FAQ : Podcastics and distribution on listening platforms

How do I make my podcast available on Apple Podcasts?

The process of distributing a podcast is extremely quick and easy for some listening platforms, and a little more tedious for others. This is the case, for example, with Apple Podcasts, which remains the most popular platform among listeners.

The Podcastics wizard has therefore been designed to make your experience as smooth and comfortable as possible. You'll find an overview of the various steps in the following article.

How do I make my podcast available on listening platforms like Spotify, Deezer and others?

All you have to do is provide these platforms with your podcast's RSS feed. Don't worry: it's an extremely simple process that takes no more than a few minutes, and on top of that you only have to do it once.

What's more, the Podcastics teams have taken great care to develop step-by-step wizards to guide you through the process. In your interface, go to the “Distribute” tab. You'll be guided step-by-step for each platform: it's impossible to make the slightest mistake!

Note that the procedures are not exactly the same from one platform to another:

• on Spotify, Amazon Music or Deezer, podcast distribution is just a click away;
• for Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Stitcher, on the other hand, you need to create an account on the platforms concerned. But don't let that stand in your way: Podcastics will guide you step by step, explaining everything to you.

Afterwards, any changes you make on Podcastics will be automatically synchronized with the listening platforms on which you've submitted your podcast. All platforms update themselves from Podcastics, so any changes (to name, cover, texts, audio file...) are automatically transmitted 👍

How long does it take for changes made to my podcast to be reflected on listening platforms?

The publication of an episode on Podcastics is immediate, but the listening platforms (Apple, Google...) then take a little time ⏱️ to update themselves. This is because they have to reanalyze your RSS feed, which contains all the information about your podcast and its episodes.

This publication delay depends on each platform:

• For Apple Podcasts, it takes up to 1 hour (but usually around 10 minutes).
• Google Podcasts, thanks to a technical partnership with Podcastics, takes a maximum of 15 minutes.
• For Spotify, generally 15 minutes maximum.
• Deezer, also thanks to a technical partnership with Podcastics, takes around 5 minutes.
• For Amazon Music, it's usually less than 10 minutes.

The listening platforms are therefore quick to publish a new episode. Beware, however: if you update an episode (its title, description, cover art...), then timescales get a little longer, and the platforms can take several hours to take account of a modification.

Any action you take on Podcastics will therefore be available on all listening platforms in no time. But don't worry if your changes aren't taken into account instantly: it's perfectly normal!

I really like the series of episodes that Podcastics allows me to create. However, I've noticed that these series don't appear on the platforms. Is this normal?

Absolutely! These series, which you can create in your interface, appear on your Podcastics website. You can also use them in your Playlist and Large audio players, to display only the episodes of the selected series.

However, this feature is not supported by the listening platforms: until further notice, they simply don't have such a function. But we're keeping our fingers crossed 🤞 that they'll get around to it soon!

I don't want to make my podcast available on all listening platforms, but only on certain ones. Is that possible?

Of course it is! With Podcastics, you have total freedom in this and many other areas. You can freely choose which listening platforms you want to distribute your podcast on. And equally, you can choose not to distribute your podcast on certain platforms: it's your podcast, so it's your choice too.

I don't want to make my podcast available on listening platforms. Not on Apple Podcasts, not on Google Podcasts, not on Spotify, Deezer or the others. Please tell me I can.

Not only do you have the option, but you also have every right to. This is what we call an internal or non-public podcast, and there are a whole host of reasons for doing so.

There are two ways of creating an internal podcast:

• Firstly, if you have an access-protected website (members' area, intranet, extranet...), you can integrate Podcastics audio players into it. This way, only people authorized to access the site will be able to listen to your episodes. Please note, however, that you need to declare these episodes as “Unlisted” in your Podcastics interface, so that they cannot be accessed publicly.

The advantage of this method is that it's simple to implement, and all authorized persons on your website can listen to the podcast. The disadvantage is that access to your episodes is limited to your website, and your listeners can't listen to your podcast on their favorite podcast app.

• You can also give the podcast RSS feed directly to people authorized to listen to your podcast. Some podcast applications allow you to subscribe directly to an RSS feed, without going through the public catalogs. This is the case, for example, with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Castbox...

The advantage of this method is that your members can listen to the podcast in their favorite podcast application. The disadvantage is that it requires a certain amount of technical skill on the part of your listeners. You'll need to explain to them how to add your podcast to their podcast application.

In any case, be careful ⚠️ :

• You must not distribute your podcast on listening platforms (otherwise it will become public).
• You must deactivate the Podcastics website, which is activated by default.

I want my podcast to be listened to as much as possible. On the other hand, I don't want my listeners to be able to download my episodes.

You can prevent downloads from your Podcastics interface, in your podcast information under the “Permissions” tab.

This will hide the download button on your Podcastics website and on your audio players. Please note, however, that this will not prevent downloads from podcast applications (such as Apple Podcasts). These applications are independent and cannot be controlled.

Why don't applications like Castbox or PocketCasts appear in the Podcastics interface?

Please don't think of this as a form of ostracism. It's perfectly possible to distribute your podcast on these platforms once you've chosen Podcastics as your host.

In fact, the applications in question are based on the Apple Podcasts catalog. In other words, when you add your podcast to Apple Podcasts, these applications automatically integrate it into their catalog without any further manipulation.

If, however, you still wish to distribute your podcast manually on these platforms, here are a few useful links:

• the Castbox procedure ;
• distribution on Pocket Casts.

Red alert! My podcast has disappeared from Spotify!

You're not the first in this case, and the most likely hypothesis - if this isn't the case, don't hesitate to contact our customer service - is that your podcast is made up of music tracks 🎸 that are not free of rights.

In fact, Spotify does not accept music podcasts, as stated in their distribution policy:

What is Spotify's policy on submitting music via Spotify for Podcasters?

We want to make sure that creators use the right channels to share their content with our users. Spotify for Podcasters should not be used to distribute music tracks, DJ mixes or similar musical content. Spotify reserves the right to remove podcasts that violate this policy, regardless of the licensing status of your music.

As you can see, this situation is beyond our control, and there's nothing we can do about it... except perhaps advise you to develop your audience on other listening platforms (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts...).

I seem to be having a problem with Spotify. What's with the .m4a?

Ouch ouch ouch! In fact, this famous .m4a corresponds to the extension of files encoded in MP4 format. And unfortunately for you, Spotify doesn't accept this type of file. In fact, Podcastics displays a warning ⚠️ on this point in your interface.

As this is a technical limitation of Spotify's infrastructure, there's nothing we can do to overcome it. Your best option is undoubtedly to encode your episodes in MP3 format, which will be accepted without question by all listening platforms.

At Podcastics, we recommend MP3 encoding at a bit rate of 128 kbps. In our opinion, this represents the best compromise between file size and audio quality. But there's no point in using a higher bit rate: your listeners will take longer to download your files.

Once your audio files have been re-encoded in MP3 format, it's very easy to replace them in your Podcastics interface: simply upload your new file in the “Audio file” tab of your episode, in place of the current file. Podcastics will then automatically transmit the information to Spotify, which will quickly update itself (usually in less than an hour).

I managed to distribute my podcast on all the listening platforms listed in my Podcastics interface. You were right: it was really easy. However, I wonder about the absence of SoundCloud from the list.
Thanks for your compliments about the ease of the distribution process 😳