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Castmagic vs Cast: two different jobs

Castmagic reads a finished episode and writes about it — show notes, timestamps, clips, social copy. Cast is the step before: it turns the raw recording into that finished episode. If you came here looking for an editor, this is the difference in one line.

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At a glance

CastmagicCast
Where it sitsAfter the export — content from the episodeBefore the export — the episode itself
Audio editingOut of scopeTranscript editing, filler and pause removal, voice cleanup
Show notes & socialIts core jobOut of scope — chapters and captions only
MusicOut of scopeGenerated per episode, ducks itself under the voice
LicenceNot applicableCommercial licence and a per-export licence record (Plus/Max)
OutputText assetsA publish-ready audio file at platform loudness

These two are not really rivals

Plenty of shows use both, in order: finish the episode, then generate the write-up. Nothing in Cast competes with a repurposing tool, and nothing in Castmagic will shorten your tape.

What Cast does ship on that side is the structural part: chapters with timestamps that ride along when you move a clip, and caption files in the export — because both are derived from the edit, and only the editor knows where the edit landed.

If what you actually needed was an editor

Upload the recording and Cast transcribes it, so you can delete a rambling paragraph and hear the audio go with it. Fillers are counted per speaker and cut in one click. Silences over your threshold are listed. Voice cleanup is a dial, not a baked-in pass. Music is generated for the episode and ducks under the voice as you keep editing. The export lands at −14, −16 or −23 LUFS depending on where it is going.

  • Cut audio by deleting text
  • Fillers and dead air, listed
  • Chapters that survive an edit
  • Captions in the export

FAQ

01How do chapters work?

Select the text where a chapter should start and mark it (⌘⇧M) — the title comes from your selection. Chapters export as timestamp lists for YouTube and for Podcasting 2.0.

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02Does the export include captions?

Captions come from your edited transcript and download as SRT, VTT or plain text — so the words you cut do not come back in the subtitles.

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03What does editing by transcript look like?

Select any run of words in the Voice Editor and a menu appears. You can delete them (the audio is cut and the gap closes), ignore them (the audio is muted, the timing stays), correct the wording, mark a chapter, assign a speaker, or copy and paste words elsewhere.

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