Can I publish a video podcast from Dovetail to Youtube?
No. YouTube doesn’t support uploading video content through an RSS feed. Instead, you’ll need to upload your video episodes manually to your YouTube channel. Many podcasters create dedicated playlists to organize their video episodes, making it easy for viewers to follow along.
You can find more information on how to add a video to your RSS feed here.
For detailed video specifications and requirements, refer to Youtube’s support page.
Does hosting my podcast on Dovetail mean it is automatically on YouTube?
Hell no. You will need to generate an ad-free feed, and submit this feed to YouTube through your YouTube account. Once your podcast playlist has processed and is public - you’ll be able to deliver content to YouTube and YouTube Music via an RSS Feed.
If I can’t publish a video from Dovetail to YouTube, what gets delivered via RSS Feed?
YouTube will convert your audio only file into a video file that uses your podcast logo for the duration of the episode. If you have an alternate video you’d like to use for an episode you’ll need to replace the video file generated by YouTube manually via YouTube Studio.
Will my YouTube feed increase my show’s available ad inventory?
No. In an effort not to violate YouTube’s terms of service as it relates to third party promotional content on their platform we have opted to encourage submission of ad-free rss feeds to YouTube. YouTube caches podcast content (downloads it once from the RSS Feed, and then delivers it via their own servers) rendering dynamic ads and accurate download metrics obsolete.
Why does my YouTube feed have to be ad-free?
It is what we recommend for the best operational and listening experience via the platform.
If you opt to include ad content in your YouTube feed, please mark the feed as “containing paid promotion” upon set-up.
PRX is not responsible for any content that might be removed from the platform as a result of including third party promotional content.
More details about YouTubes third party promotional policy can be found here and here.
If I make a change to an episode in Dovetail, will it show up on YouTube?
No. You will need to login to YouTube Studio and manually request that YouTube pull an update from your RSS Feed. Instructions for that can be found on this YouTube support page in the FAQ section.
Please note that replacing or updating content will reset metrics for viewership on the YouTube platform.
Are YouTube metrics represented in Dovetail?
Yes and no.
YouTube Music will report download information back to Dovetail Metrics, but not the main YouTube platform. To access download and engagement analytics for your podcast on YouTube you’ll need to check out the analytics tab in YouTube Studio.
What counts as a “view” on YouTube vs. a “download” in Dovetail?
“Views” on YouTube are a proprietary measurement representing the “number of legitimate views for your video.” Which, for YouTube means someone has watched your video for at least 30 seconds - though those seconds do not need to be consecutive to count.
Check out a breakdown of important channel and video metrics for YouTube and what they mean.
Downloads in Dovetail Metrics are based on the IAB 2.2 standard, and reflect any instance where a user has downloaded (or streamed, since that is a download) more than 1 minute of content onto their device. Downloads by this standard do not guarantee that someone has actually listened to the content, as we have no ability to track when someone has hit play.
How do I make sure audio or video doesn’t get flagged for usage violations by YouTube?
Check out the specific details on their requirements and what to do if you receive a strike below to ensure that your content remains available for all.
PRX is not responsible for any content that might be removed from the platform as a result of violating their content or copyright guidelines.