South Jersey podcasters and content creators won’t have to cross the Delaware River to connect with others in their industry this month.
SuiteRecording will host the Philadelphia Area Podcasters Meetup on Tuesday, Oct. 13, from 6 to 8 p.m. at its studio at 1099 White Horse Road, third floor, in Voorhees. The free networking event is open to podcasters, video creators, potential guests and anyone interested in starting a show.
For Mathew Passy, chief content officer and co-owner of SuiteRecording, bringing the gathering to South Jersey has been more than a year in the making.
“I’ve been attending the Philadelphia Area Podcasters Meetup for over a year, but it was always held in Pennsylvania,” Passy said. “I’d been asking the organizer to bring it to New Jersey, and when we moved SuiteRecording to Voorhees, I made the offer again.”
Now Passy hopes hosting the meetup on this side of the river will make the local podcasting community more accessible to creators who may have skipped previous gatherings because of the trip into Pennsylvania.
“I’m excited to host on this side of the river and make it easier for South Jersey creators to take part,” he said.
Passy believes convenience is one of the biggest reasons creators from South Jersey and Philadelphia may work relatively close to one another without ever meeting.
With most podcasting events traditionally taking place in Pennsylvania, South Jersey residents face an additional drive, tolls and travel time after an already full workday.
“Having one here removes that barrier,” Passy said.
The Oct. 13 meetup will maintain the networking-focused format used at previous Philadelphia Area Podcasters Meetup events. There will be no presentations or sales pitches. Instead, attendees will have two hours to meet other creators, exchange ideas and potentially find guests, co-hosts and collaborators.
Passy plans to eventually expand SuiteRecording’s events to include speakers, presentations and live tapings, but for this gathering, he wants to preserve the meetup’s traditional open-networking format.
The event isn’t just for established podcasters.
Passy is encouraging anyone interested in content creation to attend, from people who have been producing shows for years to those who are only beginning to consider starting a podcast.
“Every podcasting event I’ve been to has welcomed all experience levels, and I want this one to feel the same,” he said.
For someone who hasn’t recorded a single episode yet, Passy hopes meeting others in the industry can make the idea of starting a show feel more achievable.
He wants newcomers to leave knowing “that it’s easier than they think, and there’s a lot of support available to help them get started.”
That support can be particularly valuable in an industry where much of the work happens alone.
Podcasting and digital content creation may connect people with audiences around the world, but the process behind the scenes can sometimes be isolating. Passy sees in-person gatherings as an opportunity to remind creators that there are people nearby facing similar challenges, even if their shows and approaches are completely different.
“Most of this work is done alone, and creators often feel isolated,” he said. “Knowing there are people right in your community doing the same thing, in completely different ways, is encouraging.”
Those connections can also lead to practical opportunities.
Passy said creators tend to be generous about sharing advice, meaning conversations at a networking event can offer insight into what is working for other podcasters and provide ideas that attendees can apply to their own projects.
“You’ll hear what’s working for other people, pick up ideas you can use in your own show, and meet potential guests, collaborators and partners you wouldn’t find online,” he said.
The meetup will also give attendees a behind-the-scenes look at SuiteRecording’s podcast and video studio.
The Voorhees studio serves clients from South Jersey, Philadelphia and Wilmington and offers in-studio recording, mobile production, consulting and studio-design services.
Passy said the studio itself was designed with flexibility in mind, allowing several shows to record in the space without appearing as though they share an identical set.
“A professional studio in their own backyard,” he said of what attendees will see. “The space is flexible and customizable, so several shows can record here without looking like they share the same set.”
Attendees will also get an opportunity to experience the studio from the other side of the camera and microphone.
Each person will be invited to sit down for a brief interview about a current project. The relaxed interview will take only a few minutes, and within a week, each participant will receive a professional clip that can be used to promote their work.
The opportunity is intended to give even someone who has never recorded professionally a chance to experience the process.
The Voorhees event is being co-hosted by Spencer Carpenter of Outlier Audio, a podcast booking and production company, and SuiteRecording. It is presented by PodMatch, a platform that connects podcast hosts and guests.
Outlier Audio organizes the Philadelphia Area Podcasters Meetup, while PodMatch is its main supporter. As a longtime attendee, Passy said he is happy to now become a host and hopes the Voorhees studio can regularly welcome the group.
His vision extends beyond occasional networking nights.
Passy would eventually like to see a local creator community that meets regularly, shares advice and encouragement, collaborates on projects and welcomes industry experts and veterans who can offer insight into what’s working and where the industry is headed.
A year from now, he hopes the relationships formed at the meetup will extend well beyond the events themselves.
He envisions “a community that stays connected between meetups, where members collaborate and help each other grow because of the connections they made here.”
For Passy, bringing the Philadelphia Area Podcasters Meetup to Voorhees is a chance to start building those connections a little closer to home.
Admission to the Oct. 13 meetup is free, but registration is requested to help organizers plan for attendance. More information and registration are available at suiterecording.com/meetup.
