If a Podcaster registers their Podcast with iTunes, they are furnished with an iTunes Music Store page. This page displays the Podcast logo, description, primary category, the name or contact information of the Artist (Producer or Host), a link to the main website of the Podcast, and a list of recent episodes. A subscribe button on the page allows a visitor to subscribe to the Podcast directly through the iTunes Music Store. Sites that link to iTunes using the Music Store URL (e.g. http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=73330421) automate this type of subscription.

You don’t have to go to the iTunes Music Store to subscribe to a Podcast through iTunes. You can subscribe to any Podcast by manually keying the RSS feed for the desired Podcast using the Subscribe to Podcast… option in the Advanced menu. If your RSS file is free of iTunes-specific errors, iTunes will have no problems staying current and sending updates to your subscribers. This is independent of your Music Store page. Sites that link to iTunes using the itpc:// URL (e.g. itpc://feeds.feedburner.com/electricsky) automate this type of subscription.

If the Music Store page gets confused, it will cease to update. This is bad. Anyone subscribed to your Podcast through the Music Store will no longer receive updates and will likely not be aware that new episodes have been published. iTunes claims that the Music Store pages are updated every 24-48 hours. Not so. It has been a week and my Music Store page is still stuck on last Wednesday (that happens to be four episodes for one of my Podcasts, Just One More Book). Support has replied to my emails and has assured me that they are working to solve this problem though they have yet to fix it.