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How To Submit Podcasts To The iTunes Music Store
Submit Podcasts to iTunes
By Sharon Housley
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.
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This article may be used freely in opt-in
publications and websites, provided that the resource
box is included and the links are active. A courtesy
copy of the issue or a link to any online posting would
be greatly appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
.
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