iTunes Movable Type podcast tip

I like to output as much data as possible for feed aggregators, especially when one feed aggregator accounts for over 50% of my podcast listeners. I was frustrated that my podcast did not have a published duration until I realized there was a pretty simple solution: MTEntryKeywords.

I almost never use the keywords field, yet it is already built-in as a storage option for every post. Perfect! No plugins necessary. Here’s how you do it.

  1. Add your podcast’s duration (mm:ss) as your entry keywords.
  2. Add a line to your RSS 2.0 feed:
    <itunes:duration><$MTEntryKeywords$></itunes:duration>

The time column will now be populated in iTunes for all of your podcasts.