Last updated: 2026-01-12

For most authors in the U.S., StreamYard is the easiest starting point for recording conversation‑style podcasts, book launch interviews, and reader Q&As in a browser, with local multi-track files you can hand off to an editor. When you need heavier built‑in AI post‑production like Magic Audio and AI show notes inside the same app, Riverside becomes a focused alternative worth pairing with your writing workflow. (StreamYard, Riverside)

Summary

• Use StreamYard as your default studio to record remote interviews, solo episodes, and launch events in a browser, with separate local audio/video tracks for each participant on all plans. (StreamYard)
• StreamYard paid plans offer unlimited local recording hours and support 4K local video and uncompressed 48 kHz WAV audio per participant, giving authors high‑end masters without complex setup. (StreamYard)
• Riverside caps multi‑track recording hours per month but adds AI tools like Magic Audio and AI‑generated show notes for authors who want more automation directly in the recorder. (Riverside)
• Neither platform is a podcast host; pairing StreamYard or Riverside with a dedicated RSS‑hosting service usually gives authors more flexible distribution and analytics. (StreamYard, Riverside)

What should authors actually look for in podcast recording software?

If you write books first and podcast second, you probably don’t want to become a full‑time audio engineer.

There are five things that usually matter most to authors:

1. High, reliable audio quality – Listeners forgive the occasional Zoom‑style glitch, but not muddy, inconsistent dialogue.
2. Guest‑friendly links – Your agent, publicist, or fellow authors need a friction‑free way to join from a browser.
3. Automatic, multi-track recording – Each voice on its own track gives you or your editor control to fix issues.
4. Simple branding – A consistent look when you post clips to social or YouTube along with your book.
5. Easy export – Clean MP4 and WAV/MP3 files that drop into whatever editor or host you already use.

StreamYard is built around this exact checklist: browser‑based studio, local and cloud recording, and straightforward exports in MP4/MP3, with local WAV audio and local MP4 video when you enable local recordings. (StreamYard)

Why is StreamYard a strong default for authors starting a podcast?

StreamYard assumes you’d rather focus on the conversation than the console.

From a craft perspective, this matters because most author podcasts are conversation‑driven: interviews with other writers, chapter readings, or Q&As with your audience. With StreamYard, you can:

• Send a simple browser link to guests and record with up to 9 other people on paid plans (10 people total), which easily covers panels, launch parties, and co‑hosted shows. (StreamYard)
• Capture local recordings on every plan, so each participant’s audio and video is recorded on their own device and then uploaded—protecting quality even when someone’s Wi‑Fi misbehaves. (StreamYard)
• Rely on automatic recording for live sessions on paid plans, so your launch streams and office‑hours Q&As are safely captured without extra steps. (StreamYard)

For most book‑centric shows, this removes a lot of mental load: you click “Go Live” or “Record,” have the conversation, then download files and send them to your editor, VA, or your podcast host.

How does StreamYard’s recording quality stack up for book‑driven shows?

When your name is on the book cover, the audio attached to it needs to feel intentional.

On paid StreamYard plans, local recording hours are unlimited, so you can record as many multi‑track sessions as you like, subject to storage. (StreamYard) Local recordings generate:

• 4K local video masters on supported plans, which is more than enough for YouTube interviews, trailer‑style promos, and course content tied to your book.
• Uncompressed 48 kHz WAV audio per participant, which is the same sampling rate many professional podcast and music workflows use.

Separate cloud audio tracks are also available on higher tiers, so each participant’s audio is captured in its own WAV file in the cloud. (StreamYard) In practice, this means your editor can:

• Mute a coughing guest without cutting your sentence.
• Level volumes per person.
• Remove background noise selectively.

Riverside also records per‑participant local files and supports up to 48 kHz WAV audio and high‑resolution (up to 4K) video, but it caps multi‑track recording hours per month (2, 5, or 15 hours depending on plan), so heavier interview schedules require more planning. (Riverside, Riverside) Many authors find StreamYard’s unlimited local recording on paid tiers easier to live with once they settle into a weekly or multi‑show cadence. (StreamYard)

How do StreamYard and Riverside differ for AI and post‑production?

If your writing process relies heavily on automation—summaries, transcripts, show notes—then built‑in AI becomes a real factor.

Riverside leans into AI post‑production inside the same app, with features like Magic Audio (AI‑based enhancement) and AI‑generated show notes on higher‑tier plans. (Riverside, Riverside) That can shorten the time from recording to a rough episode description.

At StreamYard, we take a different angle:

• AI Clips focuses on quickly finding moments you can repurpose into short clips for social, email, or launch pages.
• We assume serious editorial work—multi‑track mastering, structural edits, frame‑level changes—still happens in dedicated tools like Descript, Audition, or your editor’s DAW.

For many authors, this division of labor makes sense. You record in StreamYard, generate clips to promote the episode and your book, then lean on your editor or a specialist app for deeper polishing.

If you personally own the full production stack and prefer everything under one roof, Riverside’s AI suite is a logical alternative. If you’re collaborating with an audio editor or VA, StreamYard’s clean multi‑track exports plus external tools often feel more flexible over time. (StreamYard)

How should authors think about distribution, RSS feeds, and hosting?

The mistake many new author‑podcasters make is assuming the recorder should also be the publisher.

StreamYard does not provide RSS feeds or built‑in podcast hosting, and that’s intentional. We focus on recording, live production, and repurposing, and then hand the files off cleanly to hosting platforms that specialize in RSS management and distribution to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and others. (StreamYard)

Riverside takes a similar approach for AI notes and transcription—they’re part of the production side, not full hosting—but explicitly connects those AI show notes to pro‑level plans. (Riverside)

For you as an author, the practical setup usually looks like this:

1. Record in StreamYard (or Riverside).
2. Edit in your preferred tool.
3. Upload final WAV/MP3 to a podcast host that handles RSS, stats, and distribution.

That separation lets you change recorders later without migrating your entire back catalog or analytics.

What about pricing, limits, and long‑term use for authors?

Over a full book cycle, most authors care more about predictability than squeezing every dollar.

StreamYard’s paid plans in the U.S. include unlimited total streaming and recording hours per month, with per‑session caps (for example, 10 hours on many tiers) and storage caps that start at 5 hours on Free and go up to 50 hours on core paid plans, with business options above that. (StreamYard, StreamYard) Local recording is limited to 2 hours per month on the Free plan and becomes unlimited on paid plans. (StreamYard)

Riverside’s structure is different:

• Free: 2 hours of multi‑track recording.
• Standard: 5 hours of multi‑track recording monthly.
• Pro: 15 hours of multi‑track recording monthly, with AI tools like Magic Audio and show notes included. (Riverside)

Single‑track recording is often marked as “unlimited” in Riverside’s pricing, but the clearly documented numeric caps apply to the multi‑track recordings most authors want for editing flexibility. (Riverside) If you plan to record a weekly 60‑minute show with guests, StreamYard’s unlimited local recording on paid plans usually reduces the need to watch those quotas. (StreamYard)

How might a typical author podcast workflow look in StreamYard?

Imagine you’re launching a new non‑fiction book and want a 10‑episode limited‑series podcast to support it.

A streamlined StreamYard‑centric workflow could be:

1. Plan episodes like chapters – outline your topics and guests.
2. Record in batches – book two or three guests in one afternoon, sharing a simple browser link.
3. Capture local multi‑track – enable local recordings so you have high‑quality 4K video and 48 kHz WAV audio from each participant on paid plans. (StreamYard)
4. Export MP4/WAV/MP3 – download cloud MP4/MP3 plus local WAV/MP4 as needed and hand them to your editor. (StreamYard)
5. Create AI clips – pull out short moments teasing core ideas from the book and share them across social and your email list.
6. Publish via a podcast host – upload the final audio to your chosen host, then link episodes from your author site and launch emails.

This keeps your attention on conversations that sell the book, not the mechanics of recording.

What we recommend

• Start with StreamYard if you’re an author who wants a browser‑based studio, guest‑friendly links, unlimited local recording on paid plans, and high‑quality files that fit cleanly into a broader podcasting stack. (StreamYard)
• Consider Riverside if you personally handle post‑production and value built‑in AI tools like Magic Audio and AI show notes enough to work within monthly multi‑track hour caps. (Riverside)
• Pair your recorder with a dedicated podcast host so you can change recording tools later without disrupting distribution. (StreamYard)
• Optimize for momentum, not perfection—the best podcast for your book is the one you can reliably record, edit, and publish alongside your writing schedule.