The true cost of quality storytelling.

In this episode, Claire chats with Fariba Nawa, the award-winning investigative journalist behind the On Spec podcast.

Fariba trains journalists worldwide to tell the stories they are personally connected to through sound, ultimately producing documentary journalism that rivals that of major broadcasters.

Since launching in 2019 with Kickstarter funding, On Spec has evolved through six seasons, each with a distinct theme, including disinformation, how borders define us, and a two-year investigation into Iran's targeting of dissidents abroad. The On Spec production process involves extensive collaboration with local journalists, providing them professional development while ensuring stories maintain deep personal connections to the communities they portray.

Meanwhile, the podcasting landscape continues to evolve toward more direct creator support. TrueFans features make it easy for listeners to financially support creators with one-off or continued payments, and offer creators options to divide those payments among their contributors with payment splits – allowing teams like On Spec's to automatically divide listener contribution among hosts, producers, and contributors.

Plus, as the industry debates moving content behind paywalls, what does this mean for accessibility, discovery and sustainability?

This episode discusses:

• Funding options for podcasters: from grants and individual donors to listener support
• TrueFans will soon launch as a native iOS and Android app
• How to use payment splits to automatically divide listener payments among team members
• What do paywalls mean for advertisers, and does secure RSS offer a more favourable option for independent creators?
• Spotify now supports transcripts from the Podcasting 2.0 standard
• Who Claire met and which indie podcasts won at the International Women's Podcast Awards
• How TrueFans showcases independent creators on the app's home page

Discover how TrueFans can help your independent podcast thrive through improved discovery, direct monetization, and enhanced listener engagement.

And if you'd like to chat with us about your independent podcast or music, send a comment or super comment in TrueFans to any Creators episode by clicking on the speech bubble icon or on the comments tab.

Listen to On Spec here.

Send us a text

Find TrueFans here

Music: How It Is from Ketsa Music

Feedback: TrueFans Support

Read: Creators Blog

Recommendations: Creators Podroll

The lived experience of independent podcasters is one of both liberating freedom and unique challenges. How can the TrueFans listening platform address those challenges and help indie creators keep creating?

Through an interview with Joana PR Neves, host of Exhibitionistas podcast, and conversations between Sam and Claire, this episode of Creators discusses:

• The power of podcasting to give voice to independent creators who might otherwise go unheard
• How asking for financial support for your podcast can meet listener resistance
• TrueFans features that help creators earn directly from listeners through streaming payments
• The challenges of describing visual experiences in an audio format
• How chapters and image attachments can enhance the listener experience
• Recent research that shows that audio-first platforms still dominate despite YouTube's growing presence
• How to claim your show and start earning on TrueFans
• The independent podcasts shortlisted for the International Women's Podcast Awards
• The incredible diversity of content being shared by independent podcasts
• An indie podcast wins at the True Crime Awards

Discover how TrueFans can help your independent podcast thrive through improved discovery, direct monetization, and enhanced listener engagement.

And if you'd like to chat with us about your independent podcast or music, send a comment or super comment in TrueFans to any Creators episode by clicking on the speech bubble icon or on the comments tab.

Listen to Exhibitionistas here.

Send us a text

Find TrueFans here

Music: How It Is from Ketsa Music

Feedback: TrueFans Support

Read: Creators Blog

Recommendations: Creators Podroll

Claire and Sam announce a brief hiatus until June 16th, sharing podcast recommendations and answering listener questions about the TrueFans platform to tide listeners over during the break.

• Claire recommends "Conning the Con" by Sarah Ferris, a true crime podcast about a family turning the tables on a con man

• Sam suggests "The Snap," featuring two Nashville artists navigating Bitcoin and value for value to monetize their music

• Sam explains how to add TrueFans to your phone's home screen using the browser's "share" function

• We reiterate that streaming sats to unclaimed shows is worthwhile as funds are held until creators claim their profiles

• We hear what our listeners have been telling us this week

• As usual we invite independent podcasters to be featured on the show by sending comments through TrueFans.

Want to support the show or get featured? Simply leave a comment or super comment through TrueFans, and join this growing community of forward-thinking creators and their supporters.

Send us a text

Find TrueFans here

Music: How It Is from Ketsa Music

Feedback: TrueFans Support

Read: Creators Blog

Recommendations: Creators Podroll