Dovetail allows you to set up your Apple Podcast subscriptions using Apple Delegated Delivery! This means you can publish ad-free audio and bonus content directly to your Apple Podcast subscriptions from Dovetail.
Please note that this process involves a few steps, so make yourself comfortable, grab a beverage, and take your time.
🍎 Start Here
You can skip this setup if you already use Apple Podcast Subscriptions and manually upload ad-free audio on Podcast Connect.
➡️ Go to Podcast Connect and follow Apple’s steps to set up your subscription.
Step 1 - Generate your API Key on Podcast Connect.
An API key is a unique identifier used to authenticate the connection between your Apple Podcasts Connect account and Dovetail. This key allows Dovetail to publish shows and episodes to Apple Podcasts on your behalf, but we will not have access to your listening analytics, subscription reporting, or any banking or tax information.
To create a new key in Apple Podcasts Connect, follow these steps:
- Go to the Account section.
- Select the Keys tab.
- Click the "+" icon next to Active.
- Enter a name for the key.
- Click Generate.
- Click on Download API Key and Download on the subsequent popup (please save this file; you will need it later in the setup process).
You can disable the API key at any time by clicking on the "Remove API key" button.
For more information on generating an API key, please visit the Apple Podcasts support site.
Step 2 - Create Your Apple Subscription subfeed. Log in at id.prx.org and select Dovetail Podcasts from the options on the left side of the dashboard.
Step 3 - Find your Podcast in search and select it.
Step 4 - Select "Feeds" from the top menu. Click the upward arrow next to "Add a Feed," then choose "Add Apple Feed" from the lower-left corner of the screen.
Step 5 - Upload the API key you downloaded from Podcast Connect. Click "Choose File," select your API key, and click "Open."
Step 6 - On the right, under Feed Status, click Create.
Step 7 -The Provider ID and Apple key will automatically populate in their respective fields.
Step 8 - Select "Enable publishing to Apple Podcast Connect," to automatically sync new episodes and feed updates to Apple Podcasts.
Select "Episodes must publish to Apple before the public feed." This blocks publishing to your default RSS public feed until the episode drops on Apple.
Step 9 - To link your Apple subscription feed to your public feed on Apple Podcasts, search for your show under Apple Show ID.
- To restrict the number of episodes shown in your subscription feed, specify a maximum in Feed Episode Limit. If you would like all episodes available to paid subscribers, leave this field blank.
Step 9 - Choose a specific audio format for your episodes, or leave it blank to automatically match the format of your first uploaded segment (we suggest choosing your own format).
Step 10 - To make the feed ad-free, go to the "Ad Zones To Include" section and deselect any zones you wish to exclude.
Step 11 - Under Feed Status, click Save.
⚠️ Please note that clicking Save will lock the settings for your Apple subscription feed. If you need to make changes after you have clicked save, please email the support team at podcast-support@prx.org.
Congratulations! Your Apple Podcast subscription is now set up with Apple Delegated Delivery!
Since we enjoy providing extra support and tips, we encourage you to keep reading the rest of this support article. You're already here with us; why not stay a few extra minutes?
📚 Additional resources
- Publishing bonus episodes to your Apple subscription feed
- Setting up a subfeed for other subscription services.
🧠 Some things to keep in mind
- Subscriber audio (ad free and bonus content) published to your Apple Podcast subscription feed is rehosted by Apple Podcast so you won’t receive analytics for them in Dovetail Metrics. Analytics for subscriber audio are available on your Apple Podcast Connect account.
- Please note that Apple has processing times for subscription audio. Episodes appear in the subscription feed before they appear in the regular feed. This happens because Apple processes audio for your podcast subscription first and then the audio in your regular feed. As a result, subscribers will see new episodes in their feeds sooner than followers who access the podcast through the regular feed.
- Changes to your episode audio must be done through Dovetail and not Podcast Connect.
💡Did you know? The Apple Status of your episode shows when your episode audio becomes available in your Apple Podcast subscription feed.
Questions? Feel free to reach out to our support team at podcast-support@prx.org.