<p>Celebrating the bedrock of podcasting.</p><p>Claire chats with Liam Heffernan, the founder of the Mercury Network and the creator of Independent Podcasters Day. They discuss the challenges faced by independent creators who must juggle roles as marketers, accountants, and publicists, and how publisher networks can help level the playing field by providing enterprise-level tools and sales representation.</p><p>Liam also introduces Independent Podcasters day, a new initiative to celebrate the hard-working 'grafters' of the podcasting world.</p><p>Sam and Claire explore the Podcasting 2.0 Publisher Tag and how this feature allows creators to aggregate their shows into a single discoverable feed on TrueFans, fostering collective discoverability.</p><p>We also discuss the future of hyperlocal advertising and how a shift from 'downloads' to 'verified plays' could unlock new revenue streams for indie shows with smaller, highly engaged audiences.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Independent Podcasters Day</strong></p><p>Pledge your allegiance to <a href="https://www.independentpodcastersday.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Independent Podcasters Day</a></p><p><br></p><p>Follow @TrueFans.fm on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/truefans.fm/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a> and/or <a href="https://www.threads.com/@truefans.fm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Threads</a>.</p><p><br></p><p>You can <strong>support the show</strong> by streaming payments from your TrueFans wallet while you listen.</p><p>Leave a <strong>super comment</strong> via the speech bubble icon in the TrueFans app.</p><p><strong>Learn more about TrueFans</strong> features by listening to our sister show, <em>Fanzone</em>.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Find TrueFans in the App Store or Play Store, or <a href="https://truefans.fm/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a></p><p>Music: How It Is from <a href="https://ketsa.uk/shop/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ketsa Music</a></p><p>Feedback: <a href="https://truefans.fm/feedback" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TrueFans Support</a></p><p>Read: <a href="https://truefans.fm/creators-from-truefans?tab=blog" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Creators Blog</a></p><p>Recommendations: <a href="https://truefans.fm/creators-from-truefans?tab=recommendations" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Creators Podroll</a></p>