Apple walks back statement after freaking out podcasters

Podcasters can now breathe easy.

Apple is walking back an emailed statement to podcasters on Wednesday that seemed to suggest shows would be rejected or removed from Apple Podcasts if the episode numbers were included in episode titles.

The Cupertino, CA-based company rushed to send a clarification email on Thursday making clear that shows were not going to be removed if they historically included episode numbers in their titles.

The confusion began earlier this week when Apple sent out an email with a list of best practices for podcast metadata — information connected to each show detailing titles, authors, and episode descriptions. The company recommended avoiding using placeholder text such as “[Title goes here]” and spamming keywords for blatant SEO purposes in podcast descriptions.  Read more...