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How to leave a podcast review on iTunes and on Google Play
Every Podcaster — like America’s Digital Goddess! — loves a user review. Maybe a mystery podcast sent chills up your spine, maybe a history podcast taught you something new, or maybe you just want to say “Hey, I appreciate you!” to the producers behind the show.
But it’s not just podcasters that use reviews. Other listeners peruse the ratings and reviews before deciding whether to download and subscribe. You probably check them yourself before adding to your library of podcasts.
User reviews can also alert you to technical and other production issues, tricky things like age appropriateness, and other inside info you want before putting in your earbuds. Leaving a review is a quick way to give back to the community and let people know whether to slap that subscribe button or steer clear.
Figuring out how to leave a review for your favorite podcast can be a little tricky, but take these steps, and you’ll have your voice heard.
Leaving a podcast review on iTunes
While podcasts may or may not be musical in nature, Apple still channels it through the iTunes store. To leave our review, we need to find the podcast’s page in iTunes. There are several different ways to get this done. First, you’ll want to open iTunes.
For podcasts you subscribe to
- From your Library page, choose Podcasts from the drop-down menu on the left. This will take you to your podcasts page.
- Select the podcast you’d like to review from the list.
- Click the icon with three dots.
- Choose Show in iTunes Store from the drop-down menu.
- From the Store page, select the Ratings and Reviews link.
If you don’t subscribe or can’t find it
Maybe you don’t subscribe to that podcast or can’t find it in your list. It’s okay! Lots of us have piles of podcasts waiting to be heard and the titles can run together.
If it’s a popular podcast, it may be on the front page of the iTunes store. To look:
- Go to the Library page in iTunes.
- Choose Store to be taken to the iTunes store
- From the drop-down menu on the left, select Podcasts
This will take you to the front page of the Podcasts section, which features popular and highly-rated podcasts of all kinds.
Using the search window
If you can’t find it in your Library or on the front page of iTunes, it’s time to do a little digging. Look for the white search window in the upper right corner of iTunes.
- Type the name of the podcast in the search window
- Make sure to select Store so iTunes looks in the right place.
- Click on the name of the podcast in the podcast field at the bottom.
Leaving your rating and review
Once you’re on the Podcast’s Ratings and Reviews page, you have two options. The five star “Click to Rate” section is a quick way of saying “This is great” or “Maybe give this one a pass,” but it also doesn’t provide a lot of depth. If a podcast is pretty good but sounds like it was recorded underwater, it’s possible they don’t know. Likewise, some people might not mind a little echo if they want to find out obscure historical details. That’s where reviews come in.
- Click “Write a review.”
- You’ll need to sign in with your Apple ID and password
You’ll be presented with the Write a Review screen. You can give yourself a nickname, so nobody knows about your secret love of Lady Gaga. You can also give your review a title, a little summary before you hold forth or to cover the big issues. There’s the chance to give the star score. And then you can enter the text of the review itself. Talk about what you like or dislike and think about what you’d want to know before subscribing, but no spoilers! Hit submit and you’re all set.
Don’t worry if your hot take doesn’t appear right away. Sometimes, it can take a couple days or even a few weeks to be reviewed. This helps cut down on spammy or unhelpful reviews.
What about Android?
While podcasting was originally named for Apple’s iPod, even Android devices can listen to their favorite news and spooky stories on phones and tablets. However, Google Play’s Music app does not have support for leaving a review the way iTunes does. There are some third-party apps and sites to visit that provide a little more details on podcasts, but you won’t be able to do it even on Google’s Podcasts app.
Tags: Android, Apple, apps, devices, Facebook, Google, reviews
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