Blog / Moving a podcast without losing subscribers
Moving a podcast without losing subscribers
The fear when changing hosts is losing the audience. It is avoidable, because an app does not subscribe to a host — it subscribes to a feed URL. Move the feed carefully and the subscribers come with it.
The redirect does the work
If your current host can issue a permanent redirect (301) from the old feed to the new one, Apple and Spotify follow it and update their records within a day or two. Set up the show on the new host first, then turn on the redirect. Listeners notice nothing.
Guids are the identity
Each episode carries a guid. Apps use it to tell episodes apart. If the guid changes, an app treats it as a brand-new episode and your back catalogue appears to duplicate. So re-upload each episode once and keep its guid stable from then on. Norsolia assigns a stable guid at creation and never rewrites it.
What if the old host cannot redirect
Then you submit the new feed to each directory by hand and keep the old feed online. Most subscribers move when the directory updates; some re-subscribe. It is slower, not catastrophic.
Leave the old feed up
Keep the old feed and its redirect running for at least two weeks. Slow-polling apps need time to re-check. Only then close the old account.
The author guide has the step-by-step version, including the directory sign-up links.