How Long Does the Studio Keep Your Podcast Recording Files?

Dialogue and Lounge Gold and Platinum packages list a 30-day post-shoot backup. Treat that as a limited backup service, and download, check and preserve your own material when it is delivered.

The Finchley package cards do not establish permanent archival storage. They also do not settle every detail of link expiry, restore requests or the files covered. Confirm those points for your booking.

Distinguish three different time periods

A backup period does not automatically mean the download link works for the same period. An expired link also does not, by itself, tell you whether a retained copy is still available.

Ask for the relevant dates and procedure in writing. Do not assume the backup starts when you open the email or when the editor begins work; the listed wording is post-shoot.

Confirm what the backup covers

Ask whether it includes all agreed camera and microphone sources, the combined recording, edited exports or other material. Different stages of production can generate different files.

Also check who can request another transfer, how to identify the session and whether the request involves a charge. If you need storage beyond the stated period, ask what can be agreed before relying on it.

There is no reason to postpone downloading until the end of the window. A later retrieval request leaves less time to resolve an access or file-list problem.

Give someone responsibility for the download

Choose an owner even if the recording is going straight to an external editor. That person should confirm that the full delivery has arrived and that your team has a usable copy.

Check the file count against the agreed handover. Open the recordings, listen to the voices and check video playback at several points. Report anything missing promptly, using the session date and original filenames.

A download notification is not the same as a completed, checked production archive.

Preserve originals and keep another copy

Keep the original recording files separate from working edits and final exports. Give the session a clear folder name and record where the material lives.

Use an additional backup in a separate location appropriate to your team. The National Cyber Security Centre's backup guidance explains the purpose of a separate recoverable copy. Decide who can access the files and how they would restore them if a working drive failed.

Do not treat a file that appears in a synchronised folder as proof that a separate recoverable backup exists. Check your storage service's actual backup, versioning and deletion behaviour.

Plan for future use

You may need the sources again for a trailer, revised sponsor section or a later compilation. Saving only the published episode can limit those options.

Keep the approved graphics, project files and notes needed to understand the production alongside your archive where applicable. Agree retention and access within your own team rather than assuming the studio will hold the complete project indefinitely.

For a recording with clear handover and storage expectations, review Finchley's booking packages and confirm the backup dates, covered files and download arrangements for your chosen set.