Deliver podcasts using an RSS feed

If you’re an audio-first podcast creator that distributes your podcast using an RSS feed, you can upload your RSS feed to YouTube. Learn more about how submitting RSS feeds works below. Then, learn how to publish your RSS feed to YouTube.

Note: RSS ingestion is available in select countries/regions.

How to Upload Audio-first Podcasts to YouTube with RSS Feeds

Learn how to upload podcasts to YouTube using an RSS feed

When you submit your RSS feed to YouTube, YouTube will create videos for each podcast episode that you choose to upload. YouTube will use your podcast’s show art to create a static-image video and upload it to your channel on your behalf. When a new episode is added to your RSS feed, it will automatically upload to your channel and we’ll notify your eligible subscribers.

YouTube will not:

Distribute your podcast to other platforms. Your podcast will only be available on YouTube and YouTube Music.
Notify subscribers when back catalog episodes are added to your channel through an RSS feed.
Automatically update show details made to your RSS feed. Learn how to edit podcast details.
Automatically update audio files that are re-uploaded to your RSS feed. Learn how to re-upload episodes.
Allow invalid characters in podcast and episode titles or descriptions, such as “>”,“<" or any HTML.

Best practices

To comply with YouTube’s Terms of Service, podcast content you upload to YouTube cannot contain advertisements. If your podcast includes paid promotions (like host-read promotions), sponsorships, or endorsements, you’re required to let us know and comply with all applicable policies.

To declare paid promotions, you can either:

Check the paid promotion box on your podcast details page, or
Update the video settings on the video details page.

When you first submit your RSS feed to YouTube, the episodes you select will be uploaded as private videos. During setup, we recommend you wait until all episodes are uploaded before publishing your podcast as public in case there are any issues.

Once your episodes are uploaded, browse your video tab for monetization or copyright issues. This helps prevent claims or strikes on your content.

FAQs

Can I deliver an RSS feed if I already have a podcast on YouTube?

Yes. To start delivering episodes through an RSS feed,

Open YouTube Studio and select Content Podcasts.
Hover over the podcast you’d like to edit and click Details .
On the Podcast details page under “RSS settings,” click Connect to RSS feed.

To avoid uploading duplicate episodes, we recommend uploading episodes after the most recent episode already on YouTube. You can set this date when you submit your RSS feed in Studio.

To learn how to connect your RSS feed to your channel, visit our Help Center article.

If I upload a new audio file for an episode in my RSS feed, will it automatically update on YouTube?

No. The audio for an RSS-ingested video is like any video on YouTube and cannot be updated once published. If you need to upload a new version of an episode,

Open YouTube Studio and select Content Podcasts.
Hover over the podcast you’d like to edit and select Videos .
Hover over the video you’d like to re-ingest and click on the menu .
Select Re-upload from RSS feed.

This will create a new video for your episode. The old video will be set as private so that you can still see data like views and comments.

How do I verify ownership of my RSS feed?

To verify ownership, check the email address on your RSS feed. Enter the verification code within the email and click Verify.

If you don’t know the email address on your RSS feed, contact your hosting provider.

How do I change the default visibility for episodes in my feed?

After you publish your podcast on YouTube, all episodes are made public. You can change these settings from the Podcast details page.

In YouTube Studio, go to Content Podcasts.
Hover over the podcast you’d like to edit and click Details .
Under “Default RSS video visibility,” select from the visibility options: Private, Unlisted, or Public.
Click Save.

Once you update your podcast visibility settings, the option selected will be applied to all new uploads of that podcast.

How are videos from my RSS feed sorted on YouTube?

On the playlist page, videos uploaded from RSS are sorted by the release date in the RSS feed. If there isn’t a release date available, we’ll sort episodes by the YouTube publish date. The release date is not verified by YouTube.

Which episode date does a viewer see on YouTube?

YouTube will display the episode release date (from your RSS feed) on some surfaces and the YouTube publish date on others. The release date is not verified by YouTube. If there isn’t a release date available, we’ll display episodes by the publish date. Editing the release date in YouTube Studio does not change the date on your RSS feed.

Why are old episodes from my RSS feed at the top of my Videos tab?

Your channel’s Videos tab is sorted by YouTube upload date. In the future, the Videos tab will consider RSS publish date when sorting videos chronologically.

Can I upload more episodes after I connect my RSS feed to a podcast on YouTube?

Yes. You can upload more episodes from your RSS feed on the Podcast details page.

In YouTube Studio, go to Content Podcasts.
Hover over the podcast you’d like to edit and click Details .
At the bottom of the Podcast details page, click Show more.
Under “Episodes to upload,” select the episodes you’d like to upload.
Review visibility details and click Save.

All episodes will upload with your default video visibility. You can edit the video visibility of podcasts uploaded from your RSS feed on the Podcast details page.

What happens if I delete an episode from my podcast on YouTube?

The video will be re-uploaded to YouTube unless you also remove the episode from your RSS feed. If you want to hide this video from your podcast, change the video visibility to private. Deleting a video from your podcast on YouTube will not delete the episode from your RSS feed and we will never change your RSS feed.

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