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How to prepare my RSS feed before importing to Transistor?

Before you import your podcast to Transistor, check these four things in your RSS feed. Your current host can help with any of them, or reach out to us on Live Chat and we'll check your feed for you.


1. Your email address is in your feed


When you start an import, we send a verification email to the address in your feed's <itunes:email> tag. Many hosts hide your email address for privacy, and some only show it for a limited time. Turn it on, then wait 5 to 10 minutes before you start the import. Here's how for some popular hosts:



For other hosts, check your host's settings or ask their support team to show your email in the feed.


Moving from SoundCloud? Your feed may show an email address SoundCloud created for you. In your SoundCloud content settings, choose your own email under Email address displayed and save, then start the import.


2. Your podcast isn't locked


A locked podcast can't be imported to another host without the creator's permission. Look for the <podcast:locked> tag in your feed. If it says yes, turn the lock off in your current host's settings, then wait a few minutes before you import. Here's where to find it at some popular hosts:


  • Buzzsprout: go to Settings > Podcast Settings > Advanced (Buzzsprout's guide)
  • Captivate: go to Podcast Settings > Podcasting 2.0 and set Locked to No (Captivate's guide)
  • Libsyn: in your podcast settings, set Feed Locked to Unlocked (Libsyn's guide)
  • RSS.com: turn off Copy Protection, which is on by default (RSS.com's guide)
  • Blubrry and PowerPress: turn off the feed lock in your podcast settings (in PowerPress, it's under Feed Settings) (Blubrry's guide)


If your host doesn't have a lock setting, your feed probably isn't locked. Search your feed for the tag (see below) or ask your host's support team.


3. All of your episodes are in the feed


Some hosts only list your latest episodes in the feed. We can only import episodes that are in the feed, so make sure your host lists all of them. Each episode is an <item> tag, so the number of <item> tags should match your total number of episodes.


SoundCloud and Blubrry often limit the number of episodes in a feed. One telltale sign is a round number of episodes, like a multiple of 100.


SoundCloud feeds only include your latest 500 episodes (see SoundCloud's guide). Import those first, then swap them out of your feed for episodes that haven't been imported yet and let us know. We'll bring those over too, and you can repeat until all of your episodes are in Transistor.


4. Dynamic ads are turned off


Turn off any dynamic ads, announcements or other inserted audio in your current host before you import. If they're still on, they'll be baked into the audio files we import.


How to look inside your RSS feed


To check your feed yourself, you can use a tool like XML Feed Viewer:


  • Click the URL button, paste in your RSS feed and click Submit
  • Click into the feed text on the left side
  • Press Ctrl + F (or Cmd + F on a Mac) to search the feed
  • Use the arrow buttons to move between matches


Search for these tags in particular:


What you're checking

Search for

What to look for

1. Your email address

<itunes:email>

Your own email address

2. Your podcast isn't locked

<podcast:locked

no (or no matches at all)

3. All of your episodes

<item>

The number of matches should equal your total number of episodes


If you have additional questions please reach out to us:


Updated on: 02/11/2026

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