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.

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3 comments

Commentary on "iTunes Movable Type podcast tip":

  1. Adrian on wrote:

    Surely though the MT keywords field is better used to populate the itunes:keyword field in the feed?

    You can extend your MT fields with the custom field plug in, and add duration. Although I didn’t think it was worth the effort as when you download the cast, it fills duration in for you automatically.

  2. Adrian on wrote:

    Surely though the MT keywords field is better used to populate the itunes:keyword field in the feed?

    You can extend your MT fields with the custom field plug in, and add duration. Although I didn’t think it was worth the effort as when you download the cast, it fills duration in for you automatically.

  3. bruce21 on wrote:

    I develop sites using MT and find the RightFields Plugin by Brandon Fuller invaluable. Easy to install, has good docs and works perfectly to add all the fields wanted. A nice addition is the fact one can use its tags for conditional statements as well.