Cool to see that “Pro Tools is gatekeeping” article make the internet rounds (seeing it outside of my usual podcast spaces, too). I have thoughts... https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/22/22242606/pro-tools-proficiency-podcasting-diversity-gatekeeping

As someone who’s been on a mission to get radio folks off Pro Tools for years, I agree with the thrust of the piece but think it glosses over some important “why is it this way?” and “how did we get here?” kind of questions.

I 300% agree with the point about training. Pro Tools aside, do people coming up in the industry today get training on how to dialogue edit seamlessly? It’s a whole dark art, and I don’t hear about many people teaching it, and is applicable to all DAWs.

(I generally think of myself as "self-taught," but I’ll be ever grateful to Curtis Fox for giving me my first post-unpaid internship freelance gigs and taking the time to teach me some of the foundations. Ditto Paul Ruest.)

In the radio world, there was industry workflow divide between “producer/reporters” types and “engineer/mixer” types. Producers would hand off their work to engineers, and then they’d take it the rest of the way.

Intentional/institutional cross-training seemed rare. Those who could afford to stick around (or who *cough* took the expected public radio vow of poverty) sometimes did learn from the other silos/vice versa.

IMO it felt like those silos were starting to break down in the new freelance/indie podcast world in the late 2000s/early 2010s. Folks learning out to do it ALL because, well, they had to. Podcasting was the thing you did hoping to land a "real radio job" (& renew yr poverty vow)

There was a moment there where it felt like it might change. Where it felt like like the indies would transcend the industry. Where we'd all strive to discover this perpetually-fledgling craft to its deepest depths and learn from each other in the process. (Still my dream.)

(I never got one of those radio jobs, BTW, and I applied for damn near all of them--also it was a recession. Meanwhile, I took engineering/mix gigs because 1) it was a less common/higher demand skill 2) they paid better than AP gigs. And I keep stringing shit together somehow.)

I fear I'm getting lost in the past here... But my point is: those industry divides seem as strong/stronger now that podcasting is legit industry. And when you've got $$$ on the line and content to churn out, it's "smarter" to just hire a fast "pro" than to train/integrate skills

I would put it to you that, as an industry-wide trend, it results in less interesting, holistically conceived/sounding work, too.

So my umbrella point: we should encourage radiomakers to cultivate a deep understanding of the craft from editorial, technical, and aesthetic perspectives and then set them free to make the work of their hearts.

But I thought we were talking about Pro Tools?

Right. Well. The reason Pro Tools is an industry standard has to with lots of people following the usual incentives. And unfortunately it's such a shitty piece of software that the only people who can go deep with it are people on that technical/engineering track.

Yes, it's also overly expensive piece of software with a shitty business model. But it's also about the time it takes to master the process of working in that software. And the speed/relative ease with which you can collaborate with and teach others.

Also, in my experience, once people learn Pro Tools, they can't conceive of even trying to learn another platform because that extra time is *also* money.

And so here we are in 2021, suffering needlessly as an industry bound to software designed in 1989 because we can't pause for a sec and investigate the merits of some other options. Let me tell you: it doesn't have to be this way!

BTW I also don’t think the issue has anything to do with Pro Tools being "too complex" or “made for music." I wish people thought about music *more* in their podcast work. Musical tools and features actually have much to teach us in our craft. But that's a rant for another time.

The biggest problem with Pro Tools (apart from the expense) is that it's designed to keep you in its clutches. And it forces you to conform to its workflow. This is why it seems like learning something new is impossible. It's the abuser's strategy.

Add to that all sorts of arcane bullshit around system compatibility. How many times have I heard people say they need to buy a whole new computer just because of Pro Tools? Yo, your computer is *fine.*

Okay let's cut to the chase here. If you know me, you know I'm gonna send you to Reaper by @Cockos. (Go download it. I'll wait. It's only about 20MB: http://www.reaper.fm ) But you might not know *why* I've been such a Reaper evangelist.

Free to download. Only costs $60 for a small business license. (But still works 100% even after the 60-day demo expires.) Works well even on old computers: PC/Linux/Mac, even the new M1s. They devs are constantly adding features in updates--plus they have good politics to boot!

I mean, look at the top of their page right now. They've been giving away temporary licenses due to the COVID crisis!

Now they real secret about Reaper is its customizability. And you don't have to be a tech wiz to take advantage of it. Once you learn the basics, you'll be doing things in seconds that might have taken you minutes/hours in Pro Tools.

Now. What if I told you that over the last decade or so I have developed a customized system/template/set of presets for Reaper that builds on same basic key commands as Pro Tools, so as to aid in the transition? Navigation, zooming, cutting, fading, etc. with PT muscle memory.

This is something I'm constantly tweaking & refining, mostly for the people I work with (yes, along with some initial training). It's not quite in a state where I can post it publicly and have it just "work," but that's been my intention. Saying it out load here to commit myself!

In the meantime, I hope you'll consider giving Reaper an honest try--particularly if you're already in that engineer/mixer category, because you knowing how these tools work and their potential helps open opportunities for work and collaboration with others outside of Pro Tools.