How Long Should You Book? Picking a Session Length

The two mistakes, in order

People book too little the first time, then over-correct and book too much the third.

The first mistake happens because an episode that runs 45 minutes feels like it needs an hour of studio time. It does not. The second happens after a good batching session, when a full day starts to look like the obvious move for everything.

Here is what each block is for.

What each block length is good for

Block	Price	Works out at	Genuinely good for
1 hr 30 min	$375	$250/hr	One episode, if you have done this before and your format is settled
2 hours	$500	$250/hr	One episode with room to breathe. The default first booking
3 hours	$750	$250/hr	Two episodes, or one episode plus a set of short pieces
4 hours	$1,000	$250/hr	Three to four scripted episodes with guests scheduled back to back
6 hours	$1,400	$233/hr	A half-season in one visit
8 hours	$1,800	$225/hr	A full season, if your voice holds

Every block above is on the pricing page alongside the Content Session rates.

The rate is published in full, blocks and discounts included, rather than quoted on enquiry.

The per-hour rate is flat up to four hours. It only moves at six and eight. That matters because it means booking longer is a decision about batching, not about getting a discount. If you are recording one episode, there is no rate argument for booking four hours.

Where the two hours go

A two-hour block for a single episode is not 120 minutes of recording. In practice:

1. Ten to fifteen minutes settling in. Coats off, water, sitting down, mic placement, a level check while you talk about nothing.
2. Five minutes finding the tone. First takes of an opening get re-recorded more often than not. Plan for it rather than being surprised by it.
3. The episode. Whatever your actual run time is.
4. One reset. Something will happen. A phone, a cough, a point somebody wants to make again.
5. Five minutes at the end. Pickups, a re-recorded intro now that you know what the episode turned out to be, and the outro.

If your episode runs 45 minutes, that lands around 80 to 90 minutes of room time. The 90-minute minimum technically covers it. Two hours means you are not watching the clock during the part that matters.

When to book the long blocks

The six and eight hour blocks earn their keep in one situation: recording several episodes in one visit. That is worth doing for reasons that have nothing to do with the rate.

Of the shows that are still publishing a year after their first session here, most batch. One studio visit that produces six episodes gives you six weeks of runway, which means a bad month at work does not become a gap in the feed. Shows die in the gaps.

If you are going to batch, the practical limits are guests and voice. Guests have to be scheduled back to back, which is harder than it sounds. And somewhere around the fifth hour the energy that made the first episode good tends to thin out. Book eight hours when you have done six and know you can.

Booking a first session

If this is your first time in the room, book two hours and treat it as a rehearsal that happens to produce a usable episode. You will learn more about your own format in that two hours than in a month of planning it.

If it goes well, the next booking is four hours and three episodes.

If you are still deciding

What it actually costs to record a podcast has the full rate card including the Content Session. How to prepare for your first studio session covers what to bring and what to decide before you arrive.

Booking a block

Blocks book through Square Appointments, or call (224) 328-2853 if you want to talk through which length fits what you are trying to make. The studio is at 800 E Northwest Hwy Ste 90 in Palatine, open daily from 9am to 8pm.