Podcasting for Solopreneurs | Podcasting Tips and Online Marketing Strategies for Business Growth

161. Podcasting Error Message: “This Episode Can’t Be Played On This Device”

Julia Levine | Podcasting Coach for Business Growth (The Podcast Teacher™)

FAQ Friday answering the podcasting question of "What does the 'This Episode Can’t Be Played On This Device' error message mean?"

Take Your Next Step:

This episode was produced by me, The Podcast Teacher! Contact me at Hello@ThePodcastTeacher.com.

👋 Send me your podcasting question! I'll answer it in an upcoming episode. Include your name and the name of your podcast/business if you'd like a shout out! 😀 (You can also use this to send me a non-question message)

Sign up for the Podcasting Power Hour free networking event on Nov 6th at 12 pm ET: www.ThePodcastTeacher.com/powerhour

Welcome to Podcasting for solopreneurs and FAQ Friday, where I answer a podcasting question in five minutes or less. Today's question is one that was posted in the buzzsprout Facebook group by my friend Mikkel Woodruff, host of the Small Ship Cruise Talk podcast. She showed a screenshot of her podcast in Apple with the error message this episode can't be played on this device and she wanted to know why this was happening. She actually asked me this question several months ago and I did not know the answer and I couldn't find one. 

But thanks to crowdsourcing in the Facebook group, I now know that this error message is due to using a vpn, so I thought I'd share it here as a public service announcement. If you get this error message or one of your listeners contacts you about not being able to play your show, using a VPN is likely the issue. Buzzsprout CEO Tom Rossi actually chimed in in the comments, and can we just take a moment to acknowledge how awesome it is that the CEO is in their Facebook group providing insights? I've said it before, but I'll say it again, buzzsprout is just the best. Anyway, Tom explained that the same anonymity that makes VPNs useful for listeners is also what bots use.

Buzzsprout has very high standards for counting stats, and while that is desirable, this can be an unfortunate side effect. If you have a podcasting question, click the Send me your question link in the episode description and I'll answer it in an upcoming episode. Until next time, happy podcasting.