In one of the Discords for a client of mine, during a conversation around the sounds I used to bleep out some swears, a listener commented:
I’d 100% rather hear “swearing”… Are there really requirements to edit that out?
It’s something that used to be a constant struggle in podcasting: should you bleep or not bleep swears?
Back in the early days of podcasting people thought that Apple Podcasts wouldn’t feature any podcasts, or possibly even punish them if there was swearing in them. And since Apple Podcasts was one of the biggest podcast listing services, a lot of podcasts abided by that unspoken rule.
Top Shows in Apple Podcasts Today Swear
As you can see in the above screenshot from this week (October, 2024), 7 of the top 24 podcasts listed by Apple Podcasts have an explicit tag. Plenty of podcasts have plenty of swearing, all without any sort of downgrading or punishment by podcast listing services.
And even with the explicit tag available to podcasts, plenty of podcasts don’t use it properly when they do have swears or explicit content. The fact of the matter is that there are just too many podcasts for anyone to properly moderate an explicit tag. The explicit tag in podcasting is there for listener awareness, not done as part of a rating system like it is for tv, movies, and video games.
Be Respectful of Your Listeners
As in many other areas of podcasting, consistency is the biggest thing to keep in mind. If in the first 10 episodes of your podcast you’ve never even said “poop emoji”, never mind an actual curse word, and then in episode 11 you sound like a r-rated movie, your listeners might be a bit surprised. And may very well become former listeners.
Setting the right expectations from episode 1—or even better, your podcast trailer—is key with explicit content. And if you’re going to start letting the f-bombs fly, give your listeners a heads up with a simple “Hey folks starting with this episode, we’re not going to be editing out any swears or curse words.” at the beginning of the next few episodes is a easy way to inform listeners without shocking them.
How I Edit With Regards to Swearing
My personal preference as an editor is whatever the expectation of listeners are, while obviously respecting the wishes of the hosts of the show. Personally when my kids were younger, I found it helpful to know going if there was going to be a swear in a podcast I listened to and so I wouldn’t put it on in the car on the ride to school, for example. These days we just jokingly say “language!” whenever a swear flies by randomly in something we’re listening to.
I check in with clients periodically to make sure they want me to edit / bleep / or leave any curse words in. In the long run, it’s definitely easier for me not to have to edit them out.
What’s Your BPS Rate?
One idea floated in the Discord was charging per swear removal: “Billing Per Swear”. It’s not a terrible idea, especially if the show is adamant about not having swearing in the podcast but continually swears in the recording. Thus far, I haven’t had any clients that are that adamant about not letting swears through while still cursing like a sailor in the recordings. Occasionally a guest will be a potty mouth that requires more work than I would normally do for an edit, but it’s never been enough to warrant a whole separate billing line on my invoices. 😊
To Swear or Not To Swear…
As a listener, what do you think of swearing in podcasts you’re subscribed to? Does it bother you? Do you even notice the little “E” in a podcast’s description before deciding whether to listen or not?
Or as a podcaster does holding back on cursing feel like you’re somehow not being authentic to your real voice? Or do you just let them fly whenever and wherever, because @#%@% them! I’ll curse whenever I @#%@#%@#$ want to.
Personally I think the sound of a well placed “censor-bleep.wav” audio enhances a good f-bomb, even more than if it was actually there.
