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.
OR
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.
|