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Distribution & hosting

Change your podcast host without losing subscribers

Importing, RSS 301 redirects, GUIDs, analytics and checks: the steps to change your podcast host while keeping listeners following your show.

By Budget Podcast · 7 min read · Updated on

At a glance

To change your podcast host, import your episodes, keep their identifiers, then redirect the old RSS feed to the new one with a 301 redirect. Check existing listings and the delivery of new episodes before cancelling. Analytics, paid subscriptions and video need separate checks.

1. Understand what changes during migration

Your host stores the audio files and provides the RSS feed used by listening apps. When you change services, you generally get a new feed address. Listeners still follow your show through their app: they do not have an account to transfer to your new host.

This guide mainly covers transferring a public audio podcast. Private feeds assigned to individual listeners, paid subscriptions and advertising contracts require separate checks with the services involved.

Migration involves two separate operations. Importing copies the episodes and their information. Redirecting tells apps still checking the old feed where to find new releases. Copying the catalogue is therefore not enough: Spotify explains that importing without redirecting does not deliver new episodes to your existing audience.

Choose the new service according to your actual needs, then prepare the transition before closing the old account. Compare plan limits, private podcast features and the terms for leaving as well.

2. Back up the files and export your analytics

Keep a local copy of audio files, artwork and descriptions. Save the old RSS feed, its URL and the public links to your shows on listening platforms too. This backup lets you compare the imported information and find any missing files.

Transistor recommends exporting your history before leaving, because its analytics start with the new hosting service. Make this backup while you still have access.

3. Import the whole catalogue before redirecting

At the new host, select the option to import an existing show and supply the old RSS feed. Wait for processing to finish, then compare the imported catalogue with your list. Some hosts limit the number of episodes visible in the feed: ask them to include any missing archived episodes before importing.

Buzzsprout’s trial copies a few episodes; moving to a paid plan then lets you import the rest. A successful first copy does not prove that the entire catalogue is present.

Follow the service’s requirements: ownership verification by email, unlocking the feed if necessary, and valid dates. Transistor also asks you to remove dynamically inserted ads before importing to obtain clean audio. Check what the copied files actually contain before recreating your campaigns.

4. Keep the GUIDs and check the information

The GUID is an episode’s permanent identifier in the RSS feed. Apple requires it to stay the same during migration, even if the title or audio file address changes. A new GUID can make an old episode appear as a new release, create duplicates and disrupt analytics.

If the feed has no GUID, Apple may use the audio file URL as its identifier. In that case, do not change the URL without having the services involved confirm the procedure.

5. Redirect the old RSS feed to the new one with a 301

Once you have checked the catalogue, copy the new RSS address and enter it in the old host’s redirect feature. The direction matters: old feed to new feed. An HTTP 301 redirect lets apps and subscribers still using the old address discover the new one.

Apple also documents the itunes:new-feed-url tag. Let the host manage this configuration, or have it checked if you maintain your own RSS feed. Do not replace the destination with a web page URL or an Apple mirror URL.

If you are leaving Spotify for Creators, its redirect procedure takes place in the web interface’s settings, under Redirect your podcast. It is not available in the mobile app. Spotify says setup can take up to seven days: wait for confirmation and check the result before closing your account.

  1. Open the old host’s settings and find the RSS redirect or the option to change services.
  2. Paste the exact address of the new feed, then confirm using the official procedure.
  3. Check with the new host that the old URL redirects to the new RSS feed.

6. Check the existing listings on listening platforms

Find your show in the existing management accounts. The aim is to update its feed without unnecessarily submitting a second show. Apple says a redirect set up by the host may be enough; still check the public catalogue and the delivery of new episodes.

For a show hosted elsewhere, Spotify asks you to update the RSS feed and hosting provider’s name in Spotify for Creators settings. Then open the public links you saved during the backup: artwork, episodes and playback should match.

When you next publish, check that the new episode appears in your usual apps. If a platform still shows the old catalogue, check which feed it uses and contact its support team.

Also check your website’s embedded players and any automations connected to the old host. Replace their links where necessary. Check the catalogue and then your next scheduled release; there is no need to publish a dummy episode for these checks.

7. Cancel only after completing the checks

Apple recommends keeping the 301 redirect and the feed URL change configuration in place for at least four weeks. Before cancelling, ask the old host whether the redirect stays active after closing the account or changing plans. Closing an account too soon can interrupt this transition.

Keeping the redirect does not necessarily mean paying for two subscriptions during this period. Transistor says its outgoing redirect remains permanent and free after cancellation. Conditions vary by service: get confirmation before cancelling and keep your backups.

Will my analytics transfer?

Do not assume your detailed history follows the podcast. Spotify says analytics from the old host are not transferred; Transistor also starts a new history. That alone does not mean your listeners have disappeared.

Buzzsprout lets you manually enter download totals for imported episodes. The associated dates, apps and countries are not carried over, and these manually entered figures cannot be certified as IAB v2 compliant. Keep your exports and distinguish imported totals from measurements made by the new service.

Apple says its own analytics should remain consistent after a correctly managed migration. Compare each metric in its original tool and note the transfer date to help interpret any breaks in the data.

Will I lose my Apple reviews?

Keep the existing listing and check it after the change. Apple displays ratings and reviews on the show’s page; they are specific to a country or region. Compare the same territory before concluding that any have disappeared.

You can view reviews from different territories in Apple Podcasts Connect and download an export. If the listing has changed or expected reviews are missing from the same place, contact support: importing into a new host alone cannot verify this.

What if the old account is already closed?

First contact the old host to find out whether the feed and its redirect can be restored. Spotify asks you to contact support when an account was deleted before setting up the redirect. Avoid creating multiple new listings in an attempt to fix the problem.

Without access to the old RSS feed, Apple lets you change the URL in Apple Podcasts Connect. This moves Apple followers; it does not replace a redirect for all other apps. Check each platform and ask what recovery options are available.

Private feeds, paid subscriptions and video: check separately

This process mainly concerns a public audio podcast. At Transistor, a private podcast generates a separate RSS address for each subscriber. Transferring only the public feed therefore does not guarantee that these individual access rights are carried over.

Payments and access rights need their own procedure. Spotify asks you to disable Subscriptions before leaving its hosting service. Confirm the consequences for paying subscribers and prepare the new access arrangements before the transition.

Videos uploaded through Spotify for Creators are available on Spotify. An RSS import does not guarantee that they will be copied as videos to another host. Keep the original files and check the planned distribution on each platform.

Official sources

Guide updated on 7 October 2026. Check the sources below: plans and interfaces may change.