How to Upload Your Podcast to Spotify in 6 Clear Steps
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Podcasting is a great way to grow your audience and establish your authority. However, if you want to amplify your reach, merely uploading your episodes to your website isn’t enough. You have to submit your podcast to different directories such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, and Spotify.
In this blog, we’ll outline a step-by-step guide to help you upload your podcast to Spotify. But let’s first understand why there’s such a hullabaloo surrounding Spotify and whether it’s worth the hype.
Why Spotify Deserves Your Attention
Launched in 2006, Spotify has grown to become one of the most popular audio streaming platforms. It has attracted more than 299 million listeners including 138 million subscribers. Whether you’re a lifestyle blogger or a digital marketer, your target audience likely already uses Spotify. If you’ve already launched a podcast or are planning to start one, it’s essential to upload it on Spotify.
While Spotify encompasses a broad spectrum of audio content, the platform added podcasts to its catalog in 2018. As of April 2020, Spotify’s podcast catalog boasts more than 1 million shows. Moreover, it attracts more than 250 million listeners from over 75 countries across the globe.
According to The Podcast Consumer 2019 report by Edison Research, 43% of monthly podcast listeners said they’ve listened to episodes on Spotify. Irrespective of the topic and niche of your podcast, think of all the potential listeners you could reach through Spotify.
Image via Edison Research
Limitations of Spotify
The only slight catch is that Spotify doesn’t let you add transcripts to your podcast. However, in the absence of proper transcripts, your episodes will become inaccessible to certain users. Moreover, transcripts help make your website search-engine friendly and translate your episodes into different languages.
A simple solution is to add transcripts to your podcast website. You can include specific transcripts for individual episodes. Additionally, you can include a dedicated web page to showcase all your transcripts. You can either manually create the transcript or use a transcription service like ours to automatically generate it. All you have to do is provide us the podcast URL or audio file.
Now that you know the amazing benefits of submitting your Podcast to Spotify, you must be yearning to get started. However, you must first ensure that your show meets Spotify’s podcast requirements.
Spotify’s Podcast Requirements
Before you upload your podcast on Spotify, make sure it meets the following requirements:
1. Audio Format
Your audio files must be in the ISO/IEC 11172-3 MPEG-1 Part 3 (MP3) format. Additionally, the bit rate should be between 96 and 320 kbps.
2. Podcast Artwork
You need stellar cover art to showcase your podcast in any directory. Spotify requires high-resolution square (1:1) cover art in PNG, JPEG, or TIFF formats.
3. Podcast Title and Description
Restrict the length of consumer-facing fields such as episode titles to 20 characters to avoid truncation on Spotify.
4. RSS Feed
Make sure the RSS feed of your podcast has a title, description, and cover art. Additionally, it should include at least one live episode.
5. Special Characters
If you’re using special characters such as “&” in your title or description, make sure it includes it’s HTML encoded. Moreover, avoid using HTML tags such as <bold>, <head>, etc. because Spotify removes them.
6. File Size
Make sure your podcast episodes don’t exceed 200 MB in size. This gives you a duration of nearly 83 minutes (at 320 Kbps) or more than 200 minutes (at 128 Kbps).
Now that you’re sure your podcast meets Spotify’s requirements, it’s time to upload your show on the platform.
Submitting Your Podcast on Spotify
In this section, we’ll take a closer look at the steps to upload your podcast on Spotify. Let’s get started.
Step 1 – Create Your Spotify Account
To begin with, you need to visit Spotify for Podcasters and click on “Get Started”. If you already have a Spotify account, you have to click on “Log In”.
Select “Sign Up for Spotify” on the next page. Alternatively, you can log in using your Facebook or Apple account.
Thereafter, Spotify will prompt you to provide personal information including your name, email address, gender, and date of birth. You’ll receive a verification link in your email address. Once you click on the verification link, your account creation is complete.
Step 2 – Set Up Your Account
When you log in to your Spotify account for the first time, you’ll be prompted to accept the terms and conditions. Click on “I Accept” to proceed further.
Thereafter, you’ll be redirected to your dashboard. Click on “Get Started”.
Step 3 – Add Your Podcast
In this step, you have to enter the RSS feed link of your podcast. You can find the RSS feed link from your podcast hosting service. Once you’ve entered the link on Spotify, click on “Next”.
If you enter the incorrect RSS feed link, you’ll get an error message notifying you of the issue.
If your RSS feed link is correct, the podcast title, description, creator’s name, artwork, etc. will appear on the right side.
Step 4 – Verify Ownership
In the next step, Spotify will verify that you own the podcast. Hit the “Send Code” button to receive an 8-digit code on the email address associated with the RSS feed.
Check your inbox and enter the verification code on your Spotify dashboard. Thereafter, click on “Next”.
Step 5 – Add Your Podcast Details
In this step, you need to provide Spotify with a few details about your podcast including the primary language and your hosting provider’s name. You also have to mention the country in which you’ve made your podcast. Additionally, you should select a relevant primary category and sub-categories. If your podcast covers a diverse array of topics, you can select two more categories with relevant sub-categories.
Once you’ve entered all the required information, click on “Next”.
Step 6 – Submit Your Podcast
The final step is to review your podcast details before submitting it. Make sure you carefully check the categories, language, and other information. If everything looks good, hit the “Submit” button.
Thereafter, Spotify will review your podcast before making it live. While most podcasts get approved within a few hours, it can take up to five days. Spotify doesn’t contact you when your podcast goes live. Make sure you keep checking your dashboard.
Conclusion
Whether you’re an amateur or a seasoned podcaster, you must upload your episodes on Spotify. Submitting your podcast on the platform is fairly simple. However, you must carefully provide relevant information and select the right categories.