Submit to podcast directories

Podcast apps find shows through directories. You submit your feed URL once; each directory then reads new episodes from your site. Podcast Publisher does not submit the feed for you.

Your feed URL is https://your-site.example/podcast/{podcast_id}/feed.xml. See Check and share the feed for how to find it.

Before you submit

Directories check the feed before they list it. Make sure that:

• The podcast and at least one episode are published, and the feed is publicly reachable.
• The podcast has an Email address you can read. Spotify and YouTube send a verification code to this address, which the feed publishes in itunes:owner.
• The podcast Image is square, between 1400 × 1400 and 3000 × 3000 pixels, JPG or PNG, without transparency. The feed scales larger images down to 3000 pixels but does not crop or enlarge them.
• Episodes use MP3 or AAC audio. Apple Podcasts does not accept WAV, even though the episode form allows it.
• Title, Summary, iTunes Category, and Explicit are filled in on the podcast.

Run the feed through a validator such as Podbase or Cast Feed Validator to catch problems before a directory rejects it.

Apple Podcasts

1. Sign in to Apple Podcasts Connect with your Apple Account.
2. Click the Add (+) button, choose New Show, then Add a show with an RSS feed.
3. Enter your feed URL and click Add.
4. Review the show information, confirm content rights, add contact details, and set availability.
5. Click Save, then Publish.

Apple validates the feed and reviews the show before it appears. Apple's RSS feed requirements list every tag it checks. Many other podcast apps also search Apple's directory, so a listing there reaches beyond Apple Podcasts.

Spotify

1. Sign in at Spotify for Creators.
2. Choose Find an existing show, then Somewhere else.
3. Enter your feed URL.
4. Enter the 8-digit code that Spotify sends to the podcast's email address.

See Spotify's guide to claiming your podcast.

YouTube

1. In YouTube Studio, click Create, then New podcast, then Submit RSS feed.
2. Accept the terms, enter your feed URL, and verify it with the code sent to the podcast's email address.
3. Choose the episodes to upload and the visibility.
4. When the upload finishes, click Publish next to the podcast feed.

YouTube turns each episode into a video with your artwork. See Deliver podcasts using an RSS feed for availability by country.

Podcast Index

The Podcast Index is a free, open directory used by many independent podcast apps. Open Add, enter your feed URL, and submit it. No account is needed; the feed must contain at least one episode.

After you submit

Directories poll your feed regularly, so new episodes appear without another submission. Keep the feed URL stable: if you change the View's path or recreate the podcast under a new ID, subscribers lose the feed.

Each episode's GUID identifies it in podcast apps. By default it is the audio file's URL, so replacing an episode's audio file can make apps show the episode again as new. See Customize the feed.