Podcast Intelligence Aggregator Extract comprehensive podcast data from iTunes/Apple Podcasts and RSS feeds for market research, business intelligence, advertising, and content analysis. ## Features - iTunes/Apple Podcasts Search - Search by keywords, genres, language, country - RSS Feed Parsing - Extract complete episode data, metadata, and show notes - Multiple Modes - Search, direct RSS URLs, or lookup by iTunes IDs - Comprehensive Data - Episodes, ratings, descriptions, enclosures, durations - Market Intelligence - Track competitors, analyze trends, discover opportunities - No Rate Limits - iTunes API is free and RSS feeds are open - Fast & Reliable - API-based extraction, no browser automation ## Use Cases ### Podcast Networks & Studios - Track competitor shows and performance - Discover acquisition targets - Market analysis and positioning - Content gap identification ### Advertisers & Agencies - Find shows for ad placement - Audience analysis and demographics - Track ad-supported podcasts - ROI tracking and attribution ### Market Researchers - Industry trend analysis - Category performance metrics - Growth tracking over time - Competitive intelligence ### Content Creators - Research successful formats - Discover content opportunities - Analyze episode frequency - Study title and description patterns ### Investors & Analysts - Due diligence on podcast companies - Market size estimation - Growth metrics and KPIs - Category analysis ### Business Intelligence - Monitor brand mentions - Competitor tracking - Market positioning - Strategic planning ## Input Parameters ### Mode Selection Search Mode (search) - Search iTunes/Apple Podcasts by keywords - Filter by country, language, genre - Get top results with comprehensive data Direct RSS URLs (direct_urls) - Parse specific podcast RSS feeds - Ideal for monitoring known podcasts - Extract all episodes and metadata Lookup by IDs (lookup_ids) - Fetch podcasts by iTunes ID - Perfect for tracking specific shows - Get updated data on demand ### Search Parameters | Parameter | Type | Description | Default | |-----------|------|-------------|---------| | searchQuery | string | Search term (e.g., "technology podcasts") | - | | country | string | Country code (US, GB, CA, AU, FR, DE, ES, IT, JP) | US | | language | string | Language code (en, es, fr, de, it, ja, pt) | - | | genreId | integer | iTunes genre ID for filtering | - | | maxResults | integer | Max podcasts to return (1-200) | 50 | Common Genre IDs: - Comedy: 1303 - News: 1311 - Business: 1321 - Technology: 1318 - True Crime: 1488 - Sports: 1545 - Health & Fitness: 1512 - Education: 1304 ### Episode Parameters | Parameter | Type | Description | Default | |-----------|------|-------------|---------| | includeEpisodes | boolean | Extract full episode data from RSS feeds | true | | maxEpisodesPerPodcast | integer | Limit episodes per podcast (empty = all) | - | ### Direct URLs / Lookup IDs | Parameter | Type | Description | |-----------|------|-------------| | feedUrls | array | List of podcast RSS feed URLs | | podcastIds | array | List of iTunes podcast IDs (integers) | ### Advanced | Parameter | Type | Description | Default | |-----------|------|-------------|---------| | debugMode | boolean | Enable detailed logging | false | ## Output Examples ### Podcast with Episodes (Full Data) json { "itunes_id": 1535809341, "title": "The Daily", "artist": "The New York Times", "description": "This is what the news should sound like...", "artwork_url": "https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts126/v4/...", "feed_url": "https://feeds.simplecast.com/54nAGcIl", "country": "USA", "primary_genre": "News", "genres": ["News", "Daily News"], "track_count": 1420, "release_date": "2024-11-12T05:00:00Z", "itunes_url": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily/id1535809341", "content_advisory": "clean", "rss_data": { "title": "The Daily", "description": "This is what the news should sound like...", "link": "https://www.nytimes.com/column/the-daily", "language": "en-us", "author": "The New York Times", "image_url": "https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/...", "categories": ["News", "Daily News", "Politics"], "copyright": "Copyright 2024 The New York Times Company", "last_updated": "Tue, 12 Nov 2024 05:00:00 GMT", "episode_count": 1420 }, "total_episodes": 1420, "episodes": [ { "title": "What Trump's Win Means for the Economy", "description": "Economists are trying to guess at how Trump policies will affect...", "link": "https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/12/podcasts/the-daily/trump-economy.html", "published": "Tue, 12 Nov 2024 05:00:00 GMT", "published_parsed": "2024-11-12T05:00:00", "guid": "12345-abcd-xyz", "duration": "28:45", "enclosure": { "url": "https://audio.simplecast.com/episodes/...", "type": "audio/mpeg", "length": "27654321" }, "season": 4, "episode_number": 142, "episode_type": "full", "explicit": "no" } ] } ### iTunes Data Only (Without Episodes) json { "itunes_id": 1291409993, "title": "SmartLess", "artist": "Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett", "description": "New episodes come out every Monday for free...", "artwork_url": "https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts116/v4/...", "feed_url": "https://rss.art19.com/smartless", "country": "USA", "primary_genre": "Comedy", "genres": ["Comedy", "Comedy Interviews"], "track_count": 245, "release_date": "2024-11-11T08:00:00Z", "itunes_url": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/smartless/id1291409993", "content_advisory": "explicit" } ## Data Fields Reference ### iTunes/Apple Podcasts Data | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | itunes_id | integer | Unique iTunes podcast ID | | title | string | Podcast title | | artist | string | Podcast author/creator | | description | string | Podcast description | | artwork_url | string | Cover art image URL (600x600) | | feed_url | string | RSS feed URL | | country | string | Country code | | primary_genre | string | Main genre/category | | genres | array | All genres/categories | | track_count | integer | Number of episodes on iTunes | | release_date | string | Latest episode date | | itunes_url | string | iTunes/Apple Podcasts page URL | | content_advisory | string | Rating (clean/explicit) | ### RSS Feed Data | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | title | string | Podcast title from RSS | | description | string | Podcast description | | link | string | Podcast website URL | | language | string | Language code | | author | string | Author/creator name | | image_url | string | Podcast image URL | | categories | array | Podcast categories | | copyright | string | Copyright notice | | last_updated | string | Last update timestamp | | episode_count | integer | Total episodes in feed | ### Episode Data | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | title | string | Episode title | | description | string | Episode description/show notes | | link | string | Episode webpage URL | | published | string | Publication date (raw) | | published_parsed | string | Publication date (ISO 8601) | | guid | string | Unique episode identifier | | duration | string | Episode duration (HH:MM:SS) | | enclosure | object | Audio file details (URL, type, size) | | season | integer | Season number (if available) | | episode_number | integer | Episode number (if available) | | episode_type | string | Type (full/trailer/bonus) | | explicit | string | Content rating (yes/no/clean) | ## Example Use Cases with Input ### 1. Search for Business Podcasts in Multiple Countries json { "mode": "search", "searchQuery": "business entrepreneurship", "genreId": 1321, "country": "US", "maxResults": 100, "includeEpisodes": true, "maxEpisodesPerPodcast": 10 } Use: Analyze top business podcasts, their episode frequency, and content strategies ### 2. Monitor Specific Podcasts by RSS URLs json { "mode": "direct_urls", "feedUrls": [ "https://feeds.simplecast.com/54nAGcIl", "https://rss.art19.com/smartless", "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/hubermanlab" ], "includeEpisodes": true } Use: Daily monitoring of key competitor podcasts for new episodes and content analysis ### 3. Lookup Podcasts by iTunes IDs json { "mode": "lookup_ids", "podcastIds": [1535809341, 1291409993, 1545953110], "country": "US", "includeEpisodes": true, "maxEpisodesPerPodcast": 20 } Use: Track specific podcasts for investment due diligence or partnership evaluation ### 4. Discover True Crime Podcasts for Ad Placement json { "mode": "search", "searchQuery": "true crime", "genreId": 1488, "country": "US", "maxResults": 50, "includeEpisodes": false } Use: Find true crime podcasts for advertising campaigns without downloading all episodes ### 5. Analyze Spanish Language Podcasts json { "mode": "search", "searchQuery": "noticias", "language": "es", "country": "ES", "maxResults": 100, "includeEpisodes": true, "maxEpisodesPerPodcast": 5 } Use: Market research on Spanish-language podcast landscape ## Pricing Pay-Per-Result (PPR) - Recommended pricing model - $0.03 per podcast - Each result includes: - Full iTunes/Apple Podcasts metadata - Complete RSS feed data - All episodes (or limited by maxEpisodesPerPodcast) - Analytics and metrics Examples: - 100 podcasts = $3.00 - 1,000 podcasts = $30.00 - 10,000 podcasts = $300.00 Cost-Effective: - iTunes API is free (no rate limits) - RSS feed parsing is lightweight - No browser automation overhead - Fast execution times ## Technical Details ### Data Sources iTunes Search API - Free, public API from Apple - No authentication required - Rate limits: 20 requests per minute (generous) - Returns podcast metadata and RSS feed URLs RSS Feeds - Open standard for podcast distribution - Direct parsing from podcast servers - No rate limits or authentication - Complete episode data and metadata ### Architecture - API-Based - No browser automation, fast and reliable - Asynchronous - Concurrent requests for optimal performance - RSS Parsing - Uses feedparser for robust feed parsing - Error Handling - Graceful degradation if RSS feeds fail ### Performance - Fast - Typical runtime: 30-60 seconds for 50 podcasts with episodes - Scalable - Can process hundreds of podcasts per run - Reliable - No browser dependencies or JavaScript rendering - Cost-Effective - Minimal compute resources required ## Limitations 1. iTunes API Limits - Max 200 podcasts per search query 2. RSS Feed Availability - Some podcasts may not provide RSS feeds 3. Episode Data - Depends on RSS feed completeness (some may have limited history) 4. Real-Time Data - iTunes search results may be cached (usually updated daily) 5. Country Restrictions - Some podcasts may not be available in all countries ## Tips for Best Results ### Search Optimization - Use specific, descriptive search terms - Filter by genre for targeted results - Try different country codes for regional variations - Combine keywords with genre IDs for precision ### Episode Management - Use maxEpisodesPerPodcast to limit data volume for large podcasts - Set includeEpisodes: false for quick metadata-only searches - Process direct RSS URLs for fastest execution ### Market Research - Search multiple related queries to cover market segments - Compare podcasts across different countries - Track changes over time with scheduled runs - Analyze episode frequency and consistency ### Troubleshooting - Enable debugMode for detailed logging - Check that RSS feed URLs are valid and accessible - Verify iTunes podcast IDs are correct - Some podcasts may have geo-restrictions ## Support For issues, questions, or feature requests, please contact the developer or submit an issue on the actor's GitHub repository. ## Legal & Compliance - Uses official iTunes Search API (public, free, legal) - RSS feeds are open standards intended for public consumption - Respects robots.txt and feed guidelines - For commercial use, ensure compliance with Apple's terms of service - Do not use scraped data in violation of podcast creators' rights ## Changelog ### Version 1.0 (2024-11-12) - Initial release - iTunes Search API integration - RSS feed parsing with feedparser - Multiple scraping modes (search, direct URLs, lookup IDs) - Comprehensive episode data extraction - Market intelligence and analytics features