Free+ is becoming Creator+

Since Zencastr’s founding in 2015, having a robust free plan for creators in all stages of their podcasting journey has remained a core commitment. In 2022, we became an end-to-end creation and distribution platform, adding the ability to produce, host, and analyze to this new Free+ tier. With last week's launch of monetization for all creators, the future of Zencastr lies in helping podcasters succeed in their journey to grow and monetize.

To fully realize the goal of helping podcasters thrive, we need to dedicate the resources of the Free+ plan exclusively to the creators who want to grow with Zencastr through our Creator Network. This new plan will be called “Creator+.”

If you’d like to stay on this plan, please apply to the Creator Network by April 14th, 2023.

Staying on this plan will also mean some feature changes so we can best dedicate our resources to our mission. The changes to the Creator+ plan, which are effective March 18, 2023 at 00:00 UTC (convert to your timezone here), are:

1. Recording masters storage of up to 90 days
2. File sync to Google Drive and Dropbox no longer offered
3. Access to Zencastr Classic no longer offered
   

Recording Masters Storage

What is “Recording Masters Storage”?

Recording masters storage refers to how long the local recording files for each participant are available to download from your Recording Pages.

What does “Recording masters storage of up to 90 days” mean? How does this affect my files?

Recording masters storage is calculated on a rolling 90 days basis. This means that you can download your recording files for any recording done within 90 days. For example, on March 18, 2023, you can download files for any recording done between December 18, 2022 and March 18, 2023, but cannot download files for any recording done on December 17, 2023 or prior.

What happens to my files after 90 days? Are they deleted?

Files are not deleted. If you do not regularly download your files after recording and need access to older recording files, you can upgrade to a paid plan to download them.

Dropbox and Google Drive File Sync

I have a Dropbox or Google Drive account connected to my account. What is going to happen to this?

Because this is no longer supported on the Creator+ plan, if you have a Dropbox or Google Drive connected to your account it will be disconnected effective immediately and files from future recording sessions will not sync there. If you would like to reconnect it, please upgrade to a paid plan.

I have my files in my Dropbox and Google Drive from previous recording sessions. What’s going to happen to them?

We do not have access to the files in your Dropbox and Google Drive so this change will not affect files already in your cloud storage account in any way. This change only applies to files from future recording sessions no longer syncing there.

Zencastr Classic Access

What is Zencastr Classic? What are the changes to it?

Zencastr Classic (classic.zencastr.com) is the first iteration of our platform with audio-only recording and postproductions. On February 16, 2021, zencastr.com replaced classic.zencastr.com as our main platform and our main site has been continuously updated and improved since then. Nevertheless, we understand that a small group of our creators are still occasionally using classic.zencastr.com. Effectively immediately, classic.zencastr.com will no longer be available to free users.

What if I already have recordings scheduled to record in Zencastr Classic? What can I do?

Our main site, zencastr.com, has the ability to record in audio-only mode as well and additionally is more stable. You would need to resend any guests the invite links so their recording link is updated to go to zencastr.com instead of classic.zencastr.com. If you would prefer to keep your recordings done in classic.zencastr.com, please upgrade to a paid plan to access it.

Other

Are these changes affecting other areas of the platform? What about postproductions? What about hosting?

As of this announcement, the changes to the Free plan are primarily related to the recording offering in our platform and are detailed above. Produce will still be available to Creator+ users on a paid add-on feature via the purchase of postproduction credits and Creator+ users will still receive 1 hour of postproduction credit. The Creator+ plan also still includes unlimited audio hosting with basic analytics. A full list of current features and a plan comparison can be found on our pricing page.

Alternatives

If you need more on the recording side, upgrade to a paid plan and enjoy a coupon of 15% off 3 months* for unlimited recording storage, cloud drive sync, WAV files, and more!

*Coupon Terms & Conditions

Get 15% off the first three months of any paid plan, monthly or yearly, by clicking on the upgrade or coupon code links above or entering upgradeboost at checkout. This deal is valid until 11:59 pm PST on June 30. The coupon is not valid for other plans or prior subscriptions. Discount is only available to current Free or Free/Creator+ users and is not transferable to prior subscriptions.