Today, Staples announced a new pilot program that will offer professional podcast studio rentals at seven of its outlets in the Boston area.
Rentals will cost $ 60 for a 60-minute session, which includes a 10-minute setup by a professional in-store and a 10-minute breakdown to help prepare files for editing and downloading.
Studios will be set up for one host and up to three guests, and for an additional fee, customers will be able to pay for professional audio editing through Staples’ partner company, We Edit Podcasts.
Seven Staples locations in the greater Boston area will allow customers to rent podcast recording studios for $ 60 an hour
The studios themselves will be built by iHeartRadio, using RØDE microphones, a RØDECaster Pro control board and Shure headphones, according to Endgadget.
The podcasts themselves will be distributed through a separate partnership with Spreaker.
The podcasting initiative is part of Staples Connect, the retailer’s attempt to compete in the coworking and office services industry.
No longer just a retailer, the company sees itself as a mark of “fulfillment at work”.
According to Shuba Srinivasan, chair of marketing at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, the move was driven by an economy that is pushing more and more workers into freelance and contract positions.
The initiative is part of the company’s new Staples Connect initiative, which has focused on professional services, including office rental, private office rental, and more.
The company, she told the Boston Globe, wants to transform itself into “a place where millennials, the startup community and entrepreneurs can work, meet and collaborate, and do more about services rather than product promotion “.
In 2016, Staples partnered with Workbar Inc. to convert three of its retail outlets into office sharing spaces.
The company ended the partnership in 2019, but kept the concept of coworking and currently offers monthly office rentals starting at $ 299, while a private office rental starts at $ 599.
A Staples store has seen 50% of its floor space converted to coworking and professional services spaces
The podcast studio will be available free to monthly members, along with free access to conference rooms and professional service advisors who can answer questions about finance, human resources or legal issues.
At one location, Staples converted 50% of its available floor space to coworking and shared office services, which previously only occupied 10% of the store.
“It’s not about product anymore,” said Michael Motz of Staples. “It’s something you can buy anywhere online. It’s about how can we provide you with solutions? “
DOES HOME WORK MAKE YOU MORE PRODUCTIVE?
Employees who work remotely are actually likely to be more productive, according to a recent study by Cardiff University.
Those who work from home spend more hours than if they were in the office and are more likely to go beyond what is required.
According to the latest figures, more than four million people in Britain spend at least half of their time working from home.
Those who work from home spend more hours than if they were in the office and are more likely to go beyond what is required (stock image)
Researchers looked at responses from around 15,000 working people provided in 2001, 2006 and 2012.
Professor Alan Felstead, lead author of the study, from Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences, said: ‘Evidence suggests remote workers overcompensate to prove to their colleagues that they are not. in their pajamas at home and prove to their employers that they are a safe pair of hands ready to go the extra mile in return for the discretion an employer gives them to work at home or in a remote location.
