Podcast Metadata

When creating a podcast there are a number of details that you must specify. It is important to consider these in advance.

Title*

The title of the podcast should

Slug*

This is a non-standard field used by RSS Blue. It is used to generate a unique URL for your podcast on our website. It will not have an effect on podcast distribution platforms like Spotify. However, for the purposes of search engine optimization, we do not allow to change the slug after it has been created.

Description*

You can tell the listeners what the podcast is about and where they can find more information. Be creative! If you wish to include hyperlinks or other type of text formatting, consider using Markdown.

Cover art*

Each podcast also needs a cover art. These are square images that are shown on distribution platforms when listeners search for your podcast. The cover art should:

If you need inspiration, take a look at the top podcasts.

Category* and subcategory

Most podcast distribution platforms use categories to classify podcasts so that the listeners could discover new shows more easily. Select the category (and, if you wish, subcategory) that best reflects your podcast.

Podcast author*

This can refer to the host(s) or the parent company of the podcast. If your podcast belongs to a network (or a similar entity), you might want to find out what should be specified in this field.

Explicit content?*

If all of your episodes contain explicit content, you may mark your whole podcast as containing explicit content. However, if explicit content appears only in a fraction of the episodes (or does not appear at all), you should set this option to “no”. You will be able to specify which individual episodes contain explicit content when you upload them later.

Podcasts marked as explicit will usually not be shown to children on most distribution platforms. Also, these podcasts may become unavailable in some territories.

Language spoken*

Language spoken on the podcast.

Podcast type*

Every podcast needs to be classified as either episodic or serial.

Episodic podcasts are much more common—you should choose this type if your episodes are not supposed to be consumed in any specific order.

Serial type is useful when the episodes have to be consumed in a sequential order. If you do choose this type, you will need to specify the episode number manually each time.

Copyright details. If your podcast belongs to a network (or a similar entity), you might want to find out what should be specified in this field.

Podcast website URL

This is the URL of a website (or a portion of a website) dedicated to the podcast. Creating a website for your podcast will make it easier for you to connect with your listeners, so we definitely recommend it!

v2.0Locked?*

If podcast is marked as locked, it tells podcast platforms that they should not import the RSS feed. Locking the podcast does not hide it, i.e. the feed is still publicly available.

This is part of Podcasting 2.0 standard and is currently supported only by some platforms.

v2.0Place discussed

If you wish, you can describe the location of editorial focus for the podcast's content, i.e. the place the podcast is about.

This is not meant to describe the physical location of podcast hosts or guests.

This is part of Podcasting 2.0 standard and is currently supported only by some platforms.

v2.0Funding URL

You can use this field to specify a donation or funding link.

This is part of Podcasting 2.0 standard and is currently supported only by some platforms.

v2.0Lightning recipients

Lightning network allows to exchange bitcoin cheaper and faster. For each recipient, you will need to enter

  • node (wallet) address
  • weighting (split)

This will enable listeners on certain podcatchers to send bitcoin to these addresses in ratios specified by the weightings.

If three recipients with weightings 3, 10, and 7, are specified, then they will receive 15%, 50%, and 35% of the streamed micropayments, respectively. That is because

  • 100% × 3 / (3 + 10 + 7) = 15%
  • 100% × 10 / (3 + 10 + 7) = 50%
  • 100% × 7 / (3 + 10 + 7) = 35%

It is enough to specify the recipients at the podcast level. But the recipients specified at the episode level will take precedence when listeners contribute value while listening to that episode.

Click here for more information on how to set up a podcaster wallet and embed its address in your podcast.

This is part of Podcasting 2.0 standard and is currently supported only by some platforms.

v2.0Medium*

Most people use podcast hosting services to host… well, podcasts. However, there are more possibilities! “Medium” element can be used to denote what is contained within the RSS feed.

  • Podcast: the default option denoting that feed is for a podcast show.
  • Music: this is used to share music in a form of a podcast feed. Each item (episode) is a song, with all of them constituting an “album” (podcast).
  • Audiobook: specific type of audio with one item (episode) per feed (podcast), or where items represent chapters within the book.
  • Newsletter: nowadays, articles sometimes have an audio version; this may be a possible use.
  • Blog: similar to newsletter, but less formal.

This is part of Podcasting 2.0 standard and is currently supported only by some platforms.

v2.0TXT records

TXT records allow you to store arbitrary information inside your feed.

Why? There are many uses, but one of them is ownership verification. Some platforms (like Apple Podcasts) ask you to prove that you control the podcast feed by embedding a special authorization code (like 253801) in it. The typical way is to add it to podcast copyright, but that is ugly! TXT record is a much more elegant way because it will not be shown to your listeners.

This is part of Podcasting 2.0 standard and is currently supported only by some platforms.