How to submit a podcast to Spotify, step by step
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To submit a podcast to Spotify, log in at creators.spotify.com, choose Add a new show, then pick Find an existing show and paste the RSS feed your host gives you. Spotify emails an 8-digit code to the address inside that feed, and entering it completes the claim. Your hosting does not move, and your host keeps serving the audio.
Spotify's own add a new show documentation splits the flow in two. Creating a new show is for launching on Spotify itself. Finding an existing show is the path for a podcast already hosted on Buzzsprout, Libsyn, Podbean or anywhere else, and it covers both claiming a show already on Spotify and submitting one that is not there yet.
Before you start: fix the email in your feed
Spotify sends the verification code to the email address published in your RSS feed, which is a different field from your Spotify login. If that value is missing, misspelled, or an old inbox nobody can open, the submission stops there and no amount of retrying helps.
Open your public feed in a browser and find the owner email your host publishes. If it is wrong, change it in your host's settings, wait for the feed to regenerate, and confirm the new address is live before you go near the Spotify form. Doing it in that order saves you a support ticket.
Publish at least one episode first as well. A feed carrying metadata and no audio gives Spotify nothing to display.
How to submit a podcast to Spotify
- Go to creators.spotify.com and log in with any Spotify account.
- Select your avatar, or the three lines in the top-right corner on mobile, then choose Add a new show.
- Choose Find an existing show, then Somewhere else.
- Enter your podcast's RSS feed URL, or your Spotify show URL if the show is already listed.
- Open the inbox for the email address in your feed and find the verification message from Spotify.
- Copy the 8-digit code and paste it into the submit form.
- Complete the remaining prompts to finish the claim.
You do not need an existing Spotify for Creators account to start. Spotify's claiming documentation says a brand-new user can log in with any Spotify account and go straight into the same flow.
What claiming unlocks
An unclaimed listing plays and nothing more. Spotify puts every editorial and reporting control behind the claim.
| Capability | Unclaimed listing | Claimed show |
|---|---|---|
| Episodes playable on Spotify | Yes | Yes |
| Detailed show analytics | No | Yes |
| Listener comments | No | Yes |
| Transcripts, chapters, trailers | No | Yes |
| Videos and polls on episodes | No | Yes |
Without the claim you cannot see Spotify's own follower, play and retention reporting, and for many shows Spotify accounts for a large share of total listening. That leaves you guessing about the platform where most of your audience is. Our Spotify podcast analytics explained walkthrough covers what each of those metrics counts once you have access.
After the show is live
Check the episode list against your feed. If episodes are missing, the gap is almost always your host truncating the feed rather than Spotify rejecting them.
Then set your expectations about numbers before you read any. Spotify reports its own plays and followers, measured inside Spotify. Your host reports requests for your audio file. These will not match, and the gap is not an error. Podcast downloads vs listens explains why, and what is a podcast download? defines the host-side figure.
If you want one view of delivery across Spotify, Apple Podcasts and everywhere else, that comes from a tracking prefix on your host rather than from any single platform dashboard. Our how to track podcast analytics guide covers how the two sources fit together.
If you change hosts later
Your Spotify claim follows the feed, so switching hosts means updating the feed URL in Spotify rather than submitting again. Do the redirect at your old host first, confirm the new feed serves every episode, and only then change the link. Submitting a second feed for the same show creates a duplicate listing that splits your followers.
Keep a note of the date you submitted and the feed URL you used. When a follower count looks odd nine months from now, the first question is whether the feed changed, and a dated record answers it in seconds.
Start tracking your show with Podder to see request data across every app next to your Spotify reporting.
FAQ
How do I submit a podcast to Spotify if it is hosted elsewhere?
Log in at creators.spotify.com, select Add a new show, then Find an existing show. Choose Somewhere else and enter your RSS feed or Spotify show URL. Spotify sends an 8-digit code to the email in your feed, and you paste that code into the submit form.
Do I need to move my hosting to Spotify?
No. Spotify's Find an existing show path is built for podcasts hosted on Buzzsprout, Libsyn, Podbean and other providers. Your host keeps serving the audio and Spotify reads your feed.
Why did my Spotify verification code never arrive?
Spotify sends the code to the email address published in your RSS feed, not the one on your Spotify account. If that address is missing, mistyped, or an inbox you cannot open, fix it at your host first, wait for the feed to update, then try again.
What does claiming the show actually give me?
Spotify lists listener comments you can read and reply to, videos and polls on episodes, detailed analytics, and trailers, previews, transcripts and chapters.
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