Podcasting on Patreon allows you to post audio or video episodes that your members can access both on Patreon and on podcast player apps like Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Members can add your podcast to other apps using a private RSS link that contains the episodes available to their membership tier.
How do I enable Patreon RSS feed?
You can enable the Patreon RSS feed for all your audio posts in your Podcast and audio settings. Alternatively, you can manage the RSS feed on a post-by-post basis by toggling it on or off in the post editor when creating or editing an audio or video post. Read below to learn more:
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Make sure you are using the desktop web experience and follow these steps while on your creator profile. You can switch to your creator profile by clicking your profile picture in the bottom left corner and clicking on your creator profile.
- Go to your Settings from the left sidebar navigation
- Select Podcasts from the top menu
- If turned off, toggle Podcasting on and select Patreon RSS feed
- You can start filling in your Podcast settings. This info is shared with other podcast apps to help fans discover your show. Each podcast app determines how it uses this information
The Podcast settings include information used on Patreon and for RSS:
For Patreon
- Cover Artwork: Upload your podcast cover image. Recommended size: 3000x3000 px (square image)
- Title: Choose a clear, descriptive title that’s easy for listeners to search for
For RSS:
- Description: Briefly describe your podcast content
- Author Name: This will appear as the creator’s name on podcast platforms
- Author Email: Enter the email address associated with your podcast. This email will be visible in the RSS feed. It’s recommended to use an email where listeners can send questions and comments.
- Podcast Type: Select the type that best fits your podcast—options include:
- Episodic: Other podcast apps will update this show with the most recent episode shown first, but fans can enjoy episodes in any order. The Patreon feed won’t change
- Serial: Other podcast apps will update this show with the most recent episode shown at the end. Choose this option when you want fans to enjoy your podcast in the order it’s published. Existing episodes will be assigned a number based on the publish date. The Patreon feed won’t change.
- Explicit Content: Toggle this on if your podcast contains explicit language. Podcasts with explicit content may not appear in all regions. Learn more about Podcast explicit content here.
- Category: Select the category that best describes your podcast. This helps listeners find your show
- Copyright: Enter the copyright details, including the active years, owner’s name, and company name (if applicable).
- Language: Select the language your podcast is in
Don’t forget to click Save to apply your changes and set up your podcast.
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Make sure you are using the desktop web experience and follow these steps while on your creator profile. You can switch to your creator profile by clicking your profile picture in the bottom left corner and clicking on your creator profile.
- From your page, click the Create button from the right-hand side and select Post
- Select either an Audio or Video post type — Both audio and video posts can be distributed via RSS
- If you post both audio and video versions of your podcast, you should now only post video, and we'll extract the audio
- Toggle Add to podcast on to distribute your audio via RSS for that specific audio/video post. If you are creating an audio post and have set up a podcast, this will be on by default
- If you haven't set up your podcast yet, you'll be prompted to do so by filling in some essential details about your podcast. You can always come back and change this or add additional information to your Podcast and audio settings
You can change some of the episode settings like:
- You can Add the episode number and/or Add season
- Select the Episode Type (Full, Trailer, or Bonus)
- Select whether your content is Explicit or not. Podcasts with explicit content may not appear in all regions. Learn more about explicit content for podcasts here
- Upload a video or an audio file
- If you upload a video file, Patreon will automatically generate an audio-only version for your RSS feed
- To ensure your file meets Patreon’s technical requirements, click Upload Guidelines in the top left corner of the upload screen. This will show file size limits, supported formats, and more.
- Add the Episode title (Required)
- You can also add descriptions to your episode post which will show as episode notes in RSS. Notes are a great way to give extra context to your listeners
- Other optional details include: making this post a Drop or organizing this post by using Tags or adding it to a Collection
- Click Next
- Fill in the remaining details about your post and click Publish
- Your post is live. You can share your Promo card or Audio clip directly to select socials or download them to share across social platforms.
Once you enable audio RSS, If you want to distribute your Patreon-exclusive podcasts for your fans to listen to on Spotify, you can toggle on Sync your audio posts with Spotify. Learn more about how to Deliver Podcasts with Spotify.
How do my members get their private RSS link?
New members will find their private RSS link displayed on your welcome note.
Additionally, both new and existing members can locate their private RSS link in the Membership section of your Patreon page. They can copy the link provided in the Listen on other podcast apps section.
Who has access to my RSS feed and my posts?
Only those who have an active membership with you can have an RSS link generated for them. Each member's feed is customized based on the access settings you choose when selecting Who can access this post? when creating or editing your audio post.You can set post access to the following audiences: Public, All members, Paid members only, Free members only, or Selected tiers.Audio upload posts you publish for Paid members only will appear in the feeds of all paying members. If you select Selected tiers, only members within those specific tiers will see the posts. To include Free members, you can choose to post as Public, Free members only, or All members.
Will members have access to my feed after they cancel?
After a membership term ends, the entire feed is pulled – they won’t find new posts on their feed. However, many podcast apps will cache data locally. This means that members who’ve canceled may have access to uploaded audio posts you published that were available to them before they canceled.
That said, if the member were to try to reuse that same RSS link to resubscribe to your feed, the subscription would fail.
If you’ve enabled the Spotify integration, the same logic applies – after their membership term ends, members will no longer have access to the paid episodes on Spotify. You can learn more about how to distribute Patreon-exclusive podcasts to Spotify.
Which posts will show up in an audio RSS feed?
Your members' private RSS feeds will include all audio and video posts with the Podcast setting toggled on. Here’s a breakdown of what will and won’t appear in the RSS feed:
Included:
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Audio or video posts with the Podcast setting turned on
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If you post both audio and video versions of your podcast, you should now only post video, and we'll extract the audio
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Audio or video posts added to a podcast and marked for sale. Members who purchase the post will receive the audio in their RSS feed
Not included:
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Posts with video/audio file attachments instead of direct audio or video uploads
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Posts with links to third-party audio or video hosting sites (e.g., Soundcloud, Vimeo, etc)
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Video / audio sold as digital products in your shop (digital products are not included in the RSS feed)
Are there alternatives to using Patreon RSS?
Yes, Patreon offers a private RSS functionality powered by Acast. If you choose this option instead of Patreon RSS, the content will be hosted on Acast, which will provide you with a unique RSS feed. Your members will not need to manually add the feed but instead OAuth directly on the platform where they’d like to listen to your show.
For more details on how Acast works and the key differences between Acast and Patreon RSS, check out our article on Delivering secure, member-only podcast feeds with Acast.
At this time, if you’re using Acast for RSS distribution, the Spotify integration is not supported.
Where can I track my Audio/video posts performance?
You can keep track of how well your video and audio episodes are performing by heading to your Insights page and clicking on the Posts section. You’ll find key metrics that show engagement and help you understand your audience's behavior
For video and audio episodes, you’ll see metrics like average view duration (video only), post views, preview views, likes, and comments.