Feeds are where you can group Items for use as a live playlist, on-demand episode list or to create a podcast. An XML feed will be created for each feed you add and this allows the feed’s contents to be distributed on third-party apps and sites (useful if you are creating a Podcast, for example).
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Creating a Feed
To create a new feed, head to Feeds and select “+ New Feed”.
On the create feed page you will see the following fields.
Feed Type
Select an appropriate feed type for the Feed you are creating, this setting will dictate how the accompanying XML feed will be formatted:
Podcasts (Podcaster-type plans + Enterprise plans only)
Highly recommended for Podcasting, this will format the RSS feed in accordance with Apple specifications (universally accepted by all podcasting apps/sites).
Simple (Broadcaster Pro + Premium Streaming plans only)
If you are not planning on using your feed for podcasting you may want to use a Simple feed type. If you are creating a Live Feed, use this setting.
Generic RSS (All Plans)
If you are wanting to incorporate content from your feed into your site using RSS, you have the option of formatting the feed as a generic RSS. This is not recommended for creating Podcasts for third-party distributors, as the "Podcasts” Feed type will be more universally compatible with external distributors.
Name
This is the title for your Feed. This will reflect as the “channel title” for any third-party sites you distribute the feed to.
Any changes to feed name will change the XML link for your feed so make sure you are happy with the name before distributing.
Description
A short summary of the feed contents, this will be inherited as the “channel title” for any third-party sites you distribute the feed to (unless otherwise specified).
Image
Select an image from your Artwork library to accompany your feed.
Podcast feeds require artwork that is a minimum size of 1400 x 1400 pixels and a maximum size of 3000 x 3000 pixels, 72 dpi, in JPEG or PNG format with appropriate file extensions (.jpg, .png). To ensure your artwork is suitable, select the "suitable for feeds" checkbox.
Tags
Tags can be used to sort/classify your feeds in Timbre. Select a tag from the dropdown (of your existing tags) or add a new one by typing the tag name and hitting return. You can also automatically add any new items that share your feed’s tag to the feed by selecting the “Populate Feed with items matching tags” checkbox.
If you want to automate the addition of new items with matching tags to the feed select the "automatically sync items with matching tags" checkbox.
Feed tags are not reflected in the Feed’s XML, only the individual item tags.
Item Ordering
This will decide how items are listed in your feed. “Date added New” will be selected by default. This will reflect in the item order for your XML feed as well as in the Timbre player.
When you are happy with your selections, click Create. These fields can be edited/updated at any time.
Once your feed is created, you will see some extra dropdowns appear for customizing your feed contents.
Managing Feed Items
Click the items dropdown to list the items in your feed. Your feed will be empty to start with but there are a number of ways to quickly populate it.
Manually add item(s).
To view Items from your Item library. Click the filters dropdown and select “not contained in feed” this will list all the items that are not currently assigned to your feed, select the items you wish to add (using the checkboxes to the left of each listing) and select “assign to feed”.
Import Items sharing feed tag.
If you have items with a certain tag that you wish to import to the feed, select the “Actions” dropdown in your feed settings and click “Sync items by feed tag” this will find all the Items in your Item library that share at least one tag with your feed. A window will appear listing the Items that will be synced. If you are happy with the selected items, click confirm. (Imported items can be individually removed from the feed afterwards in case there are any unwanted additions).
Automatic adding
If you selected “Populate Feed with items matching tags” when you set up the feed, any new items that are created with a tag that your feed shares will automatically be added to the feed upon the item’s creation.
Feed Channel Information
This dropdown is particularly important if you are hosting a podcast through this feed. It allows you to add all the relevant information to create a valid XML feed for use on podcasting apps and sites. Click “+ Attach Feed Channel Information” to get started. When you have done so the following fields will become available.
Type
This determines how your feed will appear in third-party apps such as Apple Podcasts. You can choose either Episodic or Serial:
Episodic: Presented and recommended from newest to oldest. Best suited to topical podcasts.
Serial: For shows with episodes presented and recommended oldest-to-newest and grouped by seasons. Recommended for narrative and storytelling formats.
Summary
A brief description of what your podcast is about. If blank, this field will default to using the host feed's Description.
Language
Select the predominant language the content of your feed contains.
Copyright
Example: © Company Name Ltd. 2020
Managing Editor
Must be an email followed by the name in brackets 'john.doe@example.com (John Doe)'
Webmaster
Must be an email followed by the name in brackets 'john.doe@example.com (John Doe)'
Publish Date
This indicates the date/time the feed will go live.
iTunes Category
Select the most appropriate category for your feeds’ content using an option from the dropdown.
Author
i.e. Host Organisation, Artist, Presenter. If not populated, Managing Editor will be used in its place.
Explicit
Select “Yes” if items in the feed contain explicit language or adult content.
New Feed URL
Used when migrating your feed to a new URL. This will act as a redirect in iTunes
Owner Name
Contact Name of the Feed/Podcast Owner
Owner Email
Contact Email of the Feed/Podcast Owner
Image URL
Used if no selected feed artwork. Valid URL with protocol (HTTP:// or HTTPS://)
When you are happy with your selections, click “Update”. If the content of any field is invalid, the update will be unsuccessful, make any necessary changes and try again.
Share
In the share tab, you can let the world know about your new feed! Use third-party integrations to share your content on your Facebook/Twitter profile or through WhatsApp. You can also copy a link to the timbre player directly or grab some embed code to embed the player on your website!
Hit preview to check out the feed in Timbre Player. View our Timbre Player help documents for info on how to customise your player.
External Links
If you are sharing your feed as a podcast with third-party distributors you can add the share links for those platforms in this section of the feed edit page. The Links will appear on Timbre Player for this feed to allow listeners to find the podcast on their preferred platform. This will also allow you to recall the links using the API if you are integrating Timbre into your website or an external player (enterprise only).
