Podcasts powered by community

Fountain connects podcasters with a global community of listeners to discover, share and support their greatest work

Fountain is the podcast app that connects creators with a global community of fans

Podcasts powered by community

Fountain connects podcasters with a global community of listeners to discover, share and support their greatest work

Fountain connects podcasters with a global community of listeners to discover, share and support their greatest work

Fountain connects podcasters with a global community of listeners to discover, share and support their greatest work

Rewind 2023

The most comprehensive year-in-review of Podcasting 2.0 including charts, insights and awards.
See the 2023 Fountain awards

Rewind

2023

The most comprehensive year-in-review of Podcasting 2.0 including charts, insights and awards.

Rewind 2023

The most comprehensive year-in-review of Podcasting 2.0 including charts, insights and awards.
The most comprehensive year-in-review of Podcasting 2.0 including stats, charts and awards.
“Apple is taking Podcasting mainstream by building it right into iTunes,” said Steve Jobs in 2005. “Podcasting is the next generation of radio, and users can now subscribe to over 3,000 free Podcasts and have each new episode automatically delivered over the Internet to their computer and iPod.” These humble beginnings seem like forever ago and podcasting has come a long way since. Thanks to the great work happening in the Podcasting 2.0 community - we have access to a censorship-resistant library of over 4 million shows via The Podcast Index. We also have powerful new features being added to the RSS feed that work in a consistent way across the ecosystem. This is changing the way we think about podcasting as a medium and giving us new ways to engage with podcast content, support creators and interact with other fans.
Podcasting 2.0 Stats (2023)

16,543

Feeds supporting Value for Value (+50%)

46,357

Feeds supporting Funding (+52%)

25,664

Feeds supporting Chapters (+83%)

42,243

Feeds supporting Transcripts (+83%)

11,437

Feeds supporting Video (+60%)

1,894

Feeds supporting Music (New)

Source: Podcast Index (29 December 2023)
While the mainstream podcasting industry saw a boom (and bust) of investment into podcast production and advertising, Podcasting 2.0 has quietly gone from strength to strength. The number of podcast feeds incorporating Podcasting 2.0 features (or tags) has grown significantly thanks to adoption from podcast hosting services and podcast players, combined with a growing interest from creators. 2023 was another year of game-changing innovation in Podcasting 2.0. We saw adoption of a number of new tags that are redefining what a podcast can be. For example, the <podcast:liveItem> tag enabled fans to listen to shows live as they are being recorded and support in real-time. Perhaps the most exciting new development was support for music through the <podcast:medium> tag, combined with support for dynamic splits through the <podcast:valueTimeSplit> tag. This paved the way for a new category of music podcasts where DJs can play music and artists get paid their fair share of the money sent by listeners thanks to the splits changing when one track end and another one begins. At the close of the year, we launched Fountain 1.0. Our biggest design and user experience upgrade to date brought major improvements across the app, including a better way to share, discover and listen to clips from podcasts, a clean home feed design that surfaces conversations happening right now and a revamped playlists feature where every listener can become a curator - and get rewarded for it.
Fountain Stats (2023)

18.4m

Transactions on Fountain

2.83 BTC

Sats Supported on Fountain ($120,033)

1.96 BTC

Sats Boosted on Fountain ($83,178)

0.87 BTC

Sats Streamed on Fountain ($36,855)

41,332

Boosts sent on Fountain

13,210

Clips created on Fountain

Source: Fountain (29 December 2023)
We are incredibly excited about what's coming next in 2024. There is still a lot of work to be done on Fountain's core listening experience, as well as new features we plan to add support for, such as the ability to watch video podcasts in the app. We've been working behind the scenes on adding audiobooks to Fountain, which will come to light very soon. And finally, we will be adding to our powerful suite of tools and resources for creators so that more podcasters, artists and writers can grow, make a living from their work and turn their audience into an engaged community of supporters. We have never been more optimistic about all the great things happening in this space. Thank you to all the builders, creators and listeners who have contributed to the success of Podcasting 2.0 in 2023 - and to all of you who have supported us. Now, on to the awards!

Awards

The creators who reached new heights on Fountain in 2023

MOST SUPPORTed show

No Agenda

Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak are the original pioneers of Value for Value in podcasting. Their seminal news and politics show has been 100% audience-funded since 2005. No ads, no sponsors - just contributions from their loyal legion of listeners in the form of time, talent and treasure. For example. the No Agenda Art Generator, where fans can upload show artwork for Adam and John to choose from. Every No Agenda listener is a producer of the show - this is completely unique.

MOST SUPPORTED EPISODE

Moe Factz with Adam Curry - 89: Mass Confusion

Episodes of Moe Factz with Adam Curry don't come around often - but when they do, they never miss. This episode, published on 11 Jan 2023, received 1.67m sats ($702), helped by some baller boosts from their regular listeners. In second place was Citadel Dispatch - CD92: Mandibles with Lionel Shriver (1.02m sats / $429), followed closely by Rabbit Hole Recap - #236: Bitcoin Mining Saves Animals (1.01m sats / $427)

show with MOST SUPPORTERS

No Agenda

Adam and John had 1,411 supporters on Fountain in 2023, each contributing an average of 18,700 sats ($7.80) over the course of the year. No Agenda was followed by What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack in second place (1,035 supporters) and The Survival Podcast in third place (1,013 supporters).

MOST CLIPPED show

Flirting With Bitcoin

It comes as no surprise that Flirting With Bitcoin was the most clipped show on Fountain in 2023. Why? Every episode, hosts Ian and Mandana ask their listeners to create clips of their best moments to help them reach new listeners. They also reward every listener who shares a clip; "this organic traction amplifies our visibility and continues to contribute to our steady growth", says Ian.

MOST SATS paid TO LISTENERS

Flirting With Bitcoin

Flirting With Bitcoin have also paid out the most sats to listeners in 2023. Their listeners have earned over 6.02m sats ($2,500) this year across 39 different Fountain Promotions. Having launched the show around two years ago, they hit 100,000 downloads in June and 300,000 downloads only a few months later. These figures just go to show what a powerful growth hack Fountain Promotions are.

MOST SUPPORTED LIVE SHOW

Ainsley Costello Live

This December - for the first time in history - a live concert was streamed on Podcasting 2.0 apps including Fountain. Ainsley Costello - a songwriter and artist from Nashville who has been at the heart of the Value for Value movement - performed on two nights, receiving 6.01m sats ($2,544) across all Podcasting 2.0 apps. Fountain also supported live video and live comments on web, helping make it one of the most interactive fan experiences in Podcasting 2.0 in recent memory.

MOST SUPPORTED MUSIC PODCAST

Boostagram Ball

The first music podcast to support Value for Value was launched by Adam Curry on July 28 and, given that Adam has built illustrious career in radio and music television over the years, it comes as no surprise that it’s a class act. What’s cool about Boostagram Ball is you can listen live on Fountain and Adam reads out messages from listeners as they come in. It’s like drive-time radio powered by lightning.

MOST SUPPORTED ARTIST

Artist Title

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MOST SUPPORTED TRACK

Artist Title: Track Title

xxx

Top boosts

The top boosts on Fountain in 2023 by value
@sirbrianwithani
boosted
500k sats
Take my sats! I’m a Salmon Yay now! Induct me! For the tasting room, I would like Decoy Cabernet and please pump in some Boostagram Ball. We’re gonna need some good tunes in the room while we’re sippin’ on prunes! No, Tina. I’m not bragging about how absolutely phenomenal my song was on the show, however, you can find it at BoostagramBall.com . I’ll be signing autographs in The Tasting Room but please make a single-file line. Lids down, bottoms up! In the evening y’all!
50: "Lesson Learned"

Curry and The Keeper

@kylehebert
boosted
350k sats
While my Intergalactic Boombox podcast is on hiatus (wonder what Ken Spearuhsee my resident conspiracy theorist would say), I wanted to BOOOOOST my support to this show, and also express my excitement for Boostagram Ball. I submitted some VO stingers and look forward to hearing some more awesome tunes through Podcasting 2.0!
Episode 142: Bottom Funnel

Podcasting 2.0

@circuitguy
boosted
222.2k sats
If my calculations are correct, this should make me an executive producer. Thank you for sharing your journey. It is always entertaining and inspiring - Circuitguy
44: "Hilljack"

Curry and The Keeper

@meremortals
boosted
222.2k sats
I truly believe that Value 4 Value will change the world. Digital content creators of all sorts (music, podcasts, art, written word) AND their audience are going to learn why this is important. It's a win-win for both sides! Both feel better after the value exchange. I did a V4V presentation at a BTC meetup last night and the excitement is palpable. When combined with programmable money it is such a killer. I cover the philosophy of this all in the 'Value 4 Value' podcast. Season 3 is now LIT!
Episode 139: Rustic Code Cave

Podcasting 2.0

@kraftnix
boosted
222.2k sats
At this rate of episode funding you'll never get your day off! I would also like to ask again if there is any progress on accepting Lightning payments for Jupiter Membership, it's the only reason I am not a member!! Keep on the great work and I hope Brent's house survived!
33: Just Burn it all Down

Office Hours