Adding a Logo to an MP3 Podcast

If you're at all serious about podcasting, you're going to want a logo. Adding a logo gives your podcast that extra bit of polish and recognition. And after you have a logo, you should embed it in every podcast you produce. However, it takes a few additional steps. Embedding images in MP3 files is a relatively recent phenomenon.

The original MP3 file specification did not include a way to attach metadata, such as the title, author, or copyright information. It wasn't until 1996 and the introduction of ID3 tags that metadata could be included in MP3 files. The original ID3 specification was fairly simple, including fields for title, album, year, genre, and comment. Over the years, the ID3 specification has grown to include much more, such as the track number on a CD, the composer, lyrics, and most important to this discussion, an embedded image, designed to contain album cover art. You can use this ability to embed a logo into your podcasts.

To add a logo to your podcast, you have to use an ID3 tag editor. Many are available, as a quick Internet search will reveal. As luck would have it, you probably already have one installed: iTunes. All you have to do is import your MP3-encoded podcast into iTunes and edit the ID3 tags via the Info window:

1. Open iTunes, and import your podcast by choosing Import from the File menu.

2. Find your podcast. If you're in library mode, you can sort by Date Added. This brings your podcast to the top of the list if you're in descending order.

3. Highlight your podcast, and choose Get Info from the File menu. This opens the Info window.

   Note

   If you're not seeing the Artwork tab, then your podcast isn't yet in a format that supports embedded artwork, for example an unencoded WAV file. This is why it's a twostep process: First encode your file to MP3, and then open it and add your logo.

4. Click the Artwork tab, and then click the Add button to browse for your logo graphic.

5. Select your logo graphic, and click the Open button. You should see your graphic displayed in the Info window. Your graphic can be in BMP, GIF, JPG, or PNG format and any size up to 300×300 pixels. You should make sure that it looks good at different resolutions, because it will be displayed at different sizes on different players. iTunes provides a handy slider bar that lets you preview what your logo looks like at various resolutions. If it doesn't look good when it is scaled, you should consider revising it until it does.

   Caution

   The 300 × 300 image size is not a strict limitation. However, using a larger resolution is not recommended because it may not be supported on portable media players, and it adds unnecessary payload to your podcast file.

6. Click the OK button to save your changes.

Your logo is now embedded in your MP3 file and will be displayed in iTunes, Windows Media Player, and on portable media player screens that display graphics.