What are splits?
Splits are a powerful feature that allow everyone involved in creating a podcast to be rewarded for their contribution. With splits, podcasters can share income with guests, contributors and good causes. Whenever you support a podcast, the money gets divided and distributed to all the splits. If you are sending a Boost, the message will also be delivered to all recipients in the splits. This makes it possible for listeners to contact podcast hosts and their guests to share your thoughts or ask a question. To check the splits, press Support or Boost on the player and you will see a button for Splits in the pop up.
How do I manage the splits for my podcast?
Once you have claimed your podcast on Fountain you can manage your splits in the app from your Dashboard (just tap on the show image in the bottom nav). You can set the default splits for your show as well as customise the splits for a specific episode:
To set the default splits for your show:
- Go to your Dashboard
- Open the Menu by your show title and press Manage Show Splits
To customise the splits for a specific episode:
- Go to your Dashboard
- Choose and episode from the Episodes tab
- Open the Menu next to the play button and press Manage Episode Splits
There are two ways you can add a split for your show or episode:
- Add any Fountain user: You can search for any Fountain user and share earnings from your podcast with them! After you've added them, a card will appear in their Wallet so they can see their earnings and any Boost messages.
- Add Lightning Node Pubkey: Send your earnings to directly any public Lightning Node. This is a great way to support a good cause, such as an open source project. For example, you can support OpenSats by adding their node as a split.
Once you have added a split, press the edit icon next to the split to adjust the percentage. If the percentages of your splits add up to more than 100%, the sats will still be distributed proportionately to the total. Click Update Show Splits when you're finished making changes
Who can I add to the splits?
- Co-hosts and regular contributors: If you have co-hosts or a wider team that are involved in creating your podcast, you should add them to your show splits so that they automatically get a share from every episode you publish.
- Guests: When listeners know the messages they send with a Boost will be seen by guests on your podcast they are much more compelled to support. Also, when your guests are earning money when your listeners support that episode, they are incentivised to let their audience know. This is why the podcasters adding their guests as splits typically generate higher engagement.
- Listeners: Adding your listeners to the splits is a great way to incentivise your fans to participate. For example, you could ask your listeners send in questions for upcoming guests before he records with them. Ask a great question and you will be added to the episode splits when it gets published!
- Good causes: Many podcasters choose to give away some of the money their podcast generates to support a cause that they are passionate about. For example, Matt Odell (host of Citadel Dispatch) donates a share of his podcast income with open-source Bitcoin projects.
How many splits can I add?
You are able to add as many splits as you like however if you have lots of splits it may take longer to process payments from listeners. It's worth bearing in mind that listeners incur fees on Fountain for every split when they support your podcast.
Should I tell my listeners about my splits?
This is always a good idea. Not only does it let your supporters know where their money is going, it also gives them a compelling reason to support the show.
Want to learn more? Read our Podcaster Guide to Value for Value