Spotify has been around for over a decade. Founded in Sweden, it is a giant audio platform that started as a music streaming site. In time, Spotify now allows every form of audio on its platform. This has transformed it into being one of the most popular audio content platforms available.
Spotify houses more than 160 million users with paying subscribers of up to 60 million. Spotify is available in almost every country with millions of subscribers worldwide. It has opened up the platform to accommodate podcasts. With this, broadcasters can reach millions of users from all walks of life.
Since around last year, people with a podcast can earn money from their podcasts. This is possible via the Spreaker’s Monetization program. This means if you need a platform where you can earn from your effort, you should consider uploading your podcast on Spotify.
Our target for this article is to equip everyone interested in getting their podcast on Spotify with the necessary information. We will answer some questions and teach you everything you need to know in addition to how you can upload your podcast on Spotify.
Requirements for Approval on Spotify
You cannot just prepare a podcast and present it to Spotify. There is a huge chance it will be rejected. As a result, you want to make sure you get everything right before submitting your content. This means that you have to structure your podcast based on some format before submission.
- MP3 format at the primary level and make the audio quality good
- Bitrates between 96 and 320 Kbps
- Keep the size below 200 MB per episode: (83 minutes for 320Kbps or more than 200 minutes for 128Kbps)
- Use high-resolution images in PNG or JPEG format, 1:1 format
- Keep all episode titles below 20 characters so it can appear on Spotify screens
- You need to submit an image, a title, and an episode with your podcast feed to qualify
- Stay away from copyrighted materials. Podsafe contents are allowed
- Unique characters like the ampersand (&) should be HTML encoded
How to Submit Your Podcast on Spotify
- Log in to your Spotify account by visiting Spotify for Podcasters. If you do not have an account, create one, and supply the necessary information. Hence, you either “Login” or “Get Started” on visiting the page.
- When logged in, go to the “Add your podcast” page and click on “Get Started.”
- You will be presented with the terms and conditions. Read through and check the box. Enter your legal name when prompted or your registered company’s name. Click “Continue.”
- There will be a box for you to supply your RSS feed. Enter it and continue by clicking “Next.” You will be prompted with a message should there be an issue with your RSS. If everything is fine, on the other hand, you will see your podcast title, image, and description all on the page – right side.
- You should also fill out the “Add podcast info” page. All you need to supply are country, category, hosting provider, and language. Click next when you are done.
The next page will present you with an overview of your detail for review. If everything checks out, you go ahead and submit. While most podcasts appear on Spotify within a couple of hours, it takes between 2 to 5 days in some cases. There will not be any notification telling you when your podcast is added. Make sure you check out Spotify listing and watch out.
Podcast Settings
When filling some pages, take note of the following:
Podcast Title: This is the name of your podcast. It should be easy to remember and explain what you are offering. In other words, merely seeing your title, anyone should know what your podcast is about.
Podcast Description: before writing this, answer the question: How will I describe this podcast to someone yet to listen? You should highlight your podcast strength, unique features, and what people will gain from listening. Avoid writing too much.
Custom Artwork: this image file will accompany your podcast in every directory, including Spotify. It should be mobile friendly and also capture the idea behind your podcast. Make it a PNG or JPEG file with a resolution of 3000 by 3000 pixels.
Errors to Look for When Submitting on Spotify
There are times you might get an error message at the point of adding the RSS feed from your podcast. There are two common errors users might see:
You need a globally unique identifier (GUID) for your podcast
The implication of this is that you have no podcast in your RSS feed. Spotify requires a minimum of one episode uploaded on your podcast host. If you do not have this, there will be no episode for Spotify to find; hence it will not take your RSS feed. With this, you need to load your first episode and submit your podcast’s RSS feed again. This should take care of the issue.
Verification of email for your Podcast RSS feed
There should be an email address linked to your RSS feed. According to Spotify, the email comes from your podcast’s RSS field. Besides, this is important to Spotify as it uses it to verify your account. As a result, make sure you have access to the email you want to use and update this with your podcast host.
Conclusion
There you have it, submitting on Spotify is as simple and straightforward as that. Spotify has also made life easy so much so that anyone can submit on their portal via their directory. Also, you can submit using your host provider. All you need to do is check out info on how to make this possible.
No matter how you decide to submit, make sure it goes directly to Spotify. The platform is leading the way to the podcast world, and it can go a long way to help your audio advert campaign. The earlier you join the train, the better for you.
