# Solo podcast

> Riverside records studio quality, Descript edits with the transcript, Castmagic produces show notes + clips, Opus auto-clips for shorts.

Source: https://aistack.sh/stack/solo-podcast
Category: Audio · Podcast
Level: Beginner
Last verified by a human: 2026-05-05

## The tools

### Riverside — Recording

- Pricing: $19/mo Standard · $29/mo Pro
- Site: https://riverside.fm
- Why this one: Local-track recording = no internet wobble. Auto noise removal.
- Swap in instead: Descript
- More: https://aistack.sh/tool/riverside

### Descript — Editing

- Pricing: $24/mo Hobbyist · $35/mo Creator · $65/mo Business
- Site: https://descript.com
- Why this one: Edit the transcript, the audio follows. Strip 'um's in two clicks.
- Swap in instead: Riverside
- More: https://aistack.sh/tool/descript

### Castmagic — Show notes + posts

- Pricing: $29/mo Hobby · $99/mo Starter
- Site: https://castmagic.io
- Why this one: Drop the audio, get titles, show notes, timestamps, social posts back in 5 minutes.
- More: https://aistack.sh/tool/castmagic

### Opus Clip — Shorts pipeline

- Pricing: Free · $15/mo Starter · $29/mo Pro
- Site: https://opus.pro
- Why this one: Long episode → 6–10 short clips with viral scores and captions.
- Swap in instead: Castmagic
- More: https://aistack.sh/tool/opus-clip

## Monthly cost

### $54/mo — 1 episode / week (small)

- Riverside: $15
- Descript: $16
- Castmagic: $23
- Opus Clip: $0 free

### $87/mo — 2 / week + clips (medium)

- Riverside: $15
- Descript: $16
- Castmagic: $23
- Opus Clip: $19
- + misc: $14

### $210/mo — Daily, multi-show (heavy)

- Riverside: $24
- Descript: $30
- Castmagic: $59
- Opus Clip: $59
- + hosting: $38

## Workflow

### 1. Record (Riverside)

Riverside, 60-min target. Track-locally, magic edit later.

### 2. Edit by transcript (Descript)

Descript: strip filler words, tighten beats. ~30 min for an hour.

### 3. Notes + posts (Castmagic)

Castmagic generates titles, show notes, X thread, LinkedIn post.

**Prompt: Show notes prompt (for Castmagic custom template or Claude fallback)**

```
Episode transcript:
"""
{{paste transcript}}
"""

Output (in this order, ready to publish):

1. **Title** — 5 to 8 words, specific noun first, no clickbait. Three options.
2. **Subtitle** — one sentence, the single most useful takeaway.
3. **Show notes** (220 to 280 words):
   - 1-paragraph hook (no "in this episode")
   - 5 bulleted timestamps with topic and the specific moment
   - 1 paragraph "what you'll get" with concrete outcomes
4. **3 quote cards** — under 240 chars each, verbatim from transcript, attribution-ready.
5. **X thread** — 5 to 7 posts, hook first, link at the end.
6. **LinkedIn post** — 180 words, first line is the hook, 1 to 2 hashtags.

No emojis. No em dashes.
```

### 4. Auto-clip (Opus Clip)

Opus picks the 6 best moments, captions them, exports vertical.

### 5. Publish (Castmagic)

Upload audio to your host, video to YT, clips to TikTok/Reels.

## What it produced

**Solo founder, 4 months in**

1,200 listeners/episode, 24 sponsor inbounds from clips alone. Total weekly time: 3.5 hours from record to publish.

## Pitfalls

- **Episode length drifts** — Without a guest, 60 min stretches to 90. Force a hard outline; cut to 35–45.
- **Clip captions wrong** — Always re-check Opus captions; one mis-spelled name kills shareability.

## Other ways to do this

- [Solo podcast (lean)](https://aistack.sh/stack/solo-podcast-lean): All-in-one with Descript. Skip Riverside and Castmagic. — $35/mo

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Curated by ryan-c on aistack.sh. Last updated 2026-05-05.