Podcast rejected

Question

Podcast rejected

Can someone help me understand why my podcast was rejected. It could be the RSS feed but I'm not smart enough to figure this out.

Dear podcast owner,

The following podcast has not been included in the iTunes podcast directory.

Name: Music Now Podcast

Feed URL: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:157515208/sounds.rss

Submissions may not be included in the directory for a variety of reasons. For more information, please see the podcast technical specification at http://www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/techspecs.html.

Regards,

The iTunes Store team

iPhone 6

Posted on Jun 30, 2015 9:36 AM

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Answer 1

Jun 30, 2015 10:14 AM in response to musicnowpodcast

When you enter the URL of your media file in a browser it downloads instead of playing within the browser as it should. This means that although it works in the iTunes application, the Store can't play it within its own page.

You need to set this and each subsequent file not to download. eiznem has posted the process:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6523821?answerId=26564459022#26564459022

The feed itself appears to be OK. I've not listened to the episode: be aware that you cannot include commercially issued recordings in your podcast, in the event that you have done so.

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Answer 2

Jun 30, 2015 10:27 AM in response to Roger Wilmut1

Thanks Roger!! When I pulled these up in Sound Cloud neither the Enable Downloads nor the Include in RSS feed were checked. I checked the Include in RSS feed on both episodes. Maybe that was the problem. I will resubmit and see what they say.

Thanks again

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Answer 3

Jun 30, 2015 11:21 AM in response to musicnowpodcast

It's still downloading, so your feed won't be accepted. Don't submit until you are sure you have solved this. Check it by pasting the URL of your episode media file into the address bar of Safari or another browser. If it plays within the browser it's OK. If it downloads it's not OK.

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Answer 4

Jun 30, 2015 1:25 PM in response to Roger Wilmut1

Well I tried to re-submit to Itunes and it said that "this podcast has already been submitted". After not being able to figure out how o change URL I got your message here and went back through everything in SoundClound. I don't know what it is. I have it set like I am supposed to. Ugh

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Answer 5

Jun 30, 2015 1:55 PM in response to musicnowpodcast

You've fallen over a bug in the automated part of the submissions process whereby you are told a feed has already been submitted even if it was subsequently rejected or removed. The workaround is to change the title slightly - you can change it back once accepted. If you can change the feed filename, and hence its URL, this is also a good idea, as is changing the URL in the 'link' tag (this can easily be changed back afterwards).

The media file is still forcing a download - if you've followed the method I linked to above I'm afraid I don't know what else you can do other than try to get help from Soundcloud.

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Answer 6

Jul 1, 2015 7:35 AM in response to Roger Wilmut1

Thanks for your help Roger. I called Apple support and that got me nowhere. I submitted their form in a very clear and detailed manner and they sent me back some automated script. What a joke their customer service is. It makes you think twice about all the money I've spent on their products. OH well. I'll try Sound Cloud CS and see if that does anything. I give up after that. It's just a little podcast that I put together, I cant continue to waste my days trying to figure out Apples submission issues. Thanks

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Answer 7

Jul 1, 2015 8:09 AM in response to musicnowpodcast

To be fair to Apple, podcasting is a free service and while they will deal with problems which arise at their end, they don't see as their business to deal with problems at your end (which is what this is) - there would be no end to it. (In fact they usually refer people here.)

It's still downloading. Soundcloud feeds can be made to work, so evidently there's something in the settings which needs changing. I hope their Support, if any, will be able to help you out.

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