Use this guide to submit your new audio podcast to YouTube for the first time.
YouTube supports direct distribution of audio podcasts via RSS feed, to both YouTube and YouTube Music. This converts your audio episodes into static image videos using your podcast's cover art. YouTube works differently from other podcast directories, so this guide covers those differences and walks you through submitting your podcast.
Note: if your podcast includes video, use the instructions in this support article instead.
Key considerations for YouTube distribution
Publishing method
This article covers audio podcasts, distributed via RSS feed. YouTube doesn't support video uploads through RSS, even with video RSS enabled, so RSS-distributed episodes always appear as static image videos.
Ad-free requirement
To comply with YouTube’s Terms of Service, content uploaded to the platform cannot contain advertisements. Therefore, dynamically served and programmatic ads can't be present in your podcast episodes. Host-read promotions and sponsorships are allowed, but you must inform YouTube and tag those episodes accordingly. See YouTube's Paid Product Placements and Endorsements policy for details.
Show and episode updates
YouTube imports your show and episodes once, then caches them. New episodes published to your RSS feed are sent automatically, but edits to your show or to already-published episodes, aside from titles and descriptions, must be made directly in YouTube.
Analytics
YouTube measures views, not downloads, so its numbers aren't included in your overall podcast analytics. To track performance on YouTube, check YouTube's own analytics.
Before you start
To submit to YouTube you’ll need:
Access to your Zencastr account.
A Google account.
A YouTube channel.
Submitting your RSS feed to YouTube
Follow YouTube’s instructions for connecting your RSS feed to upload podcasts to YouTube.
After you complete the process, YouTube starts uploading your episodes, which can take a few hours to a few days. Unlike other podcast directories, your show won't be automatically listed on YouTube or YouTube Music, you'll need to manually publish it once the upload finishes.
Publishing your podcast on YouTube
Once your episodes finish uploading and pass copyright checks, YouTube will email you. This can take up to a few days.
When you receive this email, follow YouTube’s instructions for publishing podcasts from the RSS feed.
Related questions
If I replace the audio for an episode that I already published to YouTube, will it update there?
No. When a podcast is distributed via RSS feed, YouTube only accepts edits to episode titles and descriptions, and replacing files isn't an option within YouTube itself. To update an already published episode, use YouTube's editor to make changes to the existing video, or upload the new file as a separate video and delete or unlist the original. See this YouTube article for details.
I have video RSS enabled, but my video episodes are still showing on YouTube with just the podcast/episode cover art. How do I fix this?
YouTube doesn't support video uploads through an RSS feed. Even with video RSS enabled, episodes connected via RSS convert to static image videos using your podcast's cover art or episode artwork. To upload full video episodes, use the Zencastr YouTube integration or upload the videos directly to YouTube instead.