PostEaseThe short answer
A YouTube podcast is a playlist that YouTube treats as a show. YouTube’s Help Center puts it plainly: “a podcast show is a playlist, and podcast episodes are videos in that playlist.” Marking a playlist as a podcast can get its episodes into YouTube Music, a podcast badge, and recommendations to new listeners.
Every episode is a video, even for an audio show. YouTube says “MP3s can’t be turned into podcasts on YouTube”: you either upload episodes as videos, for example a static image with the audio, or connect an RSS feed and let YouTube make those videos for you.
What podcast features add
From YouTube’s Help Center, a podcast may be eligible for:
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| YouTube Music | Listeners can play most podcast content in the background and download it without a Premium membership |
| Podcast badges | Shown on Watch and Playlist pages |
| youtube.com/podcasts | A spotlight to reach new listeners |
| Recommendations | Episodes suggested to listeners with similar interests |
| Search | Improved search features for finding the show |
| Audio-only playback | Podcast videos can be played as audio only |
Two ways to set one up
YouTube offers a playlist route and an RSS route:
| What differs | YouTube Studio | RSS feed |
|---|---|---|
| Start | Create, then New podcast, or add podcast features to a playlist | Create, then New podcast, then submit the feed and verify by email |
| Episodes | Videos you upload or add | Static-image videos YouTube makes from your show art |
| New episodes | Uploaded by you | Uploaded automatically, with eligible subscribers notified |
| Changing audio | Like any video, it cannot be replaced once published | Re-upload from RSS feed makes a new video; the old one goes private |
Rules that catch people out
YouTube’s Help Center lists several conditions worth knowing before launch:
- Only full-length episodes belong in the podcast, in the order they should be heard; clips and season playlists should not get podcast features. YouTube’s clips tool repeats the advice: cut Shorts and clips from an episode, but keep only full episodes in the podcast playlist.
- Shorts made to promote a podcast do not appear in YouTube Music.
- A vague title such as “Full Episodes” or “Podcast” may be replaced by your channel name in YouTube Music; YouTube also advises against adding the word “podcast” unless it is part of the name.
- A square podcast thumbnail is needed to edit podcast details; YouTube recommends 1280 by 1280 pixels.
- RSS delivery is available in select countries and regions; its episodes arrive as private videos at first, and YouTube will not copy later changes to show details or audio from the feed.
- Host-read ads and sponsorships must be declared as branded content.
Episodic or serial
Episode order is a setting. YouTube’s advice: if your show is episodic, order the playlist newest to oldest; if it is serial, oldest to newest, so a new listener starts at the beginning. Performance for the whole show appears in YouTube Studio Analytics, in the Your Podcast(s) card on the Overview tab, with views and watch time.
YouTube podcasts and PostEase
PostEase uploads YouTube videos on schedule with their title, description and cover, so an episode can go out at a set time beside its clips on other platforms. Add the uploaded episode to your podcast in YouTube Studio, under Content, then Podcasts. YouTube, X, LinkedIn (personal profile), Pinterest, Bluesky, and WordPress publishing are live today; Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Threads are pending each platform's own API approval.
Questions
Can I upload an MP3 podcast to YouTube?
Not as an MP3. Each episode must be a video, such as a static image with the audio, or you can connect an RSS feed and YouTube makes those videos for you.
Does a YouTube podcast appear in YouTube Music?
Eligible podcasts can, and listeners can play most of them in the background and download them without Premium. Shorts made for the podcast do not appear there.
Does YouTube send my RSS podcast to other platforms?
No. YouTube says an RSS-delivered podcast is only available on YouTube and YouTube Music.
Should podcast clips go in the podcast playlist?
No. YouTube says a podcast should only contain full-length episodes; keep clips in separate playlists without podcast features.
Sources
- YouTube, Video Clips & Shorts in YouTube Studio, checked October 2026.
- YouTube, Create a podcast in YouTube Studio, checked October 2026.
- YouTube, Deliver podcasts using an RSS feed, checked October 2026.
- YouTube, Distribute podcasts on YouTube, checked October 2026.