Shanda V3 is here.

A few months ago, we made a decision. The feedback from our early community had been generous and honest, and we took it seriously. People told us what was working and what wasn't, and rather than patch around the edges, we used that input to make the leap we'd always intended to make. V3 is the result of that decision. V3 is live today. You can sign in right now and start creating.

Our ambition hasn't changed. It's the same thing it was when we started. We believe podcasting is one of the most direct ways to share an idea and have it felt by someone else. Every tool we build is designed to remove a barrier between a creator and their audience. The more stories that get told, the more we all gain from hearing them.

V3 is our most complete attempt thus far to live up to that intention. It's built around the creator using it, what they're trying to make, and what gets in their way. And like everything we build, it will keep getting better.

No credit card required. Just sign in and start creating.

What we built

When we started Shanda, the thesis was simple. Podcasting is one of the most human ways to share an idea. But the tools around it were built for studios and engineers, not for the consultant who wants to extend their thought leadership, or the meditation teacher who records from their spare room, or the student using audio as part of their coursework. The friction was everywhere. We wanted to remove it.

Your Starting Point

The first thing you see when you log into Shanda V3 is not a blank canvas. It's a starting point. We built the home screen around intent, because the biggest barrier for most creators isn't the recording or the editing, it's knowing where to begin.

When you arrive, you'll see templates and use cases that reflect what you might actually be trying to make. A guided meditation for your community. A thought piece to share your ideas in your own voice. A fireside chat that brings listeners into a real conversation. A club spotlight to showcase your campus or support an assignment. A solo show for your consulting practice or whatever else you use may be.

The tutorials and materials are there too for when you need them. But the real unlock is that moment of recognition when you see your use case reflected back at you and think, yes, that's exactly what I want to create.

Record

We rebuilt the recording studio from the ground up. It runs entirely in your browser, supports 12 languages including Spanish, French, Arabic, Hindi, Japanese, and Chinese, with more on the way, and removes background noise automatically so you sound like you recorded in a proper studio regardless of where you actually are.

Edit

This is the one I'm most proud of, and also the one that cost us the most. Building a multitrack, text-based editor in the browser is genuinely hard. A few years ago I read a quote somewhere that said “It's simple to make something complex and complex to make something simple.” We felt that every single day of this sprint. What we ended up with is an editor that is faster, more intuitive, and built around how creators actually work, not how engineers think creators work. We also overhauled the media library with better intro/outro music, ambient sounds, and sound effects, to compliment the templates across four categories with demo content.

Publish

Instant or scheduled, to your time zone. You can hide shows while you're still working on them. And when you're ready to put your episode out into the world, Shanda generates everything you need to present it well. Transcripts, show notes, titles, descriptions, pull quotes, and timestamps, all from your transcript automatically. You've done the hard work of making the thing. We handle the written layer around it.

Share

Every episode gets its own page. We call it a Vinyl. It's a clean, shareable destination for your audience that doesn't require them to go hunting across platforms to find what you made.

Analytics

We've kept analytics simple for now. You can see how your episodes are performing and where your audience is coming from. Advanced analytics, with deeper engagement data and audience insights, are coming soon.

Everything else

Workspace management, drafts, trash, shows, profile and payment management, support tickets directly in the platform. The goal was one place for everything. V3 is a real step in that direction.

What this took

I want to be honest about this part, because I think founders don't say it enough.

This was a significant undertaking. The technical lift was real. Our design, product, and engineering teams spent months solving problems that aren't visible in the product but that you'd absolutely feel if they weren't solved. Paul drove the product thinking with the kind of discipline that keeps a team focused on what actually matters to the person using it. Abdallah, Ruslan, and Vlad brought that vision to life on the engineering side, pushing through some of the hardest technical problems this kind of product demands.

Beyond the technical side, this project required a lot of conviction. As aforementioned,making something simple is complex and hard, and that complexity takes time to resolve, typically brings development cost overruns, and with those come capital constraints. It required conviction to push through all of that, and it required real sacrifices to bring this to market. And through all of it, the thing that kept us moving was exactly what I said at the top: the more stories that get told, the more we all gain from hearing them. That hasn't wavered.

We're also genuinely grateful to everyone who has been part of this journey, whether through the team's work internally, or through the feedback, encouragement, and patience of our early community. You shaped this more than you know.

What's next

The immediate focus is making sure V3 is solid, stable, and worth every minute of your time. After that, the roadmap has things I think you'll find genuinely exciting: a full rename, rebrand, collaboration features, clips, and a much larger template library. There's a lot more to come, and we're just getting started.

But the most important thing right now is your feedback. Use the product. Tell us what's missing. Tell us what surprised you. That input is what turns a good product into a great one.

How you can help

Two things, if you're willing.

The first is using Shanda and telling us what you think. What's working for you and what could be better are both equally valuable to us, and both help us build something worth coming back to. And if this resonates with you, share it with someone who needs to hear it. The more people who find their voice through audio, the better.

The second is connecting us. If you know someone who has been frustrated by fragmented audio tools, or someone you think should know Shanda exists, we'd really appreciate the introduction.

You can reach me directly at [email protected] or book time here.

Thank you for being part of this.

Dumi and the Shanda team