Mato Distribution connects your podcast to major listening platforms through a single RSS feed. You configure it once in the Publishing tab of your podcast settings. From there, you can publish episodes to the feed, submit to directories, track submission status, and control whether new episodes are sent to Mato automatically.
Before you start
You can sync the show before the first episode is ready. Before you submit the feed to directories, confirm these details are final:
- Cover art uploaded and at least 1400x1400 pixels.
- Show title and description filled in.
- Owner name and email set (required by Apple Podcasts and other directories).
- At least one episode published to Mato.
Changing show metadata after submitting to directories can delay approvals or trigger re-review.
Open the Publishing tab
Go to your podcast settings page:
Podcasts > [your podcast] > Settings > Publishing
The Mato Distribution card is at the top of the Publishing tab.
Sync your show
- Fill in the Owner Name and Owner Email fields. These populate the
<itunes:owner>tag in your RSS feed, which Apple Podcasts and other directories require. - Set a Website URL if you want the RSS feed to point to your own site. If you leave this blank, it defaults to your Mato public show page.
- Click Sync Now.
Mato creates your show record, prepares the RSS feed, and uploads your show artwork. The status badge next to the card title changes from "Pending" to "Syncing" and then to "Synced" once the process finishes. This typically takes under a minute.
After the sync completes, your RSS Feed URL appears in a read-only field. Copy it. You will need it for directory submissions.
The Directory Distribution list stays locked until at least one episode has been published to Mato. That keeps directories from seeing an empty feed.
To update show details later (new cover art, changed description), click Re-sync to push the latest data.
Choose a publish mode
Below the feed URL, you will find the Publish Mode selector with two options:
- Manual (default): New generated episodes wait for review. After an episode is public, use the Publish to Mato button on the episode detail page if it has not been sent to the Mato feed yet.
- Automatic: Mato queues feed publishing after audio generation finishes for a synced show.
Pick manual if you want to review scripts and audio before anything appears in listener apps. Switch to automatic once your workflow is stable.
Turn on auto-publish to website
The Auto-Publish to Website toggle sits just above the publish mode selector. When enabled, episodes automatically become visible on your public Mato show page after audio generation completes.
This toggle controls website visibility only. It does not affect whether episodes are pushed to the Mato RSS feed (that is governed by the publish mode selector).
Submit to directories
After syncing, scroll down to the Directory Distribution card. This section is locked until you have published at least one episode to Mato. Once an episode is live in the feed, the lock lifts and you see the full list of supported directories.
Click Distribute to All when you are ready to initialize the directory checklist. Mato creates the tracking rows and submission links, then you can work through the manual directories and monitor the auto-indexed ones.
Directories are split into two groups:
Submit manually
These platforms require you to create an account on their portal and paste your RSS feed URL. Mato shows step-by-step instructions and estimated approval times for each one.
- Apple Podcasts (1 to 5 business days): Sign in at Podcasts Connect, click "+", paste your feed URL.
- Spotify (a few hours to 2 days): Sign in at Spotify for Podcasters, select "I have a podcast", paste your feed URL.
- YouTube Music (1 to 3 business days): Go to YouTube Studio, navigate to Settings, Channel, Advanced, Podcasting, and link your feed.
- Amazon Music (1 to 3 business days): Sign in at Amazon Podcasters, paste your feed URL, verify your email.
- iHeart Radio (1 to 2 weeks): Fill out the submission form on their site with your podcast details and feed URL.
- Pandora (1 to 2 weeks): Submit through the AMP (Artist Marketing Platform). Your show may also appear on SiriusXM.
- Deezer (2 to 5 business days): Sign in at Deezer Podcasters, click "Submit a podcast", paste your feed URL.
To submit, expand the directory row by clicking it. Copy your RSS feed URL from the field shown, open the submission portal link, and follow the steps listed. After submitting, click I've Submitted This and update the status to "Submitted" or "Pending Review" so you can track progress.
Indexed automatically
These directories pick up new podcasts from RSS feeds without any manual submission. Mato checks their APIs periodically and updates the status when your show appears.
- Podcast Index
- Listen Notes
- Podchaser
- Player FM
- Podbean
- Pocket Casts
- Samsung Podcasts
- TuneIn
- Castbox
- Gaana
Auto-indexed directories typically list your show within a few days to two weeks after your first episode is published.
Track submission status
Each directory row shows a status badge: Not Submitted, Submitted, Pending Review, Listed, or Rejected.
The counter in the card header (for example, "5/17") shows how many directories have confirmed your listing.
Click Check Statuses to ask Mato to refresh every badge. Mato performs the platform-specific checks server-side, including API checks where available and URL checks for directories that do not expose a public status API.
For manual directories, you can update the status yourself. Expand the row, click I've Submitted This (or Edit Status if already submitted), and set the current state. You can also add the directory-assigned ID and listing URL for your records.
How auto-publish works with episode lifecycle
Episodes in Mato follow a three-state lifecycle: draft, published, and distributed.
When you click Publish on an episode (or when auto-publish to website does it for you after audio generation), the episode moves from draft to published. For synced shows, Mato can then run the distribution pipeline: it uploads audio to the CDN, creates or updates the episode in the RSS feed, and transitions the episode to distributed status.
If publish mode is set to Automatic, Mato starts that distribution work after generation finishes. If publish mode is Manual, use Publish to Mato from the episode detail page for any public episode that still has not been sent to the Mato feed.
Unpublishing an episode reverses the process. The episode moves back to draft status, and Mato removes it from the RSS feed.
What to do if a directory rejects your show
Check the common causes:
- Missing or undersized cover art.
- Description too short or containing placeholder text.
- RSS feed with zero episodes.
- Owner email that does not match the submission account.
Fix the issue, re-sync the show, and resubmit. Most directories allow resubmission after a rejection.