Pretty strange that such an organization as Apple is still processing submissions to iTunes Radio by e-mail, isn't? Well, they still do, but they changed their guidelines to something a bit more structured than raw e-mail body text : a spreadsheet.
Here is the automated reply you get when submitting a station to iTunes Radio (to get your station listed in the Radio section of iTunes), as of February 6th, 2013. They now ask to enclose the station details into an Excel spreadsheet document, for which they provide a download link below. They also ask to attach a 1400x1400 pixels cover art (see specs below).
Follow these guidelines carefully, then send your submission/update request to itunesradio@apple.com.
Hello, Thank you for your submission. Please review our updated guidelines and requirements to complete your station request. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES * Streams must broadcast at a bitrate of 128k or higher, except for spoken word such as News/Talk, Sports/Radio and non-music Comedy where AAC/AAC+ streams 64k and higher are acceptable. * Stations can list only one bitrate and one genre. * Stations using names other than their own to be listed higher in the directory or twice in the directory will be rejected. THIS IS AN AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED RESPONSE. If you have already sent new submissions or updates, they will be processed within approximately 5 business days. TO ADD, EDIT, OR TROUBLESHOOT YOUR LISTING 1) All emails must have one of these three subject lines as follows: * Station Submission: (station name) (ex: Station Submission: Hits Radio) * Station Update: (station name, exactly as it appears in iTunes) * Other Inquiry: briefly state issue here 2) If you have updates for several stations, please forward all requests at once and into one email. Please attach the information in a document (Excel, Pages) if there are more than three updates. 3) We will only accept requests from the contact that we have on file for the station or a station owner. Listeners, friends, station personnel not listed with us cannot make requests on behalf of a station. 4) **UPDATED SUBMISSION FORMAT** Submission requests must contain all of the following information and be submitted directly into the excel spreadsheet we have provided for you, available for download here: http://www.itunes.com/radiosubmission Station Name (this must be the name as it is used in your station’s official branding; you may not change your name to start with 'A' to be listed higher unless it is a legitimate part of your station's name) *Station genre City, State Country of Origin (select your 2-letter country code) Short station description (to be shown in tuner) *Explicit material? (Yes or No) *Frequency (select 23) Website for station (include full URL, beginning with http://www...) *Approved (select Yes) Contact name, email, phone number and iTunes Store login account/email address *Status (select Active) *Strength (select 45) Audio Stream IP/URL (sorry, only one url per station) *Language of Broadcast *These fields have been pre-populated in the spreadsheet for your convenience. When inserting information into the Station Genre, Country of Origin, Explicit, Frequency, Approved, Status Strength and Language fields, please click the drop-down arrow to view your list of allowable entries. Inserting information that has not been made available to you in these fields will result in a rejected submission. Once you have completed your spreadsheet with all of the above required information, save your work and drop the excel file into an email with the remaining necessary station information attached directly in the body of your email: Stream Type (MP3, AAC or AAC+) Cover Art: attach a 1400 x 1400 JPG or PNG image using RGB colorspace to your submission form Please note: - Stations will not be reviewed if they have not been submitted via an excel spreadsheet or have elements of the spreadsheet missing. All fields are mandatory. - Any spreadsheet that has been modified from the original template provided will not be reviewed or listed. - Our updated submission process relies on precise metadata. This means that any typos will result in an automatic rejection and the station owner will be notified and asked to review his or her spreadsheet for errors. Please review your station information for proper use of grammar and capitalization. - We are currently undergoing a metadata audit to ensure the proper use of things like spelling, capitalization, grammar, etc. Here are a few examples of station descriptions that will result in an automatic rejection: - The BEST Hits On The Air E V E R !! - Beat Central --> Broadcasting Your Favorite Tunes ! - STREAMING HARDCORE HOUSE **24/7** - your official station playing NON stop jams Here is how the above stations should read in order to be considered for approval: - The best hits on the air ever!! - Beat Central, broadcasting your favorite tunes! - Streaming hardcore house 24/7 - Your official station playing non stop jams If you are a Live365 station, make your iTunes submission request by emailing iTunes@live365.com. If you are a Radionomy station, make your iTunes submission by emailing iTunes@radionomy.com. 5) Station update requests must contain the following information: Station name (this MUST be the name as it exists in iTunes) Contact person name, email and phone number The specific update you'd like us to make ONLY (do not resubmit information that is remaining unchanged) If you have updates for more than three stations, please submit all modifications into an excel spreadsheet. Please note that if you are sending station updates via an excel spreadsheet you may not include station submissions in the same file, and vice versa. Please keep station submissions and updates in separate excel files. 6) Further notes: Please ensure that your station stream works properly in iTunes: * Open iTunes * Select 'Open Stream' from the 'File' menu * Enter your audio stream URL Remember: only .m3u, .mp3 and .pls formats are compatible with iTunes. IP addresses (with these format streams) are also acceptable. .asx, .wma, .qtl and other various formats are NOT compatible and should not be submitted for consideration. iTunes does not guarantee specific times of updates, station addition or station maintenance. Additions and changes may only be made to the directory included with iTunes 11. No changes can be made to older versions of iTunes. If you do not see your station, first ensure you are using the latest available version of iTunes, available here: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ Station names, descriptions, and URLs may be edited to conform to our editorial and technical standards. We may remove your station at any time, without notice. We may not re-add a station depending on the issues surrounding its takedown. In most circumstances, we will attempt to contact you when we remove a station, using the contact info you provided to us. Please allow up to 5 business days for your station to be added before inquiring about its status. Thank you for your interest in iTunes Radio. Regards, iTunes Radio Team itunesradio@apple.com
