How To Add Id3 Tags To Your Podcast Metadata

How to Add ID3 Tags to Your Podcast

There are several ways to add ID3 tags to your podcast. Add ID3 tags quickly and easily using iTunes, your podcast hosting service’s built-in ID3 tag tools, or a third-party ID3 editor.

Add ID3 Tags With iTunes

iTunes offers one of the simplest and easiest ways to add ID3 tags to your podcast episodes. Here’s how:

Open iTunes on a Mac or PC. From the File menu, select Add to Library. Choose the file you want to add to your library, then select Open. Right-click the file you just added and choose Get Info. On other iTunes versions, select the three dots (More) and then select Song Info. Go to the Options tab. Change the media kind to Podcast. Go to Details and enter the requested information, such as title, author, and podcast name. Select Artwork > Add Artwork and upload your cover art. Select Description and enter an episode description. Go to the Sorting tab and enter the file title, podcast name, and author. Select OK to save the ID3 tag information. Your podcast file and its ID3 tags are now ready to be uploaded to your podcast hosting service.

Use Your Podcast Hosting Service to Add ID3 Tags

Many podcast hosting services, such as Libsyn, make it easy to add ID3 tags to a podcast.

Upload your MP3 file to your podcast hosting service. Add an episode title, number, description, and other information. Select the Update ID3 Tags check box. All the details you added about your episode automatically became part of the ID3 tag for the media file.

Use an ID3 Tag Editor

If you produce a podcast and want to add the ID3 tags before uploading your MP3 file to a podcast host, there are some excellent ID3 tag editors available, both free and paid.

MP3tag is a free download for Windows that adds and edits ID3 tags for MP3 files. Using MP3tag to upload metadata is easy and intuitive. It supports batch editing for multiple files covering several audio formats. It also uses online databases to look up information, so you can use it to tag your existing music collection to find artwork or the correct titles. EasyTAG is another free ID3 editor. It’s a simple application for editing and viewing ID3 tags in audio files. EasyTAG supports multiple formats and is compatible with Windows and Linux operating systems. It can be used to auto-tag and organize MP3 collections and edit MP3 metadata. ID3 Editor works on Windows and Mac systems and requires a paid license, but it does offer a 30-day free trial. This editor has a slick interface that makes editing podcast ID3 tags straightforward. It also cleans up old tags and adds copyright, URL, and encoded by information. Prestopod is a browser app that adds and stores ID3 tags for faster publishing. It’s simple and easy to add ID3 tags to MP3 files or update existing tags. A free plan allows you to publish two episodes a month, while the standard subscription is $15 per month and allows for up to 20 episodes each month.

What Exactly Are ID3 Tags?

ID3 tags are metadata containers used with MP3 audio formats. An ID3 tag attaches metadata to a file in the ID3 format.

Since podcasts are in MP3 format, their ID3 tags store information such as the title, artist or author, website URL, and if explicit language is used. ID3 tags also include data about the podcast and episode cover art.

When you submit your podcast to distribution channels, such as iTunes or Spotify, the ID3 tag data is displayed to your potential audience.

What Metadata Do ID3 Tags Hold?

When you submit your podcast to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or other platforms, include this information in your ID3 tags:

Title

Your podcast has a title, but each episode has a title, as well. Make sure your title is catchy and descriptive, but not too long. Uniqueness is critical, as you don’t want to duplicate another podcast’s title.

Author

This item could also be called artist or host. It could be your name, the name of your company, or a brand.

Description

When you include a description for a podcast episode, keep it simple and descriptive. Don’t overload with keywords, and you don’t have to include the title of your show or the host’s name.

Artwork or Pictures

Add in any show artwork or artwork for an individual episode.

Episode Number

While some podcast hosts automatically number your episodes, you have to add numbers manually in others. Without a number, your podcast episode can get lost.

Explicit

There’s usually a spot where you can indicate if your podcast episode uses explicit language. There are no restrictions on explicit language in a podcast, but you do have to warn people.