No, the free feed only had a few episodes in it that stayed there and I'm not sure it was ever updated. I didn't pay much attention to that at the time.
Like if I was a Bald Move virgin, searched for a GoT podcast on iTunes four or five episodes through the next season, and there was a Bald Move free feed which only had the first couple of episodes of the season in and a message saying pay for the latest ones I'd just skip over it and look at another provider because I wouldn't be interested in listening about the first couple of episodes at that point.
But then if the free feed always had the most recent episode in to attract new listeners there isn't as big an incentive to pay a subscription because the latest episodes are going to be available for free on the free feed at the time they're most relevant. It's a Catch-22 for a TV (or sports or news) podcast where the relevance of an episode and the downloads it gets are time-affected.
This is such a crucial point that we haven't articulated now. Dan Carlin has super-premium, ever green content that just gets better the more he adds to his collection. We have content that is premium for about a week, then 97% never gets heard of again. Here's a photo to illustrate. It is the total download history for Game of Thrones episode 510, main podcast. It was the singles most downloaded file of 2015.
Yeah, there is a teeny, tiny uptick around the time the new season hits, but by and large we entertain our audience one week at a time, and it's the die hards that DO go back and listen to the whole catalog and then get hooked on the rest of our shows that become Club Members. Putting this content behind a pay wall would be cutting our throats.
Now, if we could find a way to easily package up ad-free previous seasons (because of various technical reasons, our feeds can only hold about 20-25 shows during the show's season. The ad-free podcasts always have everything) that people could buy off Play or / iTunes that would be bitching. Sell them for $2.99, or you can join the club, or you can listen of the website for free. I think that would generate decent income. I don't think there's a great way to do that. I remember investigating it awhile back and coming to the conclusion that Apple just really, really doesn't want people making money off podcasts.
@A_Ron_Hubbard could you sell prior seasons as an "audiobook" or something? pretty sure "stuff you should know" has done that a couple of times with what were de-facto just extended podcasts and i think i bought an old "this american life" podcast as an audiobook too.
For what it's worth, I ended up buying a few episodes of Hardcore History as "songs" in the iTunes store before it dawned on me to go to his website and purchase them from him directly. I realize that this is probably a somewhat rare occurrence because I'm just kind of a dummy, but depending on the cost of putting that up as an option maybe some people would end up doing it. Like I said, I don't really know the logistics of it all. We put an album up through CD Baby and it cost a one time fee of ~$70 to have it out on all of the main sites (iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.) but that was a bunch of 4 minute tunes that were pretty standard. It also would certainly not be cost effective to put out a bunch of episodes at about $70 a pop, but I imagine that if Carlin did that there is a more appropriate and most likely cost effective way of doing it. Just a thought, if it's easy maybe a handful of dummies like me buy old episodes (or better yet as @voodoorat suggested, a series of them) for $2.99 an episode or $15 or so a season without realizing they should just go to the website. Like I said, I don't know how Carlin does it, but he does with the history show.
Hey, A-Ron. Just re-upped on the new sub and it looked like it was charging $27.22 not $48. Sorry if this has already been flagged (I did try to search the thread), but is everything right?
Also, because my renewal's not due until August, I kicked in another $20 via PayPal to help with the imminent challenge. Let us know how it goes and all the very best,
Now, if we could find a way to easily package up ad-free previous seasons (because of various technical reasons, our feeds can only hold about 20-25 shows during the show's season. The ad-free podcasts always have everything) that people could buy off Play or / iTunes that would be bitching. Sell them for $2.99, or you can join the club, or you can listen of the website for free. I think that would generate decent income. I don't think there's a great way to do that. I remember investigating it awhile back and coming to the conclusion that Apple just really, really doesn't want people making money off podcasts.
Isn't that exactly what Carlin does though? There must be a way to do it - all currently airing seasons online for free, past seasons available as separate purchases or included with a club membership. That sounds perfect to my ear.
Speaking of Carlin, he does those sort of recommended donation tags and maybe you should to. "A buck a show that's all we ask." They're really brief (probably 10 to 15 seconds) and I wouldn't be surprised if it really pays off in the end. You guys are really great at taking things like that and making them fun, maybe you could just drop one in at the very beginning, or right before the feedback section. Maybe even pre-record a really quick bit to that effect, make it funny and just plug it in for a while and test it out. I bet some listeners who aren't necessarily interested in joining a full on club, but could get behind kicking you guys a few bucks would bite.
Hey, A-Ron. Just re-upped on the new sub and it looked like it was charging $27.22 not $48. Sorry if this has already been flagged (I did try to search the thread), but is everything right?
Also, because my renewal's not due until August, I kicked in another $20 via PayPal to help with the imminent challenge. Let us know how it goes and all the very best,
Robin
Yeah, you got charged a pro-rated increase taking into account how long your membership has left. That's working as normal.
As far as Dan Carlin's method... I guess my problem with that (as a person who has bought a ton of his back catalog), it was a bitch to get it to play with my podcaster. I had to do a lot of behind the scenes stuff to get my podcast player to recognize it. That's important because, on Android, anyway, playing a podcast as a song is a pain in the ass. It doesn't remember where you left off, it doesn't allow 30-second skip or rewind which is crucial for spoken word content, etc. I guess our fear is the feed features are already pretty tough to navigate, if we sold people the podcasts the way they can be sold, I think the expectation is they'll work like podcasts, which just isn't the way it happens. If there is a good way, or if you think I'm overblowing it, let me know.
The app could fix all of this. But, I'd be tempted to leave it all free and have the easy availability of all the old content be an incitement to use the app, and then have preview versions of club only content be the enticement for the club. Like, it would be fucking cool to play the first 5-10 minutes of each lunch, or a QYP, or whatever, and you can sign in or sign up to get it all.
The other new thing with our new club system is everyone can get a 30 day free trial. I think that will be neat to see how that goes as far as getting people to try it risk free.
The other new thing with our new club system is everyone can get a 30 day free trial. I think that will be neat to see how that goes as far as getting people to try it risk free.
I like that idea a lot. I wouldn't be surprised if a 30 day trial brought in quite a few new people. I don't know what the typical conversion rate is after a trial, but I bet it definitely helps. I feel like if people are motivated enough to try it out and catch a lunch or two (which are very popular casts) there is a really good chance of retention. Plus, who doesn't love a 30 day free trial.
Good news and bad news. Bad news is, I don't have any new ideas for raising funds legally. Good news is I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who has a line on some methylamine.
Good news and bad news. Bad news is, I don't have any new ideas for raising funds legally. Good news is I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who has a line on some methylamine.
I've been out of the loop for a week or so and was really bummed to log in and see this news. Thanks for being so transparent with the video and everything.
I don't have a ton of disposable income at the moment, but I've got some extra money coming in in December and will definitely be switching over to the new yearly plan then.
1) App: I listen to a few Patreon casts and the podcast player in-app is horrible. So if you are building a player into the app, make sure it is easy to use.
2) In regards to the "green" nature of your podcasts. For shows that have a season wrap up cast you could package them into a resource for binge-watchers. Not sure if any podcast edits would be needed, but a new page or section of the website dedicated to folks binge watching could help bring new folks in.
Example: I binged the first 5 episodes of Westworld but only listened to the ep 5 cast. If I had binged the whole season I personally would never go back and listed to each episodes cast.
3) I know the ad-free casts are, well, ad-free; what if you added cross promotion for your other casts? You guys do mention them from time to time, but perhaps a dedicated section up front for programming notes or upcoming schedule. Spend 2 or 3 minutes on it.
4) Live watch twitter hashtag? #BaldLive doesn't seem like a hashtag that gets used much. Let Bald Move community members discuss episodes in progress with eachother and the hosts.
Hey guys, I've been a casual listener for years to the GoT cast. Noticed that you're doing the Westworld cast as well and I enjoyed it so much and the fee was so low that I purchased a membership a week or two ago.
Just saw the video: I appreciate the candor and I'm totally on board with supporting you guys at the new membership fee and in other ways if i can.
I applaud you for taking the step as independent podcasters and would hate to see this operation go under. Glad i bought when I did and I hope to see this story end up a good one.
Considering the enjoyment you guys give me every week, and the fact I have no social life, the least I could do is change my subscription to the new pricing. So I did.
I was really bummed to hear about all of the pressure and struggle surrounding this...and maybe I still should be--but I am just so impressed to see how far things have already come in the donation drive. Guys...its well into the 30% at this point. Thats pretty fucking good for not even a week of this thing going. I am cautiously optimistic. Which is saying a lot because I am pretty pessimistic most of the time.
$5 a month is still a great value, I pay more to NPR and listen less. I began as a GoT listener and started The Walking Dead earlier this year *for the sole purpose of being able to listen to you guys on the podcast after each episode*.
Bald Move is to quality, thoughtful and hilarious entertainment as barley is to intellect. Additionally, as a guy who sits in an office all day with no real passion for the job, I'm rooting for you guys who had the guts to go all in on this. I'm signed up at the new rate and should be able to throw a little extra cash your way in December.
Forgive me if this has been addressed already, but if I buy a commissioned podcast now, will that count toward your goal now or do you wait until the actual podcast is made to cash in on that? I fully realize there will be a significant wait due to amount of commissions.
I already upped my membership and chipped in a donation as well but have been wanting to commission a podcast for a while, seems like the perfect time.
Get on Patreon. I support a number of podcasts, channels and projects there, but doing so in many different places is not conducive to regular giving for me.
Forgive me if this has been addressed already, but if I buy a commissioned podcast now, will that count toward your goal now or do you wait until the actual podcast is made to cash in on that? I fully realize there will be a significant wait due to amount of commissions.
I already upped my membership and chipped in a donation as well but have been wanting to commission a podcast for a while, seems like the perfect time.
I had the same question; A. Ron confirmed that the payment given towards a commission does help them when given. I put some money towards 12 Monkeys... Can't go wrong with that.
1) App: I listen to a few Patreon casts and the podcast player in-app is horrible. So if you are building a player into the app, make sure it is easy to use.
3) I know the ad-free casts are, well, ad-free; what if you added cross promotion for your other casts? You guys do mention them from time to time, but perhaps a dedicated section up front for programming notes or upcoming schedule. Spend 2 or 3 minutes on it.
1) It's our intention to make the app we'd want if we were in your shoes. The content must be dead simple to access and play. It's going to be able to filter out the stuff you don't want to see. You can go as wide as literally every piece of content we produce or narrow it down to a single show.
3) I think we both realize this needs to be done, and internal communication with our fans is one of goals for 2017. I think there is considerable debate on how to do that, but it's telling how many people say "oh wow, I listened to your Game of Thrones podcast and had no idea you were doing Westworld" just in the last few weeks. That's a huge failure that our *existing fans* stumble upon our content by accident. It's full on crazy town.
Get on Patreon. I support a number of podcasts, channels and projects there, but doing so in many different places is not conducive to regular giving for me.
We used to be, but it didn't really fit us. In particular, there is no way to marry the existing club to the patreon services. They really force a certain relationship between creators and fans. I mean, we could add a patreon account to just take money, but there wouldn't really be away for people to get the extras. I wonder how well something like that would even work? But I understand the rub. There is this existing e-wallet for supporting content, and we're not on it, and how many fucking e-wallets do you want, anyway?
Comments
Also, because my renewal's not due until August, I kicked in another $20 via PayPal to help with the imminent challenge. Let us know how it goes and all the very best,
Robin
Just saw the video: I appreciate the candor and I'm totally on board with supporting you guys at the new membership fee and in other ways if i can.
I applaud you for taking the step as independent podcasters and would hate to see this operation go under. Glad i bought when I did and I hope to see this story end up a good one.
Godspeed to all involved.
Bald Move is to quality, thoughtful and hilarious entertainment as barley is to intellect. Additionally, as a guy who sits in an office all day with no real passion for the job, I'm rooting for you guys who had the guts to go all in on this. I'm signed up at the new rate and should be able to throw a little extra cash your way in December.
Oh and your Goonies podcast was awesome.
I already upped my membership and chipped in a donation as well but have been wanting to commission a podcast for a while, seems like the perfect time.