Celebrating the intersection of independent filmmaking and podcasting.

Claire chats with Phoebe Cawley from the Aesthetica Short Film Festival, which for the second year includes The Podcasting Lounge, a showcase for independent audio productions.

The Festival

Phoebe explains how a 20-year-old arts magazine evolved into a world-class film festival in York that now celebrates all forms of independent media.

Submit your podcast if it displays originality and strong perspectives across fiction, documentary, investigative, or experimental genres. Selected podcasters get access to the festival, networking opportunities, and masterclasses from industry giants.

Deadline: Submissions close on June 30th

The festival runs from November 4th–8th

TrueFans Platform: Awards and Playlists

Award-winning and shortlisted podcasts (including those from Aesthetica 2025) have a dedicated space to be discovered on TrueFans. Winners are also highlighted with a trophy icon on their cover art, and users can listen to a curated playlist of all winning podcasts.

Securing the Future: Premium RSS

Sam introduces Premium RSS (formerly Secure RSS), a solution to the security flaws found in traditional private feeds like those on Patreon or Substack, which are easily shared, allowing non-paying listeners to access premium content. TrueFans is beta testing a standard that verifies user credentials upon login, ensuring only paying fans can access the feed.

Independent Podcasters Day

We touch on Liam Heffernan’s campaign to establish July 4th as Independent Podcasters Day (or 'Independents Day') to celebrate the unique voices in the industry.

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Listen to From My Yard to Your Yard

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Music: How It Is from Ketsa Music

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Recommendations: Creators Podroll

Originally conceived as an accountability tool to force them to write, The Failing Writers Podcast has evolved into a unique creative outlet where hosts Tom and Jon 'scratch a creative itch' through sketches, songs, and 'weird stuff', alongside interviews with successful authors. In this episode the duo discuss the independent creator's journey, from the difficulty of marketing a multi-genre show to the paradox of a podcast that both inspires their writing while simultaneously eating up the very time they meant to spend writing.

The episode also delves into the technical evolution of video podcasting, the impact of Apple's proprietary APIs, and how TrueFans helps creators manage hosting costs and filter bot data for accurate human analytics.

Plus, we ask you:

Should the home screen feature show art, episode art, or allow the listener to choose their preference? Leave a comment to have your say.

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Listen to The Failing Writers Podcast

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Music: How It Is from Ketsa Music

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Community, feedback, grants and support for indie podcasters.

Remi Roy, creator of The Driven Introvert Podcast and founder of PodGround, shares her journey from a self-taught podcaster recording in a library to building a supportive community for independent creators. The discussion explores the common 'shouting into the void' feeling and how PodGround’s micro-grants and structured resources aim to lower the dropout rate for new shows.

Plus, Sam explains how the new TrueFans co-listen and chat feature helps break the isolation of the 'independent silo'.

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You can support the show by streaming payments from your TrueFans wallet while you listen.

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More about PodGround

More about the PodGround Creators Micro-Grant

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Music: How It Is from Ketsa Music

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Read: Creators Blog

Recommendations: Creators Podroll