How to Submit Podcasts to iTunes Store

How to Submit Podcasts to iTunes Music Store

Here are some helpful tips regarding how to get your podcasts listed in the iTunes Music Store...

iTunes Compatibility

In order to have your podcast included in the iTunes Music Store, you must first add the iTunes "extension" to your RSS feed. This means that you will need to modify the RSS feed for your podcast or videocast so that it includes tags that are specific to iTunes. You can use software such as FeedForAll (see http://www.feedforall.com/ ) to automatically add the additional iTunes fields and encode the podcast feed for you. There is also a tutorial available that will walk you through setting up an iTunes-compatible podcast (see http://www.feedforall.com/itunes-tutorials.htm ).

Once you have added the additional iTunes tags, transfer the feed to your server using FTP.

Validate And Test The Feed

If you are manually creating the feed, you should validate the feed to make sure that it is properly formatted. Most programs for feed creation, like FeedForAll, have a built-in validator that will alert you to any problems or issues with the feed.

Once you have validated the RSS feed, you should subscribe to the RSS feed via your own RSS reader, just to see what your subscribers will be seeing, and to make sure there are no errors or problems.

Submit The RSS Feed URL To ITMS (iTunes Music Store)

The next step is to submit the RSS feed URL to the Apple iTunes Music Store. There are two ways to accomplish this task:

1. Launch the iTunes Music Store.

a. Click ‘Music Store’ in the left navigation column and enter the Music Store page.

b. Once on the Music Store page, in the left navigation column, click on the "Podcasts" link to go to the podcasts page.

c. In the left column of the Podcasts page, click on the ‘Submit a Podcast link’ button.

2. If you already have iTunes on your computer, you can use the following URL to submit podcasts or videocasts directly to the iTunes Music Store:
https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/publishPodcast

Shortly after your submission, you will receive a confirmation that Apple has received the submission. It will be sent to the email address in your iTunes account. After the podcast is accepted into the iTunes directory, you will receive a second email notice that includes the URL for your podcast as listed on iTunes. Click the URL in the email and make sure your podcast appears as you want it to the iTunes directory.

Example of Podcasts/Videocasts in iTunes directory:

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332974261 http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332817410

When you update the podcast and add new items, the additional episodes will appear in the iTunes Music Store.

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.