Apple Podcast Directory & RSS Contacts Scraper

Export Apple podcast directory metadata and public RSS contacts with the feed field and URL behind each contact. Search by keyword, use an Apple ID, or supply a public RSS/Atom feed. A contact can be missing. This Actor does not guess emails.

On this page: Quick start · Use cases · Input · Output · Pricing · Limits · API and export · Troubleshooting · FAQ · Support

What it does

The Actor reads public Apple/iTunes catalog data and public RSS 2.0 or Atom feeds. It saves one row per unique podcast candidate. It can return title, author, feed URL, dates, categories, published owner contacts, and recent episode metadata. Each contact has a source field and feed URL.

It is a good fit for podcast research, a small directory export, and checking the source of an outreach list. It does not send messages. A public email is not proof of consent to contact its owner.

It does not collect Spotify data, reviews, charts, audience size, phone numbers, or social contacts. It does not crawl websites or download audio, video, images, transcripts, or enclosure files. It does not read private or paid feeds. This is an independent tool, not an Apple product.

Quick start

1. Open Input. The new form suggests Apple podcast ID 1253186678 (Syntax).
2. Leave the suggested ID for a small first run, or replace it with your source.
3. Start the Actor. Open Results to see the Dataset.
4. Read status, partial, and the contact source fields before using a row.

The same small API input is:

{"applePodcastIds":["1253186678"]}

The form suggestion is a prefill, not an API default. API input {} does not select a demo podcast. It returns invalid-input accounting without source requests. The US country, 50-result limits, and other runtime defaults still apply to omitted options.

Use cases

Job	Input	Fields to use
Find shows about a topic	searchQueries, country	applePodcastId, title, matchedQueries
Check a known show	applePodcastIds or applePodcastUrls	feedUrl, status, latestEpisodeDate
Check a public RSS contact	feedUrls	ownerEmail, contactEmail, contactSourceField, contactSourceUrl
Build a recent-show shortlist	activeOnly, activityWindowDays	active, activeAsOf, frequency
Review recent episodes	includeEpisodes, maxEpisodesPerPodcast	episodes, episodesReturned, truncationReasons

For a small topic search:

{"searchQueries":["syntax"],"country":"us","maxPodcastsPerQuery":2,"maxPodcasts":4,"includeEpisodes":true,"maxEpisodesPerPodcast":2}

For direct feeds, use {"feedUrls":["https://feed.syntax.fm/rss"]}. Source URLs can move over time.

Input reference

All fields are optional by name, but at least one source list must contain a valid entry. There are no nested option objects. Array item rules are shown below. An empty source list adds no work. Invalid entries get safe accounting; other valid entries can still run.

Field	Type	Runtime default	New-form prefill	Values and effect
searchQueries	string[]	[]	none	Up to 20 strings, 1–256 characters each. Spaces and Unicode are normalized; repeated queries are merged.
applePodcastIds	string[]	[]	["1253186678"]	Up to 100 decimal strings, 1–12 digits each. Leading zeros are normalized.
applePodcastUrls	string[]	[]	none	Up to 100 HTTPS podcasts.apple.com URLs with an id path. Pages are not fetched; the ID is read from the URL.
feedUrls	string[]	[]	none	Up to 100 public HTTP/HTTPS strings, at most 2,048 characters each. Ports 80/443 only. No passwords or token-like query parameters.
country	string	"us"	none	Form choices: us, gb, ca, au, de, fr, es, it, nl, br, in, jp. API accepts any two-letter code; source coverage varies.
maxPodcastsPerQuery	integer	50	none	Integer 1–100. Bound requested for each Apple search; not a page count.
maxPodcasts	integer	50	none	Integer 1–100. Global candidate limit after input identity deduplication; it is not a guaranteed number of rows.
includeEpisodes	boolean	false	none	Boolean. Include episode metadata inside each show row.
maxEpisodesPerPodcast	integer	5	none	Integer 1–10. Used only when includeEpisodes is true.
activityWindowDays	integer	90	none	Integer 1–365. Compare the newest valid feed date with this day window.
requireOwnerEmail	boolean	false	none	Boolean. Keep only rows with an explicit valid itunes owner email; editor/webmaster email does not pass.
activeOnly	boolean	false	none	Boolean. Keep only rows whose calculated active value is true. Unknown and stale rows are filtered.

Sources can be combined. Apple IDs and URLs for the same ID are merged. A direct feed with the same normalized URL as an Apple feed can merge with it. Titles are not identity keys. Different URLs that redirect to the same feed can remain separate rows. Filters run after reading the feed; they do not avoid source work or the start charge. If both filters are on, both must pass.

Empty strings, null source entries, wrong types, and out-of-range options add invalid-input accounting. The Actor does not silently turn an invalid source into the demo. Runtime normalization can trim valid text; the Input form applies its schema before a run starts.

Output reference

The default Dataset has one row per unique candidate, with episodes in an array when requested. A diagnostic row can exist without a useful feed result. A keyword search with no matches has no row. Open the Output links for Results and Run summary. The default key-value store also contains OUTPUT (links and status) and RUN_SUMMARY (counts, limits, retries, timing, charge and safe error codes).

Example result

This trimmed row is from the same Syntax Apple ID used in Quick start. Contact values are omitted from this example. The source feed published an owner contact when checked on October 9, 2026. Live values can change.

{
  "stableId": "apple:1253186678",
  "applePodcastId": "1253186678",
  "title": "Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats",
  "feedUrl": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/FSI1483080183",
  "feedFormat": "rss",
  "status": "PARTIAL",
  "contactStatus": "owner_present",
  "contactSourceField": "itunes:owner/itunes:email",
  "contactSourceUrl": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/FSI1483080183",
  "partial": true,
  "truncationReasons": ["FEED_ITEM_LIMIT"],
  "episodesReturned": 0,
  "episodes": []
}

Podcast fields

Unknown text, dates, and facts use JSON null. Arrays can be empty. A measured zero is a number; it is not an unknown value. Diagnostic rows may have fewer facts. Times are UTC ISO strings. Descriptions are plain bounded text, with markup removed. Source descriptions can still contain encoded text. Metadata links are returned as facts and are not fetched.

Field	Type	Meaning
stableId	string	Stable Apple ID or feed hash; never a raw credential-bearing URL.
status	string	Terminal product status.
statusReason	string or null	Safe machine-readable status code.
sourceKinds	array	Accepted source adapters used for the row.
matchedQueries	array	Normalized Apple queries that matched the row.
inputRefs	array	Opaque input references.
applePodcastId	string or null	Apple collection ID.
applePodcastUrl	string or null	Catalog URL returned by Apple; not fetched.
feedUrl	string or null	Public feed URL read for this row.
feedHost	string or null	Host-only feed diagnostic.
feedFormat	string or null	rss or atom.
title	string or null	Podcast title.
author	string or null	Podcast author.
publisher	string or null	Publisher fact when available.
description	string or null	Plain show description when available.
language	string or null	Feed language.
storefrontCountry	string or null	Requested Apple storefront.
categories	array	Show categories.
artworkUrl	string or null	Metadata URL only; never downloaded.
websiteUrl	string or null	Published metadata link only; never fetched.
episodeCountReported	integer or null	Catalog-reported count.
feedItemsObserved	integer or null	Mapped distinct feed items under bounds.
episodesReturned	integer	Nested episodes returned.
latestEpisodeDate	string or null	Newest valid feed date.
appleLatestReleaseDate	string or null	Apple catalog release date.
active	boolean or null	Calculated activity flag.
activeAsOf	string or null	UTC clock used for activity calculation.
activityWindowDays	integer or null	Activity rule window.
frequency	string or null	Calculated frequency bucket.
frequencyBasis	string or null	Rule used for the frequency calculation.
medianGapDays	number or null	Calculated median gap.
ownerName	string or null	Explicit feed owner name.
ownerEmail	string or null	Explicit itunes owner email only.
contactEmail	string or null	Explicit alternate feed contact.
contactRole	string or null	owner, editor or webmaster.
contactStatus	string or null	Explicit contact result.
contactSourceField	string or null	Exact feed field that supplied the contact.
contactSourceUrl	string or null	Feed URL supporting the contact.
descriptionSource	string or null	apple, rss, atom or unknown.
fieldProvenance	object	Field-level fact/calculation markers.
episodes	array	Recent episode details kept inside the row.
partial	boolean	Whether an explicit output bound reduced completeness.
truncationReasons	array	Bound codes.
warnings	array	Safe diagnostic codes.
observedAt	string	UTC observation time.

stableId uses an Apple ID when known, otherwise a SHA-256 hash of the normalized feed URL. Synthetic invalid/not-found rows use an input hash. inputRefs are opaque input references. Changing a feed URL can change a feed-only ID.

ownerEmail comes only from itunes:owner/itunes:email. contactEmail is an alternate from managingEditor or webMaster. Only the first valid contact by that order is returned, not a list of every email. An author name or email in a description is not a contact source. No social-link extraction is supported; websiteUrl is the feed's published site link. contactStatus is owner_present, alternate_present, absent, invalid, or unknown. Provenance is stored even when a row is partial. fieldProvenance maps fields to feed, Apple, calculated, source, or unknown markers.

frequency is daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, irregular, or null. It uses median gaps from up to ten recent valid dates; at least three dates are needed. It is an estimate, not the publisher's schedule. active is true/false/null and is checked at activeAsOf. Future dates are ignored with a warning.

Nested episode fields

Field	Type	Meaning
episodeStableId	string	Hash of the GUID when present, otherwise a deterministic title/date fallback.
title	string or null	At most 512 characters.
description	string or null	Plain text, at most 1,000 characters.
publishedAt, updatedAt	string or null	Valid source dates in UTC ISO format.
guid	string or null	Source identifier, at most 512 characters; not fetched.
permalink	string or null	Public HTTP/HTTPS link, not fetched.
episodeNumber, seasonNumber	integer or null	Explicit feed values.
episodeType	string or null	Explicit type, usually full, trailer, or bonus.
durationSeconds	integer or null	Duration parsed from the feed, in seconds.
enclosureType	string or null	Media type attribute only.
enclosureLength	integer or null	Length attribute in bytes when within supported bounds.

Enclosure URLs and media bytes are not returned. Episodes are sorted by valid date within the inspected feed window. Duplicate GUIDs are merged.

Status, empty and partial results

Status	What happened	Result charge
PODCAST_FOUND	Parsed feed with an explicit owner or alternate contact.	One result.
NO_OWNER_CONTACT	Feed read, but no valid owner email; an alternate contact can exist.	One result.
PARTIAL	Parsed feed data with an item, byte, text, episode or other bound.	One parsed feed result.
NO_FEED	Catalog candidate has no usable feed.	No result event.
NOT_FOUND	Specific Apple lookup has no record.	No result event.
INVALID_INPUT	Invalid input entry; no request for that entry.	No result event.
BLOCKED	Unsafe destination, authentication, access denial, or prohibited content.	No result event.
TRANSIENT_ERROR	Timeout, rate limit or temporary error after bounded retries.	No result event.
TECHNICAL_ERROR	Unsupported response, malformed XML or other technical failure.	No result event.

A valid empty keyword search is counted as UPSTREAM_EMPTY in RUN_SUMMARY. Filters can produce an empty Dataset with filteredOut > 0. These differ from technical failures. Do not treat a successful platform status alone as proof of complete data. Check rows, status reasons, unprocessed candidates and the terminal summary.

Pricing

The applied price is USD 0.0132 per Actor start + USD 0.001 per parsed podcast result (USD 1 per 1,000 result events). Platform usage is included; it is not billed separately to buyers. Episodes have no separate event.

The standard apify-actor-start event is automatic. At the default 512 MB, it is charged once. Up to 1 GB it is charged once; larger memory allocations charge one start event per GB, rounded up. The Actor does not manually charge a second start.

Scenario at 512 MB	Start events	Result events	Total charge
One parsed show	1	1	USD 0.0142
Ten parsed shows	1	10	USD 0.0232
100 parsed shows in one run	1	100	USD 0.1132
1,000 parsed shows in ten 100-show runs	10	1,000	USD 1.132
Valid zero-result search	1	0	USD 0.0132
All shows filtered out	1	0	USD 0.0132
Diagnostic-only failure after start	1	0	USD 0.0132

Only parsed-feed rows with PODCAST_FOUND, NO_OWNER_CONTACT, or PARTIAL trigger podcast-result. Technical, blocked, missing-feed, not-found and invalid rows are not charged as results. A partial or failed run can still charge for parsed results already saved and for its start. No-contact results are useful parsed rows and are charged. Repeated runs are new snapshots and are charged again; there is no unchanged-monitor discount or monitor mode.

Set a platform maximum cost per run that includes the start charge. A cap below the start price may prevent work. maxPodcasts bounds candidates, not total charge: result estimates alone exclude the start. A cost cap can stop a run early, so check RUN_SUMMARY.charge.stoppedAtLimit and unprocessed counts. Source changes can alter how many parsed results a search returns.

Limits

At most 20 queries, 100 IDs, 100 Apple URLs, 100 feed URLs, 100 results per query, and 100 unique candidates per run. There is no page cursor or whole-directory export. Reaching a catalog cap is recorded in the summary. Source search order can change.

The Actor inspects up to 50 feed items and may read the next item to detect truncation. Thus feedItemsObserved may show 51. Long feeds return useful PARTIAL metadata rather than a full archive. At most ten episodes are returned per show. Titles use up to 512 characters and show descriptions up to 2,000.

Feed limits include 2 MiB compressed, 8 MiB decompressed, 64 KiB field text, 10,000 XML nodes, depth 128 and three redirects. Every destination and redirect is checked against the public-address policy. DTD/XXE is rejected. Requests use at most two feed attempts or three Apple attempts, with fixed time bounds. Apple calls are serialized at 15 per minute; feed concurrency is four globally and two per initial host. Slow sources and source changes can cause partial or failed results.

Default run resources are 512 MB and 900 seconds. Internal source work stops within 840 seconds and sooner before a smaller platform timeout. A larger platform timeout does not extend that deadline. Cancellation saves accounting when possible. Invalid resource options produce a separate RESOURCE_ERROR summary.

API and export

Start this Actor with the Apify API, passing the same JSON as in Quick start. Read the run's default Dataset or the Results output link. Export JSON, CSV or Excel from Dataset; nested episodes and provenance are best kept as JSON. Use stableId to join show rows and observedAt to label each snapshot.

You can schedule the same input in Apify Console and read the new Dataset after each run. Each run is a fresh snapshot: this Actor has no only-new mode, persistent diff state, CRM action or outreach integration. Scheduling and webhooks are platform features; they are not created by this Actor.

Troubleshooting

• No owner email: check contactStatus and the exact source field. The publisher may not include an owner email. An editor email does not pass requireOwnerEmail.
• Empty Results: check UPSTREAM_EMPTY, filteredOut, invalid entries and technical statuses in RUN_SUMMARY. Try a known Apple ID to separate search scope from a feed problem.
• PARTIAL: read truncationReasons. A long feed can provide valid show and contact metadata without a full archive.
• BLOCKED: use a public feed URL without credentials. The Actor cannot read private addresses, authenticated feeds or unsafe redirects.
• Temporary failure: source rate limits and availability can change. Retry a small input later. Do not raise limits to work around a block.
• Missing dates or frequency: fewer than three distinct valid dates make frequency unknown. Activity is unknown when no valid date exists.

FAQ

Do I need an Apple or Spotify account?

No source account or API key is needed. Spotify is not supported. You need an Apify account to start a run.

Does every podcast have an email?

No. Only explicit public feed contact fields are read. The Actor does not infer emails, verify mailboxes, search websites, or promise current contacts.

Can I download audio or every episode?

No. The Actor reads bounded metadata only. Audio URLs are not returned. It does not provide a complete episode archive.

Will two runs return the same data?

Live catalogs and feeds can change. IDs and deduplication rules stay stable for the same sources; dates, order, contacts and activity can change. Each run has its own observation time.

Can I use a contact for outreach?

A public contact does not establish consent. Check the source, purpose and applicable rules before contacting anyone. The Actor does not send emails or fill forms.

Related Actors

RSS & Atom Feed Reader / Monitor reads feed items and tracks changes when your next step is item monitoring rather than podcast contact research.

Support

Open an issue in this Actor's Apify Store Issues tab. Include the run ID, input mode, country, and safe RUN_SUMMARY code. Never post tokens, cookies, raw feed bodies, private URLs, or full contact values.