Podcast Directory Scraper

Search Apple Podcasts by keyword and get full show details including host contacts, email addresses, website URLs, episode listings, and publishing frequency. Perfect for PR agencies, advertisers, and podcast guest outreach.

How it works

1. Search Apple Podcasts — finds podcasts matching your keywords via the iTunes Search API
2. Fetch RSS feeds — gets the full podcast RSS feed for each result
3. Extract rich data — parses show metadata, host contacts, episodes, and publishing patterns

No API keys needed. No browser required. Pure HTTP + XML parsing.

How to use it

1. Go to the Podcast Directory Scraper on Apify
2. Enter search terms like "true crime", "marketing", or "AI technology"
3. Click Start — results appear in seconds
4. Download as JSON, CSV, or export to Google Sheets

Output

Each podcast produces one record. Here's a real example:

{
    "podcastId": 1234567890,
    "title": "The Startup Show",
    "author": "Jane Smith",
    "description": "Weekly interviews with startup founders sharing their stories, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.",
    "categories": ["Business", "Entrepreneurship"],
    "language": "en",
    "episodeCount": 245,
    "lastEpisodeDate": "2026-02-01",
    "episodeFrequency": "weekly",
    "isActive": true,

    "applePodcastsUrl": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-startup-show/id1234567890",
    "feedUrl": "https://feeds.simplecast.com/abc123",
    "websiteUrl": "https://thestartupshow.com",
    "artworkUrl": "https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts/v4/...",

    "ownerName": "Jane Smith",
    "ownerEmail": "jane@thestartupshow.com",
    "copyright": "© 2026 The Startup Show",

    "episodes": [
        {
            "title": "How We Raised $10M in a Down Market",
            "description": "In this episode, we talk with...",
            "publishDate": "2026-02-01",
            "duration": "42:15",
            "audioUrl": "https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/abc123/episode-245.mp3",
            "episodeNumber": 245,
            "seasonNumber": 5
        }
    ],

    "searchTerm": "technology startups",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-02-07T12:00:00.000Z"
}

Output fields

Field	Type	Description
podcastId	Integer	Apple Podcasts / iTunes collection ID
title	String	Podcast title
author	String	Creator / host name
description	String	Full show description (from RSS feed)
categories	Array	Podcast categories and subcategories
language	String	Language code (e.g., "en")
episodeCount	Integer	Total number of episodes
lastEpisodeDate	String	Date of most recent episode (YYYY-MM-DD)
episodeFrequency	String	Publishing cadence: daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, irregular
isActive	Boolean	Has the podcast published in the last 90 days?
applePodcastsUrl	String	Apple Podcasts page URL
feedUrl	String	RSS feed URL
websiteUrl	String	Podcast website URL (from RSS)
artworkUrl	String	Cover art image URL
ownerName	String	Podcast owner name (from RSS)
ownerEmail	String	Podcast owner email (from RSS)
copyright	String	Copyright notice
episodes	Array	Recent episodes with title, date, duration, audio URL
searchTerm	String	The search term that found this podcast
scrapedAt	String	ISO timestamp

Input

Field	Type	Description	Default
searchTerms	Array of strings	Keywords to search (required)	—
maxResults	Integer (1-200)	Max podcasts per search term	50
country	String	iTunes Store country code	"us"
includeEpisodes	Boolean	Include episode listings	true
maxEpisodesPerShow	Integer	Max episodes per podcast (0 = all)	10
activeOnly	Boolean	Only include active podcasts (last 90 days)	false
proxyConfiguration	Object	Proxy for iTunes API requests	Apify Proxy

Example input

{
    "searchTerms": [
        "true crime",
        "comedy interviews"
    ],
    "maxResults": 100,
    "activeOnly": true,
    "maxEpisodesPerShow": 5
}

How to use the API

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient(token="YOUR_API_TOKEN")

run = client.actor("ryanclinton/podcast-directory-scraper").call(
    run_input={
        "searchTerms": ["business marketing"],
        "maxResults": 50,
        "activeOnly": True,
    }
)

for podcast in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(f"{podcast['title']} by {podcast['author']}")
    print(f"  Email: {podcast['ownerEmail']}")
    print(f"  Website: {podcast['websiteUrl']}")
    print(f"  Frequency: {podcast['episodeFrequency']}")
    print(f"  Episodes: {podcast['episodeCount']}")

JavaScript / Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_API_TOKEN' });

const run = await client.actor('ryanclinton/podcast-directory-scraper').call({
    searchTerms: ['business marketing'],
    maxResults: 50,
    activeOnly: true,
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach(podcast => {
    console.log(`${podcast.title} by ${podcast.author}`);
    console.log(`  Email: ${podcast.ownerEmail}`);
    console.log(`  Website: ${podcast.websiteUrl}`);
    console.log(`  ${podcast.episodeCount} episodes, ${podcast.episodeFrequency}`);
});

Use cases

Podcast PR and guest pitching

Search for podcasts in your niche, filter by active shows, and get host emails directly. Export to CSV and load into your outreach tool. Replace expensive services like Podchaser ($2,500/year).

Podcast advertising

Find shows by topic and audience size (episode count + frequency as proxies). Get contact info to pitch ad deals directly.

Market research

Analyze podcast categories, publishing frequency, and episode counts to understand the competitive landscape in any niche.

Content strategy

Find podcasts to pitch yourself as a guest, build backlinks, or cross-promote. The websiteUrl field lets you evaluate each show's web presence.

CRM building

Run multiple search terms, export all results as CSV, and build a podcast contact database for ongoing outreach campaigns.

Data sources

• Apple Podcasts / iTunes Search API — free, public, no authentication needed
• RSS feeds — fetched directly from each podcast's feed URL for rich metadata

No Spotify (requires OAuth, restricted API, doesn't provide RSS feed URLs).

Performance

Podcasts	Estimated time	Notes
10	~15 seconds	3-second delay between iTunes API calls
50	~30 seconds	RSS feeds fetched in parallel per search term
200	~1-2 minutes	Rate limit is ~20 iTunes API calls/minute

Cost is minimal — the actor makes HTTP requests only, no browser rendering.

Tips

• Use specific terms — "true crime mystery" will return more relevant results than just "crime"
• Set activeOnly: true — filters out dead podcasts that haven't published in 90+ days
• Set maxEpisodesPerShow: 0 — to get ALL episodes (useful for podcast analytics)
• Multiple search terms — duplicates are automatically removed (deduplicated by podcast ID)
• Country matters — set country to match your target market (e.g., "gb" for UK, "de" for Germany)
• Email availability — not all podcasts expose owner emails in their RSS feed. Apple deprecated this field in 2022, but many feeds still include it.

FAQ

Where do the contact emails come from?

From the podcast's RSS feed — specifically the <itunes:owner> and <itunes:email> XML tags. Apple deprecated these in 2022, but many podcast hosting platforms (Buzzsprout, Libsyn, Podbean, etc.) still include them. Availability varies by podcast.

Can I get podcast ratings and review counts?

Not from the iTunes Search API. Apple doesn't expose ratings in their public API. Episode count, publishing frequency, and show age serve as quality proxies.

Does this work for non-English podcasts?

Yes. Set the country parameter to the target market's iTunes Store (e.g., "de" for Germany, "jp" for Japan). Category names will be in the local language.

Why no Spotify data?

Spotify's podcast API requires OAuth authentication, has heavily restricted access (requires 250K+ MAU for extended scope), and critically doesn't return the RSS feed URL — which is our primary source for rich metadata and contact information.

How often can I run this?

As often as you need. The iTunes Search API has a rate limit of ~20 requests per minute. The actor respects this with built-in delays. For very large runs (1000+ podcasts), consider using proxy configuration.

Responsible use

This actor processes publicly available data from Apple Podcasts and RSS feeds. By using it, you agree to:

• Comply with all applicable laws, including GDPR, CAN-SPAM, and CCPA
• Respect Apple's Terms of Service for the iTunes Search API
• Use extracted data only for legitimate business purposes
• Not use this tool for unsolicited bulk email or spam

Changelog

v1.0 (2026-02-07)

• Initial release
• iTunes Search API integration
• RSS feed parsing (show metadata, episodes, host contacts)
• Episode frequency calculation (daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, irregular)
• Active podcast filtering (last 90 days)
• Deduplication across multiple search terms
• Configurable episode limits