RedCircle?

NOT REALLYA prototype of the interface is possible, but the durable product depends on difficult systems beyond the UI. Build a safer adjacent workflow instead.

BUILD FIRST

A non-sensitive or read-only version of the core experience
A manual review step wherever correctness or trust matters
A narrow companion tool that removes a real piece of work

LEAVE FOR LATER

Regulated decisions, payments, or irreversible actions
Claims of correctness, compliance, or uptime that the MVP cannot support
Sensitive integrations until security, support, and auditability are ready

RESEARCH NOTES

What this tool actually does.

Checked 2026-09-06

RedCircle is a podcast hosting and monetization platform. Its free tier hosts one show with unlimited storage, bandwidth, episodes, and downloads, distributed to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, and other directories. Monetization centers on RAP (RedCircle Ad Platform), which combines host-read and programmatic ads via dynamic insertion, plus VAST support (OpenRAP) for shows hosted elsewhere. Creators can sell subscriptions with exclusive episodes behind a paywall (Stripe, Apple Pay, Google Pay), join a cross-promotion marketplace that auto-inserts partner promos between shows, and use dynamic insertion for their own CTAs and audio blocks. Analytics include URL prefixes, pixel tracking, and third-party integrations, with export on paid plans. Paid tiers (Growth, Pro, Enterprise) add video generation for YouTube, episode transcription (5-500/month), team seats with roles, a

SOURCES

RESEARCHED BUILD PROMPT

Give this to your coding agent.

Build a RedCircle-style podcast hosting and monetization MVP. Workflow: a creator uploads an episode (MP3/WAV) with title, description, artwork, and optional transcript; the system transcodes and stores it, generates an RSS 2.0 feed with Apple Podcasts namespace tags, and publishes to configured directories. Creators can mark episodes as exclusive (paywalled), define ad slots (pre-roll/mid-roll/post-roll), and choose between their own audio promos, cross-promo swaps with partner shows, or a simple programmatic placeholder. Listeners subscribe via the feed; paid subscribers authenticate through Stripe (Apple Pay/Google Pay optional) to unlock exclusive episodes. A dashboard shows per-episode downloads, listeners, and ad impressions with URL-prefix/pixel tracking hooks. User-facing requirements: episode upload/edit/delete, feed management, subscription paywall, ad-slot configuration, cross-promo pairing, analytics dashboard, team roles (owner/editor/viewer). Technical requirements: object storage (S3-compatible), FFmpeg for audio processing and dynamic ad splicing, a job queue for transcodes, Stripe subscriptions with webhooks, PostgreSQL, and a React frontend with an auth/roles system. Do not copy RedCircle's brand, logo, copy, or UI. Out of scope: real programmatic ad networks (VAST/OpenRAP), a live ad marketplace, mobile apps, billing for hosting plans, and multi-tenant enterprise features. Include a README covering setup, architecture, and known limitations (e.g., no DRM, ad insertion is pre-rendered, not server-side per-listener).

Visit the official product page