This is a list of the most important podcast directories and apps in 2023. iTunes/Apple Podcasts provides about 80% of the downloads. If you’re short on time, iTunes/Apple Podcasts is unquestionably the most important of the podcast directories. But if you’ve got 40 minutes, you might as well submit to all of them.
The Most Important Podcast Directories:
- iTunes/Apple Podcasts – Submit your RSS feed here.
- Stitcher – Go here and register a new account. Then go here and click on Join Us Today. Follow the prompts to add your show.
- Spotify – Login to your Libsyn account and follow the process here. Then claim your show here. Either login or signup for a free Spotify account. Once logged in click the ‘Get Started’ button if you don’t see it select the Add or claim podcast button from the left sidebar and then click Get Started. Follow the prompts to confirm your account and finish up claiming your podcast.
- Google Podcasts – Has replaced Google Play Music. Log in to Google Podcasts Manager and scroll down and click on + Add Show. Add the RSS Feed and follow the prompts. Alternatively, you can go here to check to see if Google has indexed your podcast by inserting your RSS feed URL into the Google Direct Link Generator. Click Generate. If Google Podcasts has already added your show to Google Podcasts then people can already find your show, you’ll get a direct link to share with your audience, and you don’t need to do anything else. If your podcast is not in Google Podcasts you’ll get an error “This RSS feed is not currently indexed by Google Podcasts.” Make sure that your website (or the website your podcast host provides for you) meets the Google Podcasts guidelines. You can request Google to index your site from Google Search Console. It can then take 2 hours to a few days for Google to index your RSS feed.
- Amazon Music/Audible – You can either opt-in through your hosting provider’s standard process by accepting the Amazon Music/Audible agreement there. And/or go here and search for your show. If you can not find it in the store, submit your show here.
- Pandora – Pandora for podcasts is here! Submit your podcast, and accept terms and conditions here.
- iHeartRadio – Login to your Libsyn account and follow the process here. Or go here and click on Submit your podcast, and fill out the form. Note: iHeartRadio requires that a show be active for 2 months prior to adding an iHeartRadio destination.
- RadioPublic – Login to your Libsyn account and follow the process here. Or go here and click on Try for free, add your RSS feed, verify your podcast and accept the terms and conditions.
- Audacy – Has replaced Radio.com. Login to your Libsyn account and follow the process here. Or go here, fill out the form and click submit. Note: Please allow up to 60 days for your podcast to appear if approved.
- Deezer – Login to your Libsyn account and follow the process here. Or go here and click on Publish my Podcast. Submit your RSS feed, click next, and follow the prompts to submit your podcast.
- Gaana – Login to your Libsyn account and follow the process here. Or go here and sign up for an account. Do not enable the option ‘Host your podcast on Gaana CDN’.
- JioSaavn Yourcast – Login to your Libsyn account, click on Destinations, click on Add New and fill out the JioSaavn form. Or go here, click Get Started, register, add your RSS Feed and complete the verification process.
- Samsung Podcasts – Login to your Libsyn account, click on Destinations, click on Add New and fill out the Samsung form. Or go here and click Sign Up Now! Login or create a free Samsung account. Enter your RSS Feed, select the category of your podcast. Agree to Samsung Podcasts terms.
- Podchaser – Go here and click register. Fill out the form and click register. Follow the prompts and login. Click Verify now to receive verification email. Click on your profile icon in the top left corner, scroll down and click on Add a Podcast. Add your RSS feed and click add. On your homepage, scroll down and click Claim a Podcast, search for your show, click on your show and follow the prompts.
- TuneIn – Fill out this form here to submit your podcast.
- PodBean – Go here and sign up for a new account. Click on Create new Podcast, scroll down to the bottom of the page and hit Submit your podcast, enter your RSS feed and hit submit. Click View it. Click on Claim ownership. Select option 1 or 2. Verify ownership via email. Finish filling out your profile.
- YouTube – Convert your podcast to a video that can be uploaded to your YouTube channel. Use your show art, or episode art and upload along with the .mp3 file to create the video file. Learn how to do this here.
- SoundCloud – Create a SoundCloud account here. You can then set up an automatic RSS download to SoundCloud via Libsyn. Follow the process here.
- Listen Notes – Check the app here to make sure your show is there. If it isn’t go here and submit your RSS feed and email and hit submit.
- PodDirectory – Go to the submit page here and enter your RSS feed and hit submit. PodDirectory will send you an email to claim your podcast and add to their site.
- Acast – Go here and check if your show can be found. If you can not find it, go here and scroll down until you see the Add Your Show button. Paste in your RSS Feed and click Submit. A link will be returned for your podcast in the next 5 minutes.
- Pocket Casts – Submit your RSS feed here.
- DoubleTwist – To submit a new podcast enter your RSS feed and show details here.
- Player.FM – Go here to check if your show is on the platform. If it isn’t go
- here and submit your RSS feed, or email content@player.fm with Show Name, RSS Feed URL and description of the show.
- PodKicker – An android platform. It’s hyper-simple, submit your RSS feed here.
- Castbox – This pulls from the iTunes API so all you need to do once you submit your RSS feed to iTunes is check the app here to make sure your show is there. Click on the search tool and add in your RSS feed.
- Anypod – Go here and add your RSS feed. Click Add Now and click Add Podcast. If your show can not be found email anypodskill@gmail.com for support.
- Downcast – This pulls from the iTunes API so all you need to do once you submit your RSS feed to iTunes is check the app here to make sure your show is there.
- Podcast Addict – This pulls from the iTunes API so all you need to do once you submit your RSS feed to iTunes and check the app here to make sure your show is there. You can also submit the RSS feed here.
- Overcast – This pulls from the iTunes API so all you need to do once you submit your RSS feed to iTunes is check the app here to make sure your show is there.
- Castro.fm – This pulls from the iTunes API so all you need to do once you submit your RSS feed to iTunes is check the app here to make sure your show is there.
- iCatcher – This pulls from the iTunes API so all you need to do once you submit your RSS feed to iTunes is check the app here to make sure your show is there.
- Windows Phone 8.1 – Windows Phone 8.1 uses a Bing-enabled search mechanism to locate podcasts. To improve the search results of your podcast, add “feed:podcast” to your keywords tag within your podcasts RSS feed. Podcasts can also be located by entering the RSS feed directly into the podcast app search window.
- Improve Bing-Enabled Podcast Search Results – By using Webmaster Tools, you can tell Bing about your site. In return, Bing Webmaster Tools tells you how well your site is performing in Bing and Bing-powered search and keeps you up to date about issues we see on your site. To inform us about sitemaps or RSS feeds, including those containing podcasts, follow these steps:
- If you haven’t done so already, sign up with Bing Webmaster Tools.
- Add the site that hosts the Podcast RSS/feed and verify ownership of the site.
- Use the Submit Sitemap tool and submit the full RSS feed URL containing the links to your podcasts. (Within a few hours, you’ll see whether Bing successfully downloaded your sitemap or feed so that it can be indexed.)
Important podcast directories updates:
Podbay.fm – (Coming Soon)
Removed due to inactivity:
BlackBerry – Submit your Feed here
Access to Google Play Music Podcast Portal will be removed permanently and replaced by Google Podcasts:
Google Play Music – Go to your https://g.co/podcastportal to submit your show for approval. Log into Google, click Publish. Or submit your podcast here.
Get Featured on The Feed
Here’s the info to get featured, just follow the below. And if you have a 30-second promo of your show, I’d love to play it.
The soul of this series is to share your show as well as to share your experience with podcasting, as it tends to inspire and educate the community as a whole 🙂
Send a message to Elsie Escobar:
thefeed@libsyn.com
With an attached PLAIN TEXT file (.txt) with your answers to the following questions:
Here is a list of questions:
If you don’t want to answer some of them, please feel to skip. If you want to offer more insight about anything you think might serve other podcasters, please feel free to share.
When did you start podcasting?
Why did you start podcasting?
What’s your show about?
What’s your podcasting set-up? Hardware, software, CMS, etc.
How have you promoted your podcast?
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
You can simply reply to this email with your answers or send along a text file. Whatever is easier for you 🙂
For promotional love need:
- Your website
- Best way to connect with you: Twitter/Facebook page/Email
- iTunes podcast link
- Podcast artwork: please attach podcast artwork or provide direct link for your artwork (600 x 600 up to 1400 x 1400)
- Anything that you are currently promoting (if anything)
Conclusion
Updated January 20th, 2017
Hat tip to Karsten Aichholz for the heads up on the broken iTunes link. Hat tip to Paul Colaianni of The Overwhelmed Brain for support with building this list. Hat tip to Niels Kaastrup-Larsen of Top Traders Unplugged for the Pocket Casts recommendation. Hat tip to Dominic Labriola of Real Shift Radio for the valuable insight on Spreaker. We’ve decided they didn’t make the cut in 2020. Their free plan has limited uploads.
Wow Ian thanks for the great directory, that’s awesome! I’ll get right on that!
Wanted to ask that going forward please use a new email address (podcasts@microsoft.com) to submit a new podcast to windows phone podcasts store.
Thanks,
Rob Greenlee
Content Manager, Podcasts
Windows Phone
Podcasts@Microsoft.com
Hi, Rob (or anyone else!)
I just submitted my feed to this email address, but the email was bounced back to me as “failed permanently.”
Is there another way to do this?
thank you!
Sarah
Hey Thanks Ian. This is great.
Great list, very handy! And thanks for the shout out ;D
Awesome. Love what you’re doing. Thank you!
Thanks for this, really helpful.
Thank you for the comment Bre
Great list. Spreaker is definitely legit. It’s the only way to access and get listed on iHeartRadio.
Thank you.
Ian, I just left another message above re: Microsoft submission. But I see this in your list, too:
“Windows Phone 8.1 – Windows Phone 8.1 uses a Bing-enabled search mechanism to locate podcasts. To improve the search results of your podcast, add “feed:podcast” to your keywords tag within the RSS podcasts feed. Podcasts can also be located by entering the RSS feed directly into the podcast app search window.”
How do you add something to a keywords tag within the RSS? I’m afraid I’ll break it!!
I publish on Libsyn, but use Feedburner for distribution. That makes me sound like I know what I’m talking about more than I do.
Here’s my feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/qualifiedpodcast.com
Thank you! And I spent a whole weekend with you giving your class. It was excellent.
Sarah
Hey Sarah – > You can add custom code into the Libsyn backend. I think it’s like… custom code or something. Just add in the code provided and check the XML file to ensure you’ve got it formatted like the rest of the code. It’s quite quick and easy. 🙂
Ian, thank you!
This is a great list! Thanks for providing – basic 101 steps for any podcaster. Dont forget – other ideas are to add to youtube as well (place audio over a video file). Cheers!
Agreed. ScreenFlow is a good software to create the videos and upload them to the YouTube.
Awesome-sauce! Thanks for the list of podcast directories worthy of my time to submit to!
🙂 Of course my friend.