By default, some platforms such as Spotify will 're-host' your content on their own servers, preventing ZenCast from tracking full stats about your show.
When one of your episodes is played on Spotify, it's played directly from their storage, and not from our servers at ZenCast, meaning ZenCast isn't notified about the number of plays/downloads.
The result is that you normally won't see Spotify listening stats included in your show's ZenCast analytics dashboard.
If you'd like to see your show's analytics for Spotify listeners, the solution is to claim your podcast on Spotify and access the show's stats directly on their platform.
- Go to http://podcasters.spotify.com
- Click the "Get Started" button or "Log in" in the upper corner. If you're already logged in, click the "Your dashboard" button.
- Once logged in click "Add or claim your podcast" in the sidebar"
- You should see this screen. Again click "Get started":
- Next, you'll need your show's ZenCast RSS feed URL. Here's our short guide on how to find it.
- Enter the URL into the box. If your podcast is already on Spotify, you'll see the blue text prompt, and click "Next".
- If your podcast is not already on Spotify, you can either follow the prompts on Spotify to submit it or follow our guide on publishing your podcast through your ZenCast dashboard.
- Spotify will offer to send a verification code to the email address associated with the RSS feed. Click "Send code":
- Enter the verification code from your email:
- Fill out basic details about your show including location, language, and your hosting provider (that's us!), and select the show's categories:
- Click "Next" again, and you're done:
Now your Spotify dashboard will show a list of podcasts that you've claimed on the platform, and you can click on each one to see show statistics directly through Spotify!
Alternatively, if you don't want to go to Spotify each time you need to check your podcast numbers, it's possible to email Spotify at podcaster-support@spotify.com and let them know that you would not like them to re-host your content. You can ask them to "pass through" the downloads directly to us at ZenCast, and this allows us to track and display your show's stats in your ZenCast dashboard.
Keep in mind that Spotify can toggle this feature on an account-by-account basis, and it's totally up to Spotify whether they're happy to make the switch or not (they may decline or ignore the request, unfortunately, being such a large platform with so many users).
If you need help with any of this, or if something isn't working correctly, use the chat bubble to get in touch and we'll be happy to take a look.