Patron RSS (podcast) feeds not updating

Find Creators Podcast
#1

I know Patreon is aware of this issue but I am wondering how widespread it is.

I have patrons whose podcast feeds stopped updating about two weeks ago. Not all patrons, some feeds are working just fine, and it does not seem to be limited to one app or platform. I have been unable to recreate the error on any of my devices.

The fixes per Patreon are to unsubscribe and resubscribe or to contact Patreon support for more help.

The number of patrons I am hearing from has been growing as I have been trying to reach out across my channels to address the issue.

Is anyone else dealing with this? How many patrons have been impacted?

Has anyone heard what is causing the issue and if there is a fix?

I have already lost a few patrons, who noted it in the exit survey, but this is more about offering good customer/membership service to my patrons.

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#2

FWIW I’ve had the same issue. It’s already a bit confusing for some Patrons to even subscribe to their Patron RSS feed in the first place, so asking them to do it again because it’s stopped working is a bit frustrating. I’d love to know if Patreon has any ideas for why this is happening, and plans to chase this problem a bit more rigorously!

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#3

Some of our patrons are complaining about this too. We also have lost some patrons who noted in their exit surveys that they stopped getting our content through the RSS feed and so they dropped their pledge. It’s a little frustrating to hear that. :frowning:

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#4

I have been trying to update patrons via Lens, Posts and Messages…there are still some patrons who don’t check any of those who slip through the contact attempts.

Here’s what I just send out (round four) my first messages contained is your RSS feed not working, which may have not been as effective for patrons who have not idea what RSS.

Are you Patreon Bonus Episodes NOT Coming Through??

Sorry for the extra messages, but I am trying to make sure all patrons are aware of this issue and the fixes, no need to respond to this. Thanks so much for the support!!!

I have heard from a few patrons who are having issues with their patron podcast episodes/RSS feed not updating in their podcast app. It seems to be an issue with Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict and a few other apps.

I am sorry about this and Patreon is aware of the issue.

Here are some fixes that have worked and you can try if it is impacting you.

  1. Update your podcast app.

  2. If that did not work unsubscribe/delete the podcast and then resubscribe. (you can always look for help over at www.sleepwithmepodcast.com/patreonfaq on how to find your Podcast/RSS feed.

  3. If neither of those work just open a support ticket with patreon and the team there will walk you through a solution https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=70716

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#5

Do we know what’s causing this problem? I’d love to know whether Patreon is trying to figure out why this is happening?

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#6

Hey folks, just wanted to say that we’ve received some reports from patrons who use the RSS feature that new episodes are no longer appearing in their podcast app. While we haven’t changed anything on our end, we know that apps change their feed ingesting regularly and we want to share how we have been able to resolve it so far for patrons that have contacted us.

If your patrons are having this issue, they may be able to resolve it by un-subscribing and re-subscribing with the same link that appears in the Overview section of the creator page. Another thing you can suggest is that your patrons try a different podcast app or RSS feed reader to subscribe, which should help confirm that the issue is not with the feed itself. You can also share this help article with patrons that has general RSS instructions and troubleshooting advice.

We’re monitoring the issue closely and we’ll update you if there is any news.

#7

@mindy yeah I’ve read this statement from Patreon elsewhere. Like I said upthread, asking folks to unsubscribe and resubscribe is a pretty big ask given how complicated it is to subscribe to the custom RSS feed on some apps. I’m hoping Patreon is working to figure out the root cause.

#8

Hi @rose.eveleth, glad you got our email! We did spend a large amount of time investigating what could have caused this and concluded that we feel strongly it wasn’t anything Patreon did that caused this issue. That unfortunately makes it unlikely that we will be able to figure out the root cause of this or be able to do anything further to fix this issue. I understand this is a frustrating situation and a big ask for your patrons to copy the RSS link again. We will continue to investigate it and reach out if we discover anything new.

#9

This is a frustrating situation as I know that at least some of the podcast app makers are also insisting that the problem is not with their apps. Yet slowly more and more patrons are reporting to us that their Patreon RSS feeds have stopped working.

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#10

The RSS/Podcast feed is the critical feature for podcasters to have on a membership platform. As critical as images or video or text to other artists.

As I have transitioned to using membership verbiage the podcast feed has been the keystone of that pitch. So this puts me in an uncomfortable situation…I have entered into an agreement with my patrons to deliver their audio rewards as a part of their membership, when the tech fails it is on me to advocate for and provide solutions.

I feel like there has to be some way of getting a clearer idea of what is going wrong with the feeds or with the intake of the feeds with whatever apps are having an issue with them. This would not only offer piece of mind, to know if this is a growing or limited problem, but also possible proactive solutions for the future.

Are there any other steps or outside contacts that can be taken to have one more look at this issue?

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#11

Hi folks, apologies for the delay in getting back to you - I wanted to wait until I had good news to share which is that today we released a mobile app update that fixes bugs impacting the audio playback experience. Here’s a list of the bugs we fixed for the audio player on Android and iOS (cross posting from here):

  • Patrons can easily fast-forward or rewind by dragging the slider.
  • When your phone goes to sleep, the Patreon audio player will no longer reset to the beginning. It will save your progress.
  • The play/pause icons and timestamps will now be accurate.
  • When applicable, patrons can download the audio from the Patreon app and listen to it on any audio player.
  • Artwork will display when audio is playing.
  • We fixed a bug that causes crashing when audio is playing.

Thank you for your patience while we solved these issues. We’re very excited to improve the experience for you and your patrons when sharing audio files on the Patreon mobile app.

#12

Thanks, Mindy, but I’m not sure that this is what the issue was. People were reporting that the Patreon RSS feeds were not working in other podcast apps. We didn’t have anyone complaining about audio issues with the Patreon app.

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