Problem getting your podcast listed on iTunes?

[eisnerguy1]

A lot of podcasters can't get their podcasts listed and it looks as though there is no reason to be found. If you are a podcaster and are having this problem, I posted this topic on Digg.com. http://www.digg.com/apple/Podcasters_getting_no_info_about_iTMS_Podcast_subm ission_status Digg.com is a community-driven version of slashdot. It's run by Kevin Rose who was from TechTV/G4/ Diggnation/ Systm. I suggest everyone go to the link and click on "Digg it" The more "Diggs" a certain story gets, the closer to the frontpage it goes and if it eventually gets enough diggs, it will be on the frontpage. And then Apple will hopefully get the message. Regardless, I'm still going to call apple corporate again and complain about the lack of communication between apple and the indie podcasters

[Treehonk]

I have been waiting a month, and after several automated e-mails from Apple I got the following "screw you" message...


Dear Randy,

Thank you for contacting the iTunes Music Store.

We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. We are unable to provide individualized
support for this type of request.

We urge you to review the technical specifications document we provided a link to in a previous email.

Sincerely,

The iTunes Music Store team


So I guess I just don't get listed on iTunes.

[eisnerguy1]

Called apple corporate and they gave me an e-mail address to try: musicstore@apple.com Here's the e-mail I sent:

" Dear iTunes team,

I submitted my Dave Matthews Band Podcast to the iTMS on 7/6/05. I then submitted my Bookmarkable AAC feed on 7/30/05. I find it outrageous that it's been over 5 weeks and i haven't heard anything about my feed. My podcast site is http://dmbpodcast.blogspot.com/ The Mp3 feed is: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheUnofficialDmbPodcast The Bookmarkable AAC feed is: http://feeds.feedburner.com/wds-m4b

Newsweek submitted the "Newsweek on Air" on 7/10/05. Ebert & Roeper submitted their feed on 7/30/05, and even the somewhat grassroots vidcast, Systm, submitted their feed on 8/3/05. How is that the podcasts produced by "Big Buisness" are being accepted MUCH quicker than the Indie podcasts? EVERY other podcast directory site has a submission policy of "first come, first serve" On the same day that I submitted my podcast to iTunes, I submitted it to PodcastAlley.com. PodcastDirectory.com, Podcastpickle.com, iPodder.org, & iPodderx.com and all except for iTunes, the feed was added the podcast directories within 5 days.

I just wish their was a site where you can enter your podcast feed and it will state your submission status. If it was denied, it can tell you the problem (profanity, copyrighted material, issues with the RSS feed itself)

I had called Apple's corporate # ( 408.996.1010 ) and a guy told me there was no direct way to contact the iTunes team other than this site: www.apple.com/support/itunes/download.html It's to send e-mail feedback if you're having a problem with the iTMS. The site says that they will respond to the e-mail within 72 hours and I've sent 3 e-mails and still haven't heard anything.

There are MANY more examples of this problem:

http://discussions.info.apple.com/webx?128@92.Csmsa3av6HQ.240115@.68b5fd22 :
People still waitiing

http://discussions.info.apple.com/.68b568fa/5 : guy who submitted on june 29th and STILL isn't listed

If there's any information on why it is taking so long to be accepted, I would greatly appreciate it.

Yours Truly,
-name removed- "

Maybe if everyone tries sending a massive amount of e-mails to them, maybe Apple will listen.

[docsnavely]

try mailto:mswin@apple.com

this is what worked for me. two emails replying to 2 auto-generated letters, and i was in.....

[Treehonk]

I got in!

Apple sent me an automated questionaire on my satisfaction level with their customer service system. I answered negatively in the check box sections and was given a space at the end to be specific, which I was, much like the e-mails copied above.

It was less than 3 hours and I was in.

If you get the survey, fill it out!

Randy

PS. My host went down 24 hours later.... oh well, I was famous for my 15 minutes I guess...

[eisnerguy1]

Here's the response from mswin@apple.com

Dear Customer,

Thank you for contacting the iTunes Music Store.

We respond to all email requests in the order in which they are received. This is generally within 24 hours of arrival.

Please do not resend this request, as it may delay our response to you.

The catalog of songs grows every week. Visit often to preview the latest:
http://www.apple.com/music/store

Sincerely, ¬â€Â*
iTunes Music Store Support

iTunes Music Store Customer Service
http://www.apple.com/support/musicstore/ww
Message Subject: Podcasters not having their podcasts listed in the iTMS and no reason given
Follow-Up: 10678012

[jevridon]

I hope this helps someone:

Has anyone been receiving this message when attempting to submit a Podcast to iTunes?

"It appears the feed has already been submitted"

I was experiencing this problem and it was annoying and aggravating the hell out of me. Even after attempting to rename my XML file, twice, iTunes was continually rejecting my feed.

Then I put my thinking cap on. If iTunes is rejecting my XML file, despite the fact that the file has a different name, then perhaps the cause of the rejection lies INSIDE the file rather than on its OUTSIDE name.

So what's the cause of the problem? The problem is that the iTunes subscription service is not only validating any submitted podcasts, but the iTunes subscription services is actually CATALOGING those iTunes tags into a database.

iTunes tags, inside the XML (RSS feed) file look like this:

<itunes:author>some name</itunes:author>

The subscription service is relying upon a database comparison algorithm to determine what iTunes tags are duplicates of ones that are currently attempting to be admitted. What the hell am I saying?

I'm saying that if you've already submitted a podcast, iTunes knows it because it has scanned your file, broken that file down and is holding onto it. If you attempt to resubmit that same file, iTunes doesn't really care what the file is named, but it does care about what content lies in between the iTunes tags. If you leave your XML file (your RSS feed) the way it is without altering the content of the iTunes tags (let's say you leave your name the same), then iTunes will reject your podcast submission if you've already submitted it.

Well, that begs the question - is iTunes scanning for specific tags and comparing only certain tags for subscription confirmation? I don't know. Personally, I altered these tags:

<itunes:author>xxx</itunes:author>
<itunes:name>xxx</itunes:name>
<itunes:summary>xxx<itunes:summary>
<itunes:keywords>xxx<itunes:keywords>

...and that did the trick.

I also renamed my XML file, but I think that I could have left the file with the original name and it would have been accepted anyway.

I realize that I'm delving into the XML file and that most people want to stay away from that. Having the ability to alter the original XML file, however, is a great advantage and I recommend that everyone look into accessing it. I've done some snooping around FeedBurner and I have yet to find any way to alter the XML file from there. If anyone has a suggestion, let me know and I can do whatever posting I can.

I recommend validating your XML file, first, before submitting it to iTunes. Visit http://feedvalidator.org and submit your feed for validation. Just a hint - the iTunes Summary field cannot contain HTML and the iTunes Keyword field must contain words separated by spaces, NOT commas.

Please feel free to contact me at joshua@joshuajeremiah.name if you have any questions. I will also post a broadcast on my audio journal describing this problem. Please feel free to subscribe to my audio journal using XML (http://www.joshuajeremiah.name/joshua_jeremiah_feed.xml), using FeedBurner (http://feeds.feedburner.com/JoshuaJeremiah) (FeedBurner) or by visiting my webpage, at http://www.joshuajeremiah.name.

[eisnerguy1]

I got in!

Apple sent me an automated questionaire on my satisfaction level with their customer service system. I answered negatively in the check box sections and was given a space at the end to be specific, which I was, much like the e-mails copied above.

It was less than 3 hours and I was in.

If you get the survey, fill it out!

Randy

PS. My host went down 24 hours later.... oh well, I was famous for my 15 minutes I guess...

Finally got the survey and selected negatively in almost every section and pasted my e-mail at the very end. Hope I get listed now :D

[richpav]

After weeks and weeks of silence, I received this reply two days ago:

Dear Rich,

The Itunes Music Store wishes to apologize for the long delay in responding to this issue.

With the overwhelming demand to publish podcasts, the Podcast group has been unable to keep up. All Podcasts are being reviewed before publishing is approved. Podcasters will be informed of status issues.

The iTunes support group appreciates your patience in this matter.

Sincerely,

The iTunes Music Store team
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/ww/



It's been almost two months since I submitted my podcast's feed for
inclusion in the Podcast Directory but it is still pending approval.
Is there a problem?

Thank you,

Rich Pav

In other words, "Shaddap and keep waiting." It's ironic that a podcast that rebroadcasts my shows is in but mine isn't. I wonder if any corporate broadcasts have as much trouble getting listed? (Just kidding.)

[jevridon]

My speculation about how the iTunes submission system was apparently correct (see my previous blog entry). So I say to everyone...I am now in iTunes!

Who cares?! You should! Why?

In my previous blog post I detailed how I thought iTunes was recognizing podcast submissions. At that point in time (approximately two days ago) I had just resubmitted myself to iTunes and was waiting to see what happened. Well, look what happened! After two days I'm in...so my analysis of the iTunes submission process was correct. iTunes scans &lt;itunes&gt; tags, so if you're getting this message:

"It appears the feed has already been submitted"

Read my previous blog entry.

Good luck!

[docsnavely]

It's ironic that a podcast that rebroadcasts my shows is in but mine isn't. I wonder if any corporate broadcasts have as much trouble getting listed? (Just kidding.)

who is this you're referring to?

i would be thanking whoever did that for me..... unless they cut my audio up and hack it all to hell..... then i'd be a little pissed!

[Zany Aguirre]

My speculation about how the iTunes submission system was apparently correct (see my previous blog entry). So I say to everyone...I am now in iTunes!

This made sense, I tried it but still can't get 2 shows listed after more then 6 weeks.

[richpav]

who is this you're referring to?

Riceplate ReCast Playlist.

I don't care what people do with my podcasts. But I like it when they tell me so I can check it out. Someone remixed my frogcast a little while ago.

Original:
http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2005/05/01/the-frogcast/

Remix:
http://guypluspodcast.blogspot.com/

[richpav]

I finally got in the directory by creating new feeds in Feedburner and pointing them to the same original feed that's been in limbo since June.

So the feeds are available but my album art isn't. Does it take a while for it to show up?

[docsnavely]

****, now i have competition in itunes! :P

album art shouldn't have any delay. when you submitted your feed, if the art was there when you had to click the confirm button, your art is there


if it wasn't then just make sure to add it into your feed.....

[bucketo]

I've waited 5 weeks now with still no entry in Itunes. I've emailed support twice only to be given the typical auto-email back. I use a feedburner feed and the rss file has been validated.

this frustrating as hell.

jason