Where a podcaster's Mac fills up: raw tracks, project files and video versions
An hour of multitrack audio is a few GB, video podcasts are far more. What each format costs, where editors keep their caches, and what to archive.
A weekly show makes a lot of files: raw tracks for each person, the edit project, exports in several formats, and increasingly a video version. None of it is deleted by default.
What an hour costs
| Format | Per hour, roughly |
|---|---|
| WAV, 48 kHz, 24 bit, mono, one speaker | About 520 MB |
| WAV, 48 kHz, 24 bit, stereo | About 1 GB |
| Four remote guests, separate WAV tracks | 2 to 4 GB |
| MP3 export at 128 kbps | About 58 MB |
| Video podcast, 1080p per camera | Several GB per camera |
Audio numbers follow from sample rate, bit depth and channels. Video depends heavily on the recording app; see 4K video storage per minute.
Where it hides
- Remote recording downloads in Downloads, one WAV per guest per episode.
- Editor projects. Logic and GarageBand keep audio inside the project. See audio projects.
- Transcription and editing apps that keep local media and caches in your Library.
- Exports in several formats, kept after upload.
# Large audio and video in your home folder
find ~ -type f \( -iname '*.wav' -o -iname '*.aif*' -o -iname '*.mov' -o -iname '*.mp4' \) -size +300M -exec du -h {} + 2>/dev/null | sort -h | tail -20A simple archive routine
- After an episode is published, keep the final export and the raw tracks.
- Move both to an external drive, in a folder per episode.
- Delete the edit project's caches and renders, and the downloads.
- Keep only the current and next episode on the Mac.
Musicians face a similar problem with sample libraries: Mac storage for musicians.
Common questions
How much space does an hour of podcast audio take?
About 520 MB per mono track at 48 kHz, 24 bit, and about 1 GB for stereo. A 128 kbps MP3 export is about 58 MB.
Where should podcasters keep old episodes?
On an external drive, with the final export and raw tracks per episode. Only current work needs to be on the Mac.
Why is my podcast project folder so big?
Raw WAV tracks for every speaker, plus renders, exports and video if you record it. Each speaker adds about half a GB per hour.