A Quick Pitch for Becoming a Supporting Member

You finally got me. and I am already kicking myself for how long I waiting to get this beautiful dark mode.

 

Hahaha. Thank you very much.

And also so glad you like it!

 

okay FINE i get paid on the 15th and i think the time i spent paying for the site when i wasn't using it is now equal to the time i've been back on while not paying lol. SEE U SOON DARK MODE!

 

Honestly I would be more apt to become a patron if there was more reviews and stuff on the site, I feel like there’s not even a quarter of the content there was when the site was absolutepunk. I’m sure it’s hard to keep up that level of content, and not trying to shit on the platform, just miss seeing the amount of reviews and content that was previously on this site.

 

Agreed.

I'm going to to become a supporter regardless, but Jason: any reason for the above? I know in the past a lot of users (both staff/users) pitched in for reviews. Is the issue just finding people with the time/skill to write and review or was it a conscious decision to scale that stuff down and focus on other things?

 

Been lurking on the site for a long while, but for some reason this got me. Hope the best for ya. Keep it up!

 

Hahaha, I love you Kayla. Thank you so much.

 

I really appreciate it!

Sidebar: Anyone that joins should come hang out in the Q&A thread as well, it's a fun place! https://forum.chorus.fm/threads/q-a-and-chat-with-jason-tate.59

 

I found my favorite band from AP and a lot of my life was impacted by that so I figure $3/month to keep this place running is the least I can do. The first listen threads on the supporter forum are really neat.

 

By and large there's a little of a chicken and egg problem. For example, when it comes to reviews my basic policy is people should and are encouraged to write when they can and there's no quota or pressure. The main reason is because people are basically writing for free. I'd love to be able to pay people to write, and that incentive would lead to more content, however, the website just doesn't make enough money to do that. So it leads to a rough cycle there. Longterm, the goal is to fix that. But I have to always trade off where my time goes. Less money the website makes, more I have to spend doing freelance or consulting work, and that creates another 'less content' cycle. It's about trying to find the right balance. We've had 122 weeks since the site started, and we've averaged almost exactly 2 reviews per week (1.95) so far. So, that's roughly what I think is possible at the moment. I'd of course love to increase that, but the issues of above/editing time would make anything more ... a tad more difficult. I think we've increased review production by a good amount over the last 5 months, however, with some new voices coming in and writing. I also think a lot of the people that in the past would maybe write a long review, talk in the forums instead. My post count about music is wayyyyyy up, and I know others are in the music forum frequently as well. I've shifted a lot of what I would have written in the past as a "review" into a series of posts over the course of a few weeks.

(On that note: As for my own writing, a lot of it is in the Q&A thread. I write about new music/new albums a lot in that thread, and it never makes it onto the main site. I've gotta be better about bringing it over so people know it exists. For example, there's a good sized post [almost 1,200 words] and thread all about the new Thrice album, and I write about music out each week almost every Friday.)

So, there's a variety of things: one, scaling down makes it easier for me to organize and work with 10-15 people that want to write here, and is also a necessity with how I feel comfortable with working with contributors right now. I don't wanna take VC money, or take out a loan, which makes things tricky, plus a change in where the writing has taken place ... more forum, less 'official' reviews. I need to work on finding a better balance there for sure.

Hope that makes sense.

 

Thank you! I'm glad you like those as well. They're one of my favorite things to do. Gotta figure out what my next one is going to be. I have some options.

Also, what's your favorite band? Menzingers?

 

Makes total sense, appreciate the context. I wouldn't be able to commit to "X" amount of reviews per week... but I'd love to review an album here and there. If I can help out, even if it's just me reaching out to see if there's a need for a specific review for a band/album, i'm game!

 

Drop me an email: [email protected] works, and send along a few samples if you have them. I've got a few emails like that in my inbox I've been meaning to get to when I have some time. #deathtoemail

 

Pentimento actually! I saw a post on AP when they were releasing their album for free because of the legal issues with their label and since they were from the same city as I was, I decided to download it and check it out. The album hit me hard and it helped me through a lot at the time. I met some of my best friends at their shows and became friends with the guys in the band as well. Even at work I’ve made connections because of them. I hang out a bar owned by their old merch guy almost weekly too haha. Never ever would have expected all of that to come from a news post, but it really did change my life.

 

That's actually really incredible!

 

Looking back at how that happened always blows my mind haha. They’re the one band that when I tell people they changed my life, I truly mean it. I really wasn’t familiar with local bands back then (their shows introduced me to some great ones and I kept going from there) so I probably wouldn’t have really heard of them without reading about them online.

 

Tell them I miss them :’)

 

EASHILY.

 

I've been lurking on here and absolutepunk for a decade now, glad to help in whatever way I can afford. I appreciate the shit out of ya'll.

 

I plan on resubscribing soon, funds have gotten a little tight as I'm saving money for a proposal. One thing I would recommend if you haven't given it any thought before is maybe repackaging these thoughts in the Q&A thread into posts on the main site after a set period of time so supporters are still getting a perk, but also allows you to provide more content to get more people interested.

 

Thank you! Also I love the username.