Change your show's YouTube publishing process
Use the desktop app to import from YouTube, or publish through Listenbox to YouTube. Switch direction with Pause destination and keep your linked playlist or channel.
Updated
Your show keeps its linked YouTube source. You can publish to YouTube first and import into Listenbox, or publish through Listenbox and have it upload to YouTube. Changing your publishing process keeps that linkage and the YouTube URLs already recorded for your episodes.
What each direction requires
YouTube → Listenbox requires the Listenbox desktop app. Follow Import YouTube videos as a podcast to download the app for your computer, connect your team, and set up the import. Keep it running on your Mac or Windows computer when you need imports to run.
Listenbox had to shut down in 2025 when YouTube's changing anti-bot restrictions made its old server-based import system unworkable. Downloading from YouTube at scale is fragile, so the desktop app downloads and prepares recordings on your computer. See the Listenbox story.
Listenbox → YouTube requires a connected YouTube destination and your publication approval. Listenbox handles the upload; your desktop app does not need to be running.
For switching in both directions, use the same public YouTube playlist or channel. For a channel, choose No playlist in the destination settings.
Publish to YouTube first
Publish each recording to the linked public playlist or channel on YouTube. Keep the Listenbox desktop app running and connected when you need it to synchronize. It downloads new videos, prepares the playback files on your computer, and imports the episodes into Listenbox.
If you have also connected a YouTube destination, turn on Pause destination and save its settings. The desktop app can then import from the same playlist or channel. Pausing does not disconnect your YouTube account or unlink the source.
See Import YouTube videos as a podcast for the desktop import steps, playback checks, and how to use Sync now.
Publish through Listenbox first
Connect the show's YouTube destination and authorize access to your YouTube channel. Select the linked playlist, or choose No playlist to publish directly to the channel. Save the required destination settings and turn off Pause destination. An active destination makes Listenbox the publishing starting point; the desktop app pauses imports for that show.
Upload your next episode to Listenbox, review its YouTube title, description, and visibility, and approve publication. Listenbox uploads it to YouTube and records its YouTube URL. This direction requires the YouTube destination and Google authorization; it does not require the desktop app to remain running. See Managed YouTube publishing for permissions and publication approval.
Change in either direction
Once the desktop app and YouTube destination are both set up, open the show's YouTube destination in the dashboard:
- To publish on YouTube first, turn on Pause destination and save.
- To publish through Listenbox first, turn off Pause destination and save.
Keep the existing playlist selected, or keep No playlist for a channel. You do not need to disconnect, reconnect, or change that selection to change direction. Existing episodes and their known YouTube URLs remain in place, and a later desktop sync recognizes videos that Listenbox has already published to YouTube.
Let any publication already in progress finish before starting the next release in your chosen process. An active destination stops desktop syncing for the show and saves unfinished import progress for when you return to YouTube first.
Choose the process that suits your team. You might move to Listenbox first to avoid keeping a computer running for imports, or return to YouTube first because that is where your team prepares releases. If you return to importing, open the desktop app when synchronization is needed and choose Sync now for an immediate sync.