to reduce support requests.

## Action Items

- Jordan: Finalize technical architecture for uploads, transcoding, and RSS generation by July 17.
- Priya: Prototype RSS feed validation against Apple Podcasts and Spotify requirements by July 20.
- Sam: Build first pass of episode upload and scheduling UI by July 24.
- Lena: Deliver revised onboarding and show setup designs by July 16.
- Marcus: Draft pricing page copy and launch positioning by July 22.
- Aisha: Create support documentation outline for directory submissions by July 18.
- Tom: Prepare infrastructure cost model for storage, bandwidth, and transcoding by July 21.
- Maya: Update MVP requirements document and circulate for approval by July 15.

## Open Questions

- Should Starter accounts allow custom domains at launch?
- What download limit should trigger upgrade prompts?
- Do we need manual review for public podcast pages before launch?
- Which analytics provider or user-agent parser should be used for MVP?

## Next Meeting

Date: July 17, 2026
Focus: Review technical architecture, RSS validation progress, and revised onboarding designs.