About FanFares.io

At FanFares.io, we are a small team of 4 people building a Nostr client. We are creating the ability for podcasters to put specific items of content behind Bitcoin lightning paywalls. This can work well for premium content, of the type that you might have put on Patreon or a Substack subscription.

Listeners can use Bitcoin lightning as a currency to buy an episode by using zaps on Nostr.

1. The second episode of a two part podcast could be uploaded to FanFares.io and never released onto RSS. The listeners can hear the first part of the story/interview on any free podcast app and be encouraged to spend a small amount of Bitcoin to hear the rest. A link in the description will take them to the second part podcast on FanFares.io.

2. Content that goes out for free on RSS with adverts polluting the content, could be uploaded to FanFares as an ad-free version where listeners pay with Bitcoin to gain access. How much is 5 minutes of your life worth? Time is the only thing that is more scarce than Bitcoin.

3. Content can be released early on FanFares as a paid version a couple of weeks before it is released on RSS.

The closest project to what we are doing is Fountain.fm, where listeners can tip the creator for free content that is available on every podcasting app. Monetisation for podcasters using this method has been modest so far. The reality is, that people playing for tips never really make much money. Creatives that have sold books and CDs, have made a lot of money in the past, albeit the publishers and the record companies took most of it. The Fanfares economic model is closer to pre-internet commerce, where you pay for something and then you get it. The difference is, that there is no middle man controlling your payments, they are instant and direct using the Bitcoin peer to peer payment system. With Nostr, there is no platform that can censor you, your content is held in an encrypted format on decentralised servers and it is only accessible to listeners that have paid for the decryption key.

If listeners are pleased with the content that they have purchased on Fanfares.io, then they have the option to repost a referral link and potentially earn a split of revenue that emanates from their recommendations. This advanced feature is likely to give a viral reach to podcasters that publish on Fanfares.io. Reposts could go beyond Nostr, as the link can be copied and posted on platforms like Twitter or Facebook where some people have millions of followers.

FanFares.io is an open source project and we are building a community by spreading the word through existing Nostr users and by reaching onto Web 2 social media platforms. Listeners will be encouraged to learn about bitcoin, because FanFares.io is itself a clear and indisputable use case for Bitcoin as a payment system. Creators will see the value in having a Nostr account and a Bitcoin wallet, because that enables them to get paid directly for their work. People that have never owned Bitcoin, can earn it without needing to go onto an exchange. They can do proof of work, by discovering quality content and recommending it to their network.

Bitcoin lightning enables micropayments with minuscule transactions fees and automatic payment splits which have never been possible with fiat money. We hope to build this system beyond podcasting to all forms of digital media.