Submit Your Podcast to Spotify, Apple & YouTube

Getting your podcast listed on the 3 biggest platforms is the single most impactful distribution step you can take. Spotify reaches over 600 million users, Apple Podcasts is installed on every iPhone, and YouTube is now the most-used platform for podcast consumption in the United States.

This guide walks through the exact submission process for each platform, including the requirements that trip up most new podcasters.

Before you submit: the checklist

All 3 platforms require the same foundation. Before you start any submission, confirm you have:

• A valid RSS feed URL from your podcast hosting provider
• Podcast cover art at least 1400x1400 pixels (3000x3000 recommended)
• At least 1 published episode in your feed
• A complete show description (150 to 4000 characters)
• An email address for ownership verification

Submit to Spotify

Spotify is the fastest platform to submit to and often approves podcasts within a few hours.

1. Go to podcasters.spotify.com and sign in with your Spotify account
2. Click "Get Started" and paste your RSS feed URL
3. Verify ownership via the email in your feed or by adding a code to your RSS
4. Add podcast category and language details
5. Submit and wait for review (typically 2 to 5 hours)

Spotify automatically detects new episodes from your RSS feed, usually within 1 to 3 hours of publishing.

Submit to Apple Podcasts

Apple Podcasts has stricter requirements and longer review times but remains essential for reaching iOS users.

1. Sign in to Apple Podcasts Connect at podcastsconnect.apple.com
2. Click the "+" button and enter your RSS feed URL
3. Apple validates your feed and displays any errors or warnings
4. Fix any validation issues (common ones: missing artwork, incorrect encoding)
5. Submit for review (typically 1 to 5 business days)

Apple is strict about content guidelines. Explicit content must be properly tagged, and the show description cannot include promotional URLs.

Submit to YouTube

YouTube now supports RSS-based podcast distribution through YouTube Music and the main YouTube app.

1. Go to YouTube Studio and navigate to the Podcasts section
2. Select "Link existing podcast" and paste your RSS feed URL
3. Verify ownership through your hosting provider or email
4. YouTube ingests your episodes and creates a podcast playlist

YouTube displays your podcast artwork as the video thumbnail. For better results, upload custom video versions of each episode with audiograms or static images.

How Jellypod simplifies submission

Jellypod's hosting generates a validated RSS feed that meets the requirements for all major platforms. The feed includes proper Apple and Spotify namespace tags, correct artwork specifications, and clean metadata formatting.

When you publish an episode on Jellypod, it appears in your RSS feed within seconds. Spotify and YouTube typically reflect the update within hours, while Apple may take up to 24 hours depending on their crawl schedule.

Final thoughts

Getting your podcast on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube is a one-time setup that takes about 30 minutes total. Once submitted, new episodes distribute automatically through your RSS feed. The initial submission is the hardest part. After that, focus on content and let the platforms handle distribution.