
Heartcast Media is a dedicated full-service studio in Washington, D.C. that works with clients to create high quality, authentic podcast content that inspires, educates and connects. Molly Ruland and her team specialize in working with entrepreneurs, visionaries, and businesses of all sizes who have an impactful point-of-view.
Woman-owned Heartcast Media is the vision of Molly Ruland who is dedicated to helping individuals and organizations bring their authentic, original content to life through podcasts. A sister-company to One Love Massive, Heartcast Media clients range from go-go bands to conservative political commentators.
They're also PreSonus users-and have recorded 85 bands and 150 podcasts in the past 11 months alone!
We think Molly's business idea is genius, and of course we're glad that they've chosen the StudioLive 16 for their time-sensitive workflow. From the Heartcast website:
We have fully embraced technology and have figured out how to eliminate post production with real time video editing and audio mastering. We deliver all files within 48 hours of recording, typically within 3-4.
We're proud to be a part of their process, so we wanted to hear more about how this whole operation works. Read all about Molly and Heartcast Media .
Tell us about your background. How long have you been in the audio industry?
I have owned and operated a multimedia company for the last 20 years. I was primarily focused on artist bookings and events. Creating an aesthetic has always been my passion.
How has the audio industry changed since your early days?
Everything is so streamlined now, and the gatekeepers have been removed. I love the idea of accessibility and practicality. Information is readily available which has opened doors for people who weren't always welcome at the table, and I think that's great.
How did Heartcast Media come about?
After recording 85 bands and 150 podcasts in 11 months, I realized that my passion and vision align perfectly through podcast production. I love amplifying voices, I always have. I saw a need in the market for high-quality turnkey podcast production, so I created the business to solve that problem. We do things differently-we embrace technology, and by doing so we are able to eliminate the need for a lot of post-production. This saves people time and money and our clients love that.
What's your favorite podcast right now? Are you allowed to have a favorite?
Tom Bilyeu's Impact Theory. No question, hands down. Game changer for me.
Tell us about your podcast. Where did the idea for your podcast come from? How does your first podcast compare to your most recent?
I have just launched The Lower Third Podcast because I know so many amazing people whom I garner so much inspiration from, and I wanted to interview and talk to them about mindset and passion. It's a work in progress. I am looking forward to producing more episodes. However, my passion is producing other people's podcast and helping them be successful.
There are so many podcasts these days. How do you stand out?
Having a plan for your podcast is imperative. Every podcaster should examine how and if their podcast is providing value. If there isn't a clear answer, you don't have a podcast yet.
What challenges do you face recording a podcast?
I am positive that most people don't understand how much work goes into creating and producing a podcast. It's a lot of work. It's not cheap either, and anyone who tells you can start a podcast for $100 is delusional. If you are going to start a podcast you have to have a lot of resilience and a strong sense of self, because it will be a heavy rock to push uphill until you get momentum. It will not happen overnight.
What advice do you have for someone who wants to start a podcast?
Have a plan, understand the workload, and always be open to being wrong.
How did you first hear of PreSonus?
I learned about PreSonus through Adam Levin at Chuck Levin's Music Center in Wheaton, Maryland. It's legendary.
What PreSonus products do you use?
I have the StudioLive 16 in my studio, and we love it. It's a little more than we need for podcasts, but we also produce live music events so it's great to have a board that can do both. It's a solid piece of equipment with really great features that fit our needs. It's a beautiful board, what's not to love?
Recent projects? What's next for you?
My goal is to produce the best podcasts coming out of the East Coast by elevating and amplifying voices in my community that will make the world a better place, one conversation at a time. Every city should have a Heartcast Media.
Stay connected with Heartcast Media on Instagram! Learn more about the StudioLive family here!
More from PreSonus
16/08/2024
By Craig Anderton
Keyswitch keys enhance expressiveness by letting you trigger various real-time articulations for instruments like strings, brass, guitars, an...
09/08/2024
By Craig Anderton
The Channel Editor places all of a mixer Channel's elements-level fader, inserts, sends, individual effects, input controls, routing, mac...
02/08/2024
By Craig Anderton
Yes, just click here to download 25 Analog Cab IRs.zip. The IRs are 1024 samples long, 48 kHz, 24-bit, and mono, so they work with pretty muc...
26/07/2024
By Craig Anderton
It's been a while since we've had a post for sound design fans. So, let's create some crazy FX for sci-fi/suspense/horror movies,...
24/07/2024
The Black Dahlia Murder guitarist and New Jersey native talks about taking his leap.
A life in music requires passion, creativity, dedication - and for many cr...
19/07/2024
By Craig Anderton
There's no right or wrong way to mix. For example, many successful engineers adjust individual tracks, and then mix groups of tracks....
12/07/2024
By Craig Anderton
I admit it: the following tips are based on personally embarrassing experiences. I like to work fast to keep the creative juices flowing, but...
05/07/2024
By Craig Anderton
You've probably seen ads for packs of MIDI chords that claim to help you write hits that will make your listeners' jaws drop in amaze...
28/06/2024
By Craig Anderton
Some of my favorite guitar sounds involve using Ampire's amp, bypassing its cab, and adding a cab from the Helix Native plugin. Others in...
26/06/2024
The self-taught multi-instrumentalist and St. Louis native talks about taking his leap.
A life in music requires passion, creativity, and dedication - and for ...
21/06/2024
By Craig Anderton
Sure, you can follow your virtual instrument with an audio compressor. But there's a problem: an instrument's dynamics and expressive...
20/06/2024
Watch the independent artist and Wiz Khalifa producer cook up a song in a single day
Imagine meeting someone for the first time and making a song together. Tha...
14/06/2024
By Craig Anderton
Announcement: The 2nd Edition of The Huge Book of Studio One Tips and Tricks is now available as a free download for owners of previous versi...
07/06/2024
By Craig Anderton
Usually, the Vocoder inserts into a track that provides the modulation, and the Vocoder's sidechain receives the carrier. But why be norm...
06/06/2024
The GRAMMY-winning fiddler, songwriter, and New Orleans native talks about taking his leap.
A life in music requires passion, creativity, dedication - and for ...
31/05/2024
By Craig Anderton
Let's get right to what this sounds like. It's not quite feedback or tape reverse, it's well, listen to what it does in this blue...
24/05/2024
By Craig Anderton
A Pro EQ3 stage's gain can respond dynamically to incoming signal level, so that louder inputs kick the gain higher (or lower). But Studi...
22/05/2024
If you're a PreSonus user, you're probably pretty hands-on in producing ...
17/05/2024
By Craig Anderton
When I heard about binaural beats, I was interested-I like beats, and I'm into binaural audio. But this has nothing to do with either o...
15/05/2024
Professional drummer, producer, and New Orleans native talks about taking the leap.
A life in music requires passion, creativity, and dedication - and for many...
08/05/2024
Take the Leap with the Next Generation of PreSonus Audio Interfaces
MEET THE ALL-NEW FAMILY OF QUANTUM AUDIO INTERFACES
The culmination of nearly 30 years of ...
08/05/2024
Take the Leap with the Next Generation of PreSonus Audio Interfaces
MEET THE ALL-NEW FAMILY OF QUANTUM AUDIO INTERFACES
The culmination of nearly 30 years of ...
03/05/2024
by Craig Anderton
About four years ago, I did a tip on multiband gating. Although it was a cool effect, it was guitar-centric, cumbersome to edit, and time-con...
26/04/2024
By Craig Anderton
With this technique, when you play a standard 6-string electric guitar, you'll hear the rich, vibrant sound of a 12-string guitar. The pr...
19/04/2024
By Craig Anderton
Impact XT can launch clips, which is great for songwriting (see the blog post Songwriting with Impact XT). But few people realize that Impact...
12/04/2024
By Craig Anderton
Good mixes often depend on carving out a unique sonic space for each instrument, so you can hear them clearly. Sometimes carving out that spa...
05/04/2024
By Craig Anderton
MIDI guitars are a niche product, because the learning curve can be daunting for some guitar players. However, I'm surprised how many pro...
29/03/2024
By Craig Anderton
As the universe of Studio One users grows, so do opportunities for collaboration. But your collaborator may not be using the same version of ...
22/03/2024
By Craig Anderton
Over three years ago, I wrote a blog post on how to make a drumcoder. Its design was somewhat like a vocoder-drum audio served as a modulat...
15/03/2024
By Craig Anderton
One of Atmos's coolest features is scalability. No matter how complex your Atmos project may be, you can render it as Binaural, 5.1, 5.1....
13/03/2024
Watch the Brooklyn Synthpop duo remix their song Blame in Studio One
Less than 24 hours after meeting each other, producer Luke Moellman and vocalist Jon San...
10/03/2024
By Craig Anderton
The impetus behind this design was wanting to add envelope flanging to amp sims like Ampire. But there's a problem: most amp sim outputs ...
01/03/2024
By Craig Anderton
Supplementing close-miking techniques with room mics gives acoustic sounds a life-like sense of space. Typically, this technique involves pla...
27/02/2024
Notion Mobile v3 took mobile music creation to the next level with support for iOS, Android, Windows, Fire OS and macOS. Now v3.3 adds many enhancements and fix...
26/02/2024
Logic's Grammy-nominated producer breaks down his Sweet Spot.
Before he found success as an avant-garde hip hop producer, 6ix was just 30 units shy of a de...
25/02/2024
The Grammy-nominated multi-Platinum producer breaks down his Sweet Spot.
From the studio with chart-topping artists like Aerosmith and The Fray, to empowering ...
23/02/2024
By Craig Anderton
Do you think of mixes in absolute terms, or relative terms? Knowing the difference, and when to apply which approach, can make a huge differe...
16/02/2024
By Craig Anderton
Calling all beats/hip-hop/EDM/hard rock fans: This novel effects starts with drums modulating the Vocoder's white noise carrier, and take...
09/02/2024
This tip is about working with stereo, NOT about Dolby Atmos or surround-but we're going to steal some of what Atmos does to reinvent stereo panning. Stud...
07/02/2024
The GRAMMY-winning recording and mix engineer shows us how he uses Studio One to create an artful immersive mix.
Jeff Ellis is a force to be reckoned with. The...
02/02/2024
Presence's sound library includes a fine acoustic 12-string guitar, but not an electric one. So, perhaps it's not surprising that one of the more popula...
26/01/2024
At first, this might not seem too exciting. But follow the directions below, and try comping using this method-I don't think you'll be disappointed. Thi...
19/01/2024
You know the feeling: You're tracking or doing an overdub with a virtual instrument or amp sim, but you're frustrated by the excessive latency inherent ...
12/01/2024
Recording audio using more than one feed from the same source may create phase issues. For example, when miking a bass amp and taking a DI (dry) input, the DI...
05/01/2024
If you haven't experimented yet with mid-side stereo miking, you'll be in for a treat when you do. Here's why:
Record background singers with gorge...
29/12/2023
This complements the tip Better Ducking for Voiceovers and Podcasts and the tip Why I Don't Use Compression Anymore. It applies the concept of voiceover duc...
22/12/2023
Engineers sometimes advocate using high-pass filters to clean up the low end and tighten the sound. Others believe that because of issues inherent in highpass...
20/12/2023
The GRAMMY-nominated artist, producer, and songwriter shows us how he uses Studio One to cook a musical idea from scratch.
Josh Cumbee is a triple threat: The ...
15/12/2023
This wasn't a conscious decision, or something I planned. But when I looked through my last few songs while seeking candidates for a book's screenshots,...
08/12/2023
First, a follow-up: In the October 13 tip about creating Track Presets for parallel processing, I mentioned that Track Presets can't include buses, which is...