Darcy Milne: Bringing podcast ideas to life

What do you do when you’ve got an idea for a podcast but don’t know how to make it a reality?

Darcy Milne and the team at Pro Podcast Production are helping people achieve their podcast dreams.

As the founder of one of Australia’s first podcast production companies, Darcy’s goal is to make podcasting accessible so that anyone can create a great sounding show.

Darcy tells Radio Today “I love seeing people and companies come to us daily with an idea but no idea where to start, and then working with them to bring that idea to life and sharing in their excitement once they achieve their podcast goals.”

Darcy was passionate about audio production from an early age, producing a school radio show, doing as much work experience as he could and then, at seventeen, joining 2DayFM as its newest audio producer.

“From recording artists, crafting shows and chopping together show podcasts – I was on a mission to learn from the best and make a mark on the industry I loved.”

That mission lasted 12 years and included crafting the sound of SCA and Nova’s national shows, winning the ACRA for Best Achievement in Production in a room full of Darcy’s production heroes and helping to train and develop the next generation of producers.

In 2016, Darcy was ready to take his passion for production to the next level, and Pro Podcast Production was born.

“I have always loved podcasting and the access it gives people to stories, entertainment and education on demand.”

“However, I noticed that podcasters’ passion would get lost when their audio wasn’t quite right, when the ums and ahhs got in the way of a great story or the production and content plan didn’t work to elevate the episode.”

What began as a side hustle quickly grew, with brands including IKEA, The Oscars and Apple approaching Darcy for audio advice and production.

Last year, Darcy won Radio Today’s Podcast Audio Producer of the Year award, but he knew that if he truly wanted to have a more significant impact, he’d need to put together a full-time team.

“In the last 12 months, we have built our team of talented audio and executive producers and project managers and partnered with talented voice-over artists, graphic designers and video producers.”

“Plus, we launched our podcast studio that is premium in its look, sound and feel, helping to deliver a truly VIP (Very Important Podcaster) experience to our hosts and guests.”

Today, the company produces more than 200 podcast series.

“Companies, brands and individuals come to us to get the right advice, strategy and production plan for their podcast series with the ability to mix and match the services they need or experience a complete end-to-end solution.”

Services include support with developing an idea to make sure it reaches the right audience, creating sound and artwork design, partnering with publishing networks and recording HD audio and video content online, on-location or in the company’s podcast studio at Barangaroo, Sydney.

Darcy derives great fulfilment from seeing and helping others achieve their goals:

“For Cathrine Mahoney, that was to build an audience and launch a book. For Allens Law Firm, that was to celebrate their 200th anniversary with a special 4-part series, and for Maz Compton, that was launching a series that resonates with her audience.”

“We also love pushing the boundaries, like recently partnering with Acast to produce Sit With Us, where we helped the show go to #1 by producing engaging audio and visual content (3 million video impressions in 3 weeks) and giving their audience a unique listening experience with shows from The Logies, LA and Italy.”

Darcy’s future focus is on helping individuals and companies find their audience and share their message in an engaging and meaningful way.

“We hope to inspire our creators, create content that stands out and do our part to grow an industry of talented individuals.”

More info on Pro Podcast Production here.