Why won't my episode upload? (Upload & processing errors)

Trying to publish and hitting "error uploading audio file," "Error creating or uploading episode," or a spinner that's stuck at a percentage and never finishes? Almost every upload problem comes down to one of a few causes. Work through this page top to bottom and you'll fix the large majority of them without needing to write in.

First, check your file

Most failed uploads are a file that doesn't meet RedCircle's requirements. Before anything else, confirm:

1. It's an audio file — mp3 or m4a. RedCircle accepts .mp3 and .m4a audio files only. We do not support video files (.mp4, .mov, .wav, etc.). This is the single most common cause: if you exported a video or a .wav from your editing software, the upload will fail. Re-export as mp3, or use a free converter to turn your file into an mp3, and try again.

2. It's within your plan's file-size limit. The maximum file size you can upload depends on your plan — see redcircle.com/pricing for the limit on your tier. RedCircle re-encodes your audio to a 128kbps file after upload, so you never need to upload anything higher-quality than that. As a rule of thumb, about 3 hours of audio at 128kbps comes to roughly 200MB — so if your episode is well under a few hours and your file is still very large, your export bitrate is probably too high.

Fix a too-large file: re-export from your editing software (GarageBand, Audacity, Descript, Premiere, etc.) at a 128kbps bitrate, or convert your existing file to 128kbps mp3. That alone brings almost any talk-format episode comfortably within the limit.

A note on "MB": RedCircle measures a megabyte the standard (decimal) way — 1MB = 1,000,000 bytes. Some operating systems (notably Windows) report file sizes in binary megabytes, where 1MB = 1,048,576 bytes. That means a file your computer calls "200 MB" can actually be ~210 million bytes — just over our limit. If your file looks like it's right at the edge of the cutoff but still won't upload, trim it down a little further and try again.

Quick fixes for a stubborn upload

If your file is a correctly-sized mp3/m4a and it still won't go up:

• Refresh and retry. Reload the page and attempt the upload again — some failures are momentary.
• Clear your cache and cookies, then sign back in and retry.
• Try a different browser. If you're on Safari, try Chrome (or vice versa). We occasionally see uploads that fail in one browser but succeed in another.
• Try a different network or device if you can. A flaky connection can interrupt the upload mid-transfer.
• Save the episode as a draft first, then add the audio file to the saved draft.

Is it a platform issue?

Occasionally an upload problem is on our side — a temporary issue affecting uploads for everyone, not just your file. If your file is valid and none of the steps above work, it may be a short-lived platform issue our engineering team is already addressing. Wait a little while and try again before assuming something is wrong with your setup.

Still stuck? Here's how to get the fastest help

If you've confirmed your file is a valid mp3/m4a within your plan's size limit and it still won't upload, click the link in the header of this page to submit a support ticket — and to skip the back-and-forth, please include:

1. The exact error message, as text. If you can, copy and paste the wording rather than only sending a screenshot — it's much faster for us to search our logs for the exact text.
2. A link to the audio file (e.g. a Dropbox or Google Drive link). We can often upload it for you on the back end and reproduce the error.
3. Your browser and device (e.g. "Chrome on a Mac"), and whether it also fails on a different browser or computer.
4. What you've already tried from the steps above.

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Related: Uploading an Episode · How Do I Make Changes to a Published Episode? · Why Isn't My Episode Showing Up?