How long should a podcast intro be?
Short answer: five to fifteen seconds, and closer to five if the show is already established.
The working range
A five-second sting works for a show people already know: a two-note motif, a name, no words.
Ten seconds buys a spoken tag — the show name and one line about the episode.
Fifteen seconds is the ceiling for a cold open. Beyond that, listeners are still waiting while the episode has started.
What a long intro costs
Every second before the content is a second a new listener decides whether to stay. On a 30-minute episode, a 45-second intro is 2.5% of the runtime and all of the first impression.
A long intro also forces a longer music file, which means a less focused brief and a higher chance the take drifts.
How to brief one
Write the sentence you would give a session player: "Ten-second podcast intro, warm synth pluck, no drums, ends on a held chord, 100 BPM." That is enough.
Ask for an ending that resolves. An intro that stops mid-phrase leaves a gap before the host speaks.
If the show has a spoken tag, generate the music first and trim it to the tag; trimming is easier than asking a model to land exactly on a syllable.
Checklist
Five to fifteen seconds, chosen before you generate.
An ending that resolves rather than fades.
No vocal if the host speaks over it.
One file reused for every episode, so the brand stays consistent.
Related
Podcast intro demo · Licensing for a podcast
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