Podcast Intro Music Maker

What makes a good podcast intro

A good intro does three things fast: it sounds like your show, it gives you room to talk, and it gets out of the way. Most intros that are music only run 5 to 10 seconds. Once you add a voice-over on top, most shows use 15 to 30 seconds so there's time to say who you are and what the episode covers.

Longer intros lose listeners. Shows that stretch their opener past 45 seconds tend to see more people drop off before the real content starts. If your intro feels long to you while you're editing it, it's probably too long for someone hearing your show for the first time.

Energy matters as much as length. A true crime show and a comedy show shouldn't open with the same kind of music, even if both run 10 seconds. Pick a vibe that matches how your show actually sounds, not how you wish it sounded.

Format changes the math too. Interview and news-style shows tend to run shorter, in the 10 to 20 second range, since listeners already expect to get straight into the conversation. Narrative and storytelling shows can afford a longer 20 to 30 second open, since it sets a mood before anything actually happens.

• 5 to 10 seconds if it's music only
• 15 to 30 seconds if you're talking over it
• Match the energy of your show, not a trend

How the intro kit works

One generation makes three files from the same piece of music: an intro, an outro and a background loop. Because they all come from one take, they share the same key, tempo and instruments, so your show sounds like one production instead of three separate downloads stitched together.

The intro can run 5, 10, 15 or 30 seconds, or any custom length from 5 to 30 seconds. The outro can run 5, 10 or 15 seconds. The loop runs 15 or 30 seconds and repeats cleanly for as long as you need to talk over it. Every file is cut to the exact second you pick, not roughly close.

Changed your mind about the length after you've already downloaded everything? You can recut the same kit into new lengths without starting over or spending another generation. The original music stays the same, only the cut points change.

Before you generate, you pick a show type: podcast, YouTube or stream. Each one starts you off with different default lengths, since a podcast intro, a YouTube open and a stream starting-soon screen aren't the same job. Podcast defaults to a 15 second intro, a 10 second outro and a 30 second loop. YouTube defaults to a 5 second intro, a 10 second outro and a 15 second loop. Stream defaults to a 10 second intro, a 5 second outro and a 30 second loop. You can change any of these before or after generating.

You can also add a cover for your kit: either generated cover art or your own logo placed on a plain background. Your logo itself never gets sent to an AI model, only the background around it is generated.

Getting the volume right

Every platform expects a different loudness, and getting it wrong means your intro either sounds too quiet or gets turned down automatically. Apple Podcasts targets about -16 LUFS. Spotify and YouTube both target about -14 LUFS, closer to how loud music normally sounds. All three expect a true peak ceiling of -1 dBTP, meaning the loudest instant in the file shouldn't clip.

Every file from your kit is mastered to -14 LUFS with a -1 dBTP ceiling automatically, so you don't need a separate loudness tool before you upload it. If your show is on Apple Podcasts and you want to match its quieter target more closely, you can still turn the file down a couple of decibels in your editor before you publish.

Using the loop under your voice

The 15 or 30 second bed is built to repeat without a click or a jump where it loops, so you can play it under an interview, a monologue or a long segment without it drawing attention to itself.

The trick to using it well is volume. Bring the bed down 12 to 18 dB below your voice. At that level your listener can feel the music without it fighting the words. If you can hum along easily while someone's talking, it's still too loud.

Free to start, packs when you need more

You can make 2 intro kits a month with no account at all. Sign up for a free account and that goes up to 5 kits a month, plus your kits are kept for 90 days instead of 7.

If you generate without an account, your kit is tied to your browser session instead of a login, and it's kept for 7 days. Sign in within that window and it gets saved to your library automatically instead of expiring.

If you need more than the free allowance, a one-time pack gets you 25 kits for $9 or 80 kits for $19. There's no subscription and the credits don't expire, so you can buy once and use them whenever a new episode needs a fresh sound.

Rights in plain English

The music comes from Google's Lyria model. Google says it won't claim ownership of the music you generate, and every track carries an inaudible SynthID watermark that marks it as AI made. The US Copyright Office has also said that music made entirely by AI, with no human creative changes, generally isn't eligible for copyright protection on its own.

Cover art you generate goes through a separate image model. On the same paid-tier terms, the provider doesn't use your prompts or images to train its models unless you opt in, and the same short safety-review window applies as with the music itself.

We can't promise YouTube or any other platform will never flag a track by mistake. If that happens, your kit's certificate has the generation date and details you need to file a dispute. Read the full breakdown, including exactly what we can and can't promise, at the music rights page.

A library track vs one made for your show

A track from a stock music library gets used by thousands of other shows. That's fine until another show registers a claim on it and yours gets flagged for using the same file everyone else has access to. A kit made from your own prompt is generated just for your show, so you're not sharing it with the next podcast that grabs the same free download.

Cost-wise, a library subscription usually runs $10 to $17 a month whether you use it that month or not. Hiring someone to build a custom intro on a freelance site usually runs $25 to $40, roughly double that once you add a voice-over. A kit here is generated in about a minute for a fraction of either, and any credits you buy stay yours until you use them.