Why is music quality in podcasts so awful?

Hello,

I was commissioned to write theme music for a podcast. I finished the track and sent it their way for review, but after listening to some of their previous episodes I noticed that the music they were using before (various excerpts of songs they like) sounds extremely compressed. I know that podcasters will often use heavy compression so that their voices don't jump in levels, which is fine, but when this compression is happening during the intro and outro music, it really makes the music sound bad. On top of this, I'm sure podcast episode file is a super compressed MP3 or something similar which also hurts the overall quality.

I guess my question is do you know of a way to ensure the highest quality possible once my music is implemented into their podcast? Is there anything I can do on my end (regarding file type, etc.). Also, is there anything that they should be doing on their end when they are compressing their voice audio that I could suggest to them? Any ideas are welcome. Thank you!

The greatest irony is the number of lo-fi podcasts that are dedicated to audio-related topics.
 
I've always written it off to low bit rates. Many of them are still at 64  kb/s or 96 kb/s. Some as low as 32 kb/s (!). 

A podcast itself has no limitations on it's quality... You can post a 32 kb/s or a 384 kb/s.... it's up to the person doing the final production and preparation.
 
1: They may not know what they are doing... and blindly uploading horrible quality. You can help them with that, if that is the case.
 
2: Podcasts are served from "your server" so file size may be critical. Some may keep the quality low to avoid bandwidth costs if it should be really popular. Or, if someone is serving from home keeping the file size really small may be the only option due to horrible upload speeds from most providers.

When I encounter something like that and I have to bring it up with a client, I simply start asking questions.  What bit rate are you using? Are you sure you exported a stereo file? (you may know they didn't) Etc, etc.  This allows the other person to come to their own conclusion that they might need help or at least pay closer attention.  There is a balance between still wanting to work and not having your work compromised.  Gain trust, and don't bruise their ego, so they feel they can rely on your expertise.  Most people I know are open to at least a small nudge in the right direction if it leads to better results.  

As a podcaster I can only speak for myself...I initially started out with a very basic telephone setup. I still have the old box somewhere that records a phone conversation. This is the kind of thing radio stations always used and so I thought at the time it was the way to go... I was wrong on that one. You can get a much better recording on Skype if done correctly and using the right programs.
 
In terms of quality my show has been a learning experience and Dave is correct there is much audio editing involved. I usually know within a few minutes if there's  going to be a lot of editing involved. The shows that sound like they weren't edited really were. If you heard the uneditied show it would have REALLY been bad..and my first shows were terrible admittedly because I was still learning. Subsequent shows have been better but not perfect. One thing that makes a huge difference is if both parties  use a decent microphone and interface. I can't control everything done on a two party show. In some cases it is mandatory that the other party use a phone line and a typical phone...so quality will always suffer there, although for only voice it can still be done well if mixed properly. In a more controlled and regular situation...like a regular show with the same people it's a lot easier to get better quality because you can pre determine the setup. If the engineer can have a high quality audio file sent from the guest this makes it even better...but all of this is usually a pie in the sky dream and the reality is that I usually deal with what I am dealt.
 
There was a time when I uploaded at lower bitrates, but my server/host now allows me to go with a better file, so I am now uploading a 320 mp3 file in stereo usually and this is really only for the intro music since the dialog need not be in stereo...at that bitrate it's possible to get a really good sounding show if you can get a nice phone conversation...I've never not posted a show, but there were a few  I should have omitted based on the horrible phone connections.
 
It's usually never the same challenge...and it's a lot of work for no pay ;) So you need to enjoy it as a motivation.