Update: This has been updated for Feeder 3.0 and later.

There may come a time when you want to move your podcast feed to another server, another location on your server or start using a service such as FeedBurner.

In their technical specification, Apple suggests two ways to change your podcast feed’s URL. The preferred method is to set up a redirect to the new URL. This will cause both the iTunes Store and existing subscribers to use the new URL and will work for other applications too, including RSS readers.

Setting up a redirect is not always possible; Apple’s alternative suggestion is to use the <itunes:new-feed-url> tag to inform the iTunes Store that your feed has moved.

For this to work, you need two different versions of your feed: the old version should contain the New Feed URL and the new version must not. First duplicate the feed:

• Select your existing feed in Feeder and choose File > Duplicate from the menu.
• Choose File > Publish from the menu. Click the Settings button and change the settings as appropriate to publish the feed to the new location. If you are doing this because you wish to start using FeedBurner for an existing feed, you simply need to change the filename.
• Click Continue, then click Publish to upload the new feed.

Now test the new feed:

• Click the Links button in Feeder’s toolbar.
• Select iTunes Podcast and click Subscribe

If everything looks good in iTunes, you can now set the new Feed URL on the original feed:

• With the new feed still selected in Feeder, choose File > Copy Feed URL from the menu. You don’t need to do this if you’re moving to FeedBurner.
• In all cases, now select your original feed.
• Click Feed above the list of items.
• Select “iTunes Podcasting”.
• Scroll down to the New Feed URL field and paste the URL. If you are using FeedBurner, enter the FeedBurner URL instead.
• Publish the original feed.

Testing the New URL

You can test the New Feed URL by updating a subscription to your existing feed in iTunes and clicking the info button next to your podcast’s description. It should show the new feed’s URL.

The iTunes Store will switch to using the new feed URL the next time it checks your feed, and your iTunes-using subscribers will pick up the new URL the next time they update their podcast subscriptions. Apple suggests keeping the old feed around for at least two weeks to give everyone a chance to update.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 28th, 2006 at 1:07 am by Steve Harris and is filed under Feeder, iTunes, Podcasting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.