Apple's Show Cover page asks for square art at 3000 x 3000 pixels, exported as PNG or JPG with no transparency, and says shows submitted by RSS feed can use anything from 1400 x 1400 up to 3000 x 3000, with the largest size preferred. Apple's separate artwork troubleshooting page adds the rule people miss: the file has to use the RGB color space.
Make one master file at Apple's full size in RGB and export everything else from it. The rest of this page lists what Spotify and YouTube want, where the official pages have moved or contradict each other, and why art gets rejected or silently fails to update. Specs were read from each platform on 1 October 2026. Branding strategy, meaning what the art should say about your show, is outside the scope of this page.
Every podcast image spec in one table
| Placement | Size and ratio | Format | Color, transparency, file limit | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple show cover | 3000 x 3000, square; RSS accepts 1400 x 1400 to 3000 x 3000 | PNG or JPG | No transparency or alpha channel; RGB only; no file size stated | Apple Show Cover |
| Apple episode art (optional) | 3000 x 3000, square; RSS accepts 1400 x 1400 to 3000 x 3000 | PNG or JPG | No transparency or alpha channel | Apple Episode Art |
| Apple full page show art (optional) | 2048 x 2732, portrait | Layered PSD | No transparency or alpha channel | Apple full page art |
| Apple host and guest photos | 1080 x 1440, a 3:4 ratio, never upscaled | JPG and PNG | Guests need a signed photo release; no text, logos or borders | Apple photo policies |
| Spotify feed artwork | Fully square (1:1), highest resolution available | TIFF, PNG or JPEG, in that order of preference | No file size stated in the specification | Spotify delivery spec |
| Spotify import from another host | No more than 3000 x 3000 for show and episode art | JPG, PNG or GIF | Advice for imports from unsupported hosts | Spotify import tips |
| Spotify video thumbnail | Horizontal 16:9, 1920 x 1080 suggested | Not specified | Shown only for video episodes | Spotify thumbnails |
| YouTube podcast playlist thumbnail | Square, 1280 x 1280 recommended | Image upload in YouTube Studio | Required before you can edit podcast details | YouTube podcast setup |
| YouTube episode thumbnail | 16:9, 3840 x 2160 recommended, at least 640 wide | JPG or PNG | Up to 50MB on desktop; on mobile 2MB for video thumbnails and 10MB for podcasts | YouTube thumbnails |
Where the official pages have moved or disagree
Several rules that older tutorials quote no longer sit where those tutorials say. Apple replaced its single artwork requirements article with an artwork guide and a set of template pages, and the Show Cover template page lists size, file type and transparency but says nothing about color space or dots per inch. The RGB rule now lives only in the troubleshooting article, under the error “Colorspace not supported”, so a CMYK file exported from print software still fails even though the main spec page never mentions it. Resolution figures in dots per inch, which still circulate in tutorials, do not appear on Apple's current Show Cover page; pixel dimensions are what Apple checks.
Spotify has moved its numbers too. Its cover art upload article explains where to click but gives no pixel dimensions, and Spotify's podcast delivery specification asks only for square art at the highest resolution available. The one Spotify page with a hard pixel ceiling is its import advice for unsupported hosts, which caps art at 3000 x 3000. A master at Apple's preferred maximum therefore satisfies Spotify's import ceiling too and gives YouTube a large file to scale down from.
Design for the smallest place the art appears
Your cover is judged at thumbnail size on a phone, usually right beside other shows. Apple's artwork advice tells creators to cut competing text, since the app already shows your show name and description around the image, and its Show Cover page asks for a prominent, legible title with strong contrast.
- Shrink the design to the size of a fingernail on your phone screen; if you cannot read the title, simplify it.
- Keep important elements inside the safe area of Apple's downloadable template so play buttons and labels never cover them.
- Avoid pure black or pure white backgrounds, which Apple says can blend into the app background.
- Leave out Apple logos, Apple product names and Apple hardware, which Apple lists as grounds for rejection.
- Use only images you have the rights to, licensed for commercial use and free of watermarks; if you generate images with AI tools, read up on copyright in AI-generated content first.
Episode art and video thumbnails behave differently
Episode art is optional everywhere, and each platform falls back in its own way. Apple shows your show cover when an episode has no art of its own, and its Episode Art page suggests leaving the podcast logo and any text out of episode images, because titles are printed beneath them. Spotify uses the show art for every episode by default; its cover art article warns that once you add custom art to an episode you cannot remove it, only replace it with the main artwork again, and that not every listening app displays episode art at all.
Video changes the shape. Spotify's thumbnail article says a 16:9 thumbnail appears only on video episodes, with a frame chosen automatically unless you upload one. On YouTube the square image belongs to the podcast playlist, while every episode is a video that needs its own horizontal thumbnail. The guide to putting a podcast on YouTube explains how RSS-delivered episodes use your show art as a still image instead.
Why artwork gets rejected or refuses to update
| Symptom | What is going on | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| “Alpha Channel not supported” in Apple Podcasts Connect | The export kept a transparency layer | Flatten onto a solid background and export again with alpha switched off |
| “Colorspace not supported” | The file is CMYK or another non-RGB profile | Convert to RGB and re-export as PNG |
| Dimension error | The image is not square or falls outside the accepted range | Resize the master rather than stretching a small file |
| New art never appears in Apple Podcasts | The feed still points to an image URL with the same filename | Upload the new art under a new filename so the itunes:image URL changes |
| Spotify keeps showing the old cover | Spotify only downloads image files again when their name or path changes | Same fix: a new filename, then allow time for the refresh |
| Apple fetch errors on a self-hosted feed | The web server blocks HTTP HEAD requests or omits Last-Modified | Ask your server provider to allow both |
| Art rejected or removed after review | Rights problems, explicit content, Apple branding, or blurry and pixelated images | Replace the offending element; Apple reviews against its artwork policies |
The filename trap is documented by both companies. Apple's troubleshooting page says it may skip an update when the new image URL exactly matches the current one and normally picks up changes within 24 hours, and Spotify's delivery specification says changing only the image file, without changing its name or path, will not change what Spotify shows. Apple's artwork policies cover the content-based rejections in the last row.
Export workflow: one master, several files
Producing every variant in one sitting keeps the colors and type consistent and saves you from rebuilding art later. A workable order:
- Build the cover on a square canvas at Apple's full size in an RGB document, and keep the layered source file somewhere safe.
- Export the square as a flattened PNG with transparency switched off; this one file serves Apple, Spotify and most other apps through your feed.
- Rearrange the same elements on a wide canvas for video. YouTube's thumbnail guidance recommends 3840 x 2160 for video thumbnails, which also scales down cleanly to the 1920 x 1080 suggested in Spotify's thumbnail help.
- Export a square copy for the YouTube podcast playlist at the 1280 x 1280 recommended on YouTube's podcast setup page.
- Put a version marker in each filename, such as the month of the redesign, so future replacements always carry a new URL.
- Upload the square to your host first, then update YouTube Studio by hand, because YouTube's RSS delivery page says it does not automatically pick up show detail changes made in your feed.
Keep the exports in one folder with the source file. When a guest, season or sponsor changes the look, you edit one master and repeat the list instead of hunting for old exports with mismatched colors.
Pre-upload checklist
- The master is exactly square and exported at 3000 x 3000 pixels, the size on Apple's Show Cover page.
- The color profile is RGB, not CMYK.
- The export has no alpha channel and no transparent pixels.
- The file is a PNG or JPG with a matching extension and an ASCII-only filename.
- The title is readable at thumbnail size and sits inside the template's safe area.
- No Apple logos, product names or hardware appear anywhere in the image.
- Every photo, font and illustration is licensed for commercial use, and any guest photo has a signed release.
- A 16:9 version exists for YouTube episodes and Spotify video thumbnails.
- Replacement art carries a new filename so Apple and Spotify fetch it again.
- The art matches the show you are actually publishing, which Apple's policies require.
With the art finished, the podcast launch checklist covers submitting the show, and the Spotify for Creators walkthrough shows where cover art is changed if Spotify hosts the show.
Limitations
These specs are a dated snapshot, and platforms revise artwork rules without announcing them, so recheck the linked pages before a redesign. Some placements, such as Apple channel and subscription art or showcase artwork for featuring, are left out because few new shows need them; Apple's template library lists them all. Passing the technical checks does not guarantee approval, because review also covers content and rights. Questions about whether you can use a particular photo, logo or font are legal questions; for anything uncertain, check the license or ask a lawyer.