Untitled @anonymousad - Tumblr Blog

why I exist

the audio drama community as a whole is a very lovely place, full of welcoming people and good community and passion.

but I think as a result of that we sometimes just won't talk about problems or issues or suspect people openly, whether because we are afraid of being labeled as a troublemaker or stirring shit or just being intentionally mean. and there ARE issues, both big and small, that we should be talking about I think.

sometimes it's individuals, sometimes it's projects, sometimes it's just a trend that is offensive and we should be doing better with.

so that's why I exist. both to be an anonymous way for others to say these things and to feel like I can talk about some of the issues I am personally seeing and think need addressing.

#anonymous AD #putting the drama in audio drama #but actually my intention is to be thoughtful and not mean #some things are just overdue for being called out

I don't really know what to say about the past week.

I am fully willing to own up to my mistakes here, as I did not approach everything with the tact I should have. I wrote my posts from the intersection of a "consumer" and "creator" of audio dramas, and so there are aspects that were directed and not-directed at both sides of that. the result is that it muddied the waters between what might be called a "critique" vs a "review" vs "advice". those things can coexist, but I did not do the best job at making the boundaries clear and so my intentions got a bit lost in the thick of it. I, like many of the people who had strong reactions to what I wrote, got caught up in my emotions about the subject at hand, stumbling in the execution of it. I do regret that I didn't find a better way to make some of my points and that it became more personal at times.

this triggered a response I did not anticipate. a response that had a direct impact on a friend of mine that some of you are convinced is my real identity. you are wrong, and I am not going to even name that person here because the amount of harm and abuse that I saw being sent their way just for being SUSPECTED as anon is disgusting and says more about the ones doing it than about anything I've ever said, and I do not want to open them up to more of it from people who don't currently know who they are. this is the same reason that everything I said on this account was done in an anonymous way to begin with, because this is the kind of targeted behavior that made it unsafe to share otherwise.

if I thought it were safe to do so, I would reveal my own identity to prove their innocence, but I do not feel the people leading this charge would do anything but cause more harm with that information, even if given privately. nothing stays private. and while I don't think that any one of them would doxx me publicly if they got that information, based on accusations made IN public spaces I fully believe that there would be intentional harm attempted against me in private. I am not a cis, white, able-bodied, well-off man either. anonymity is an important protection that it is clear I need to maintain.

I hope that some of the conversations I've started about crowdfunding and sustainability and how the community can re-examine the ways it engages with money will continue. I hope any anger towards me and the way I said it can be redirected towards looking for solutions and paths forward that can begin to address the thing I was trying to bring up. My intention in saying this is the same as it ever was: I want the community to be more realistic about ways to actually make money doing the art they love in a way that benefits everyone.

I think people are capable of having these conversations and not getting upset or feeling attacked by them, but that buy-in needs to come from those who are currently benefiting as well as those who aren't. I did a shit job getting that first group on board, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. and I still believe it needs to if we want the community to survive further than where chasing profit will take it.

you won't be hearing from me again.

#anonymous ad #anonymous #podcasting #audiodrama

read MORE carefully when you feel attacked, not less

I honestly wonder about the reading comprehension of some people because some of the reactions to my posts seem to go like this:

me: I think pancakes are better than waffles other person: WHAT THE FUCK, WHY DO YOU HATE WAFFLES

and... no, that isn't what I said?

I didn't say people don't deserve to be compensated for their work, I said that you can't be trying to pay people like it's a salaried job without having that kind of stable and consistent business income. that's literally how businesses go bankrupt all the time.

I also didn't say that you can't/shouldn't be able to make money in audio drama, I said that you need to do it SUSTAINABLY. off the top of my head I can name several shows that do just that (WOE.BEGONE and Malevolent being two I've mentioned in the past), not to mention people like Lauren Shippen. timing and luck have a lot to do with success, absolutely, so that isn't to say it is easy or guaranteed if you follow in those kinds of steps, but it does show that it can be done in ways that are self-sustaining rather than constantly asking for large cash drops to stay afloat.

speaking of, I didn't compare Harlan to JK Rowling, I pointed out how "death of the author" has been deployed by people who don't want to face HER hatefulness while still engaging with Harry Potter (I know many people like this as we all do I'm sure) as an example of why you have to be cautious when throwing it around as an excuse.

and I definitely didn't say that a Black woman was hoarding resources by having a crowdfunding campaign with a high goal??? very weird assumption for you to draw from what I actually WAS talking about, person on Bluesky. almost like you didn't actually read and understand that whole section before trying to jump down my throat about it.

I have found, both in writing this blog and generally in life, that the more people feel defensive the less they are able to engage with what is being said. anyone who has ever tried to argue for trans or gay rights with a right winger has experienced this, it's the reason that "debate bro" types are so successful. you pick out the parts that make you feel angry and you go on a tirade about them, rather than stepping back and trying to synthesize the whole message.

not once has one of the people defensive about the crowdfunding stuff addressed my key point of it being "unsustainable" in their responses to it. that is literally the thesis, sidestepping it does not make it go away. it just reinforces to me and others that you are not thinking long-term about what will and won't work for us as a community.

I should also say that none of what I post comes just from me. every single thing I've said on this blog has come from at least a few different people. it is not a one-person opinion party, something I'm not sure I've ever said outright. especially with the crowdfund stuff I have had conversations with at least a dozen showrunners who all think the current methods do not work, are not sustainable, and are only benefitting the same people over and over. I have these conversations with my "colleagues" (because I can't think of another word) in the space because I find it interesting and important and valuable. I am engaging with these conversations outside of this blog because I have an emotional investment in us as a community figuring this out so that we can thrive.

I still regret not making this blog when I first desperately wanted to to talk about The Magnus Protocol campaign. (I do have thoughts on the TMA ttrpg though, as a general thing that exists and also based in some basic understanding of how the selected system was a bad choice for what people will be hoping to get from this thing so people will likely be disappointed once they actually play it)

anyway, that's all I have to say on that right now.

tldr: I know my posts are long and there is a lot to get through sometimes. but if you are going to fixate on one sentence and ignore the larger context you are setting yourself up to misunderstand the actual point being made. and yes, there is usually a point, one that I find important enough to bother writing about in the first place.

actually, I should also say that I would be more than willing to have a conversation with Tal or someone else from that part of the community who believes that the current crowdfunding model is working and will continue to work in the long run. seriously, if I am missing something obvious then explain it to me so I can understand what about this is working. and I don't just mean working for you, I mean working for the community and creators as a whole. because I still see a lot of campaigns fail for much less, even when following the vague tips being handed out about how to run a successful campaign.

#anonymous ad #anonymous #crowdfund don'ts #media literacy #critical thinking #reading comprehension #this isn't a callout because how do you even callout people who are unwilling to engage with the full text #and I'm not kidding about being open to conversation because I am willing to admit when I am wrong if that is the case

hey do you mind not putting your creator witch hunts in the audio drama tag? I'm just trying to enjoy media about the shows I like and it's super off putting to see this weird Harlan gossipy stuff in the tags.

(lowkey it's also kinda weird for you as a creator to anonymously gather info about another creator in the space like this. if you've got a problem, go talk to them like a normal person? Why do you get a veil of anonymity while you air out para-social grievances?)

honestly I find it a bit concerning that you are unwilling to engage with the community at more than a surface level.

this feels like one of those things where someone will point to death of the author and "separating the art from the artist", but that isn't what that concept means: it's about artistic intent and meaning behind a piece, and how your interpretation is valid regardless of what the artist would say it is SUPPOSED to mean.

it has very conveniently been used in recent years to try and excuse people's engagement with problematic media figures (JK Rowling being a very obvious one), but the entire essay is ONLY about interpretation and a piece of art's "ultimate meaning".

not holding people accountable because you like their work is how you get unchecked abuse, just look at Hollywood.

actively choosing not to engage with these factors is a point of privilege, the same way that "not being political" is. I understand that fiction is escapism, but fiction is also how unsafe and unhealthy ideas can be spread. fiction does not mean "completely divorced from reality".

as for the anonymity, I'm not sure if you've ever paid attention to what happens to people who do NOT speak anonymously? I've seen people who are just listeners and not creators get fucking dogpiled on for something that isn't even a harsh take. some people in the community have a lot of power and connections and willingly deploy them against the people they feel have "wronged" them.

I've seen people get blocked on Twitter by some of those people for daring to ask a non-attacking question about the journalistic approach taken for a certain RQ-related article.

everyone is shit talking in private and happy faces on the exterior. nothing stays between two people for long if one person feels like they are being "attacked" by some feedback, even if said feedback is something small.

#anonymous ad #anonymous #“witch hunt” is such a dog whistle #like seriously saying that phrase overrides any kind of point you were trying to make #but moving past that #death of the author is one of those things that I see constantly misused so I had to get on a little soapbox about it for a sec #even tho the anon didn't say those words it had the vibe

Just learned about your blog, and I have been SO tired of keeping quiet about my issues with Harlan. I was in the Invictus server for about 2 years and I saw so much. I'm going to bullet point what I can remember:

-Harlan has repeatedly posted screenshots of negative reviews/critiques without redacting usernames, despite being advised that it could lead to fans dogpiling

-He has shared screenshots of emails from his family where they said negative things about him, which is wildly inappropriate for a creator to share with his fans

-Some of the perks to being an Invictus patreon member is getting weekly Malevolent episodes (which then get put together as a single longer public episode) and typically an episode ends with a choice and patreon members at certain tier and above can vote on which option is chosen, like a choise your own adventure story. Back in October someone voiced their disappointment in not getting to vote in the patreon poll because Harlan closed it on a Friday instead of a Sunday as normal, he went on an emotional spiral where he lashed out at fans, said "anyone who is unhappy being a patreon doesn't have to be a patreon", and tried to guilt trip people by bringing up his son.

-Other perks of higher patreon tiers include a personal message from a character of your choosing at the $25 tier and a personal thank you video from Harlan and Jo at the $50. I know of multiple people who paid at the $25 tier for months, a few who paid for a whole year at once, who didn't receive these rewards until they reached out and contacted Harlan themselves, months after they had paid for the tier. And they did have to be the ones to message Harlan, when it was brought to his attention that there were many people waiting for their rewards he didn't do any legwork himself to find out who's had never been fulfilled, which is extremely unprofessional.

-Everything up to now has just been the things I saw as a member of the server with access to the patreon channels. I'm friends with an ex-mod, and her getting kicked from the mod team was my sign to give up on the server and finally leave it. I hadn't posted anything in there in months, and I didn't make any sort of "im leaving" post, I just dipped. Apparently they keep track of who's left the server, because Harlan DM'd me saying he was sorry to see me go and he was there if I ever wanted to talk. When I didn't respond overnight, he followed up with "Well, if you ever want to hear my side of this thing with [former mod], I'll be here 🙂". I still don't understand what his intention was in messaging me, but I was curious so I engaged him in conversation and he sent me a screenshot of the message he had sent her explaining why she was being removed from the mod team. I just want to point out that I never asked to see any screenshot. When I asked if he had ever established mod expectations he tried to pass me off to another Invictus admin, despite the fact he was the one who contacted me and I was no longer a member of the server. I told him that he needed better boundaries in his interactions towards fans (or ex-fans in my case) and that there was no reason for him to have messaged me. Instead of apologizing or responding in any way, he simply blocked me.

I am aware of other things that have happened in the server since I left, but I don't want to share stories I haven't been given the ok to bring up or talk about things I've only heard about secondhand. I've been uncomfortable with the way Harlan publicly interacts with people for a long time now, and I kept quiet because I didn't want to start drama but at this point it feels irresponsible to not talk about it.

this anon says they saw a lot over the 2 years they were in the server, so I would like to say upfront that I don't know how much of that is things that have stopped and been addressed and how much has continued more recently.

some of these points seem more related to other aspects than the discord, like apparent issues with the Patreon supporter relationship side of things.

#anonymous ad #anonymous #malevolent discord #Malevolent patreon #again I want to state I don't know whether some of these points are or aren't still valid #so I guess it's your own discretion or experience on that aspect #as I said if things are addressed appropriately then I don't know how much good it does to bring them up over and over #if they aren't dealt with then you start getting into “pattern of behavior” kind of stuff

I saw you were asking for people to share their Malevolent experiences. an ex mod of the discord server recently was kicked from the server for essentially having the audacity to assume Harlan's offers of friendship were authentic and mentions the situation on her tumblr under the name Kahtiihma. she had the post pinned last I checked and may be willing to share more if asked

I'm not going to dig much further into this down the rabbit hole of other people's posts, but this is referring to a recent incident within the Malevolent discord related to an ex-moderator for those who would like additional details.

I do think this ask is intentionally trying to inject a bit of editorial into the facts of the situation, since the text of the linked post itself are honestly not even that accusatory of particular misconduct. it is focused entirely on this person being removed from the server with some context given for the events surrounding it, no big claims of blame.

it may be true that it has something to do with what the anon says, I do not know. but I think the point that the OP was trying to make was about the suddenness, lack/unwillingness of communication, and general poor conduct surrounding the issue.

#anonymous ad #anonymous #malevolent discord

Hey, this is Harlan. I get that I'm not perfect - I've definitely made mistakes - but seeing as in the past I've overshared, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't contribute to this by posting comments explaining the details of the things I've over-shared... that I shouldn't have. My show got popular and this "massive community" that I shared things with - things that the previous poster commented about, were posted when it was much smaller. It was still a very bad idea and a stupid move, so feel free to tell people about my mistakes - but I'm asking you to maybe not help spread the details of the stuff please. If you want people to stay away from me and generally share negative Harlan stuff - honestly I'm fine for it - I can take my lumps. I'll take accountability too; yes I overshared in the community, I shared stuff from my personal life, I treated fans as friends, I made mistakes in dealing with them at times. I'm sorry to those who were upset/hurt/frustrated or disappointed in my oversharing or general mistakes. I'll be pulling back from public spaces in general, interacting less, and overall just stopping. I am garbage, I get it. Please stop tagging my real life name in every terrible piece of my life I chose to share.

first of all, I appreciate you taking a moment to address this by sending me a message. a lot of creators would just ignore it or go off on a tirade to play a victim, and you haven't and I think that does show a lot of growth and maturity.

I don't think dredging up old issues is particularly useful, if they have been appropriately addressed. I've never been part of the Malevolent community in a way that it seems many others have, so my context for these things is based on what I am being asked to share. if there are aspects of the messages that I am getting which are already closed books, I think they don't need more than a passing mention. and even that I only say because patterns of behavior are something we should all be aware of in the people/figures we interact with, online or in-person. that's just a healthy thing to do generally to establish personal boundaries that can stop you from getting burned by someone over and over.

I also would not say that you are a garbage person, I don't think that name-calling (even yourself) is a healthy way to approach any kind of situation.

what I think seems to be the issues and the reason that I am getting these messages NOW is that there have been recent events that the community feels you have not dealt with.

no one has been calling for your head or your cancellation, the tone I am picking up is that people just want some accountability. these more recent issues with the Discord server and ex-mods seem to have hurt a lot of people, some of whom are calling it out as a pattern.

I think most people (especially people who were once fans of someone/their work) want to see acknowledgment of mistakes publicly and positive changes being made more than they want any kind of attack campaign.

the problem comes when polite requests for this go unheard or ignored or the seriousness isn't grasped until it is called out on a more public scale.

I have nothing against you or your podcast or your family or friends or anything. I just think it is important to provide somewhere that people can share their experiences safely (which in our community does mean anonymously because of how tight knit some of the cliques are).

I hope you are growing and learning from this and that you can regain the trust of your community, but it starts with addressing them and their concerns upfront where they are relevant (none of that YouTuber apology bullshit where it goes on a much smaller second channel or a Twitter account that not even a quarter of their YT subscribers follow). fully owning up to any mistakes you've made is a good first step, and how you approach it will dictate whether people accept it.

this stuff is bad for you (not even in terms of image, just in terms of your general health as a person) and for them, so I hope it gets resolved as best as it can.

#anonymous ad #anonymous #malevolent discord #ignoring shit doesn't make it go away so I hope you think about that in how you handle this #I don't know how people who were hurt are going to feel about this response from the man himself #but I think it's pretty measured and I respect that there was no finger pointing and blaming #I am still going to share the asks I have received (as long as they aren't just being shitty for no reason)

harlan guthrie sharing that he was having a baby is actually a pretty normal, non parasocial thing to do imo. i wouldn't call the number of children you have inappropriately intimate information to disclose.

inappropriately intimate information to disclose is more like sharing pictures of your real custody agreement paperwork, sending emotionally fraught screenshots from emails with your father with whom you have a strained relationship (and oversharing how this strained relationship informs your podcasts to people BRAND NEW to your server who just wanted to pay you a compliment), giving your personal home address to fans, and telling people about your kidney stones, including the symptoms you were experiencing.

here's where i'd joke "you know, as a hypothetical example", but being a one-off anon message, i'll be clear that yes, these are all real examples harlan guthrie shared publically in his very large discord server. he doesn't have a good grasp of boundaries or the general concept of parasociality, and the extremely weak and ill-enforced "rules" of his server both exemplify and contribute to this.

(he's also infamously fast and loose with the privacy of others, making a hobby of screenshotting and posting bad reviews of his shows without redacting usernames even after being told repeatedly that this was not cool. supposedly he really has stopped for good now, which would be good, but also he did give a child's real name and face in private conversation with two separate users in the recent 'nazi child' incident, so.)

first of the anonymous asks I got with stories/information on the whole Harlan Guthrie discord thing.

note: yeah I recognize the baby thing is probably just me, I don't like strangers knowing a lot about myself. so seeing others do it so freely and openly despite knowing they have thousands of fans is jarring and kind of scares me.

I'm not sure if I'm going to do more with each of these than just boost them and have them all gathered in one place, but depending on the kinds of correlating incidents that come in I may do something like a timeline of events or something showing patterns of behavior.

I will say that the last sentence of this ask DOES have context, which I learned from someone passing along this tumblr post:

Since I have seen more people speak up a bit about witnessing mismanagement in the Malevolent/Invictus server I’ve decided it might be helpf

let me know what people might find helpful. I know for some the goal of this kind of thing is going to have one place to point and start asking for accountability, it's nice to have stuff gathered.

#anonymous ad #anonymous #audiodrama #malevolent discord #parasocial behavior

are you aware of malevolent or the fandom at all? i stopped following harlan a while ago bc the way he interacted with fans gave me the ick and i forgot about it for a while but. now i'm seeing *dozens* of comments from people who say he treats his fans like shit on the official discord and like. i guess im just wondering if you or anyone else has some insight on this? it just sucks bc the fandom is really getting huge and it seems like harlan is really parasocially involved in it and i feel like i can't even post about it on my own blog bc i'm worried about the reaction.

I am definitely aware of Malevolent and Harlan, at this point I would be surprised to meet someone who isn't at least a little.

this however is new to me as someone who only has interacted in passing and only engaged with his content the way I would most audio dramas I listen to. which is to say I've listened to some and chatted offhand with others.

I haven't seen very much from the discord, but I think I like a lot of people only frequent a few servers and mostly ignore the rest so that stuff wouldn't ever cross my path unless it affected someone I know personally.

that isn't to say it isn't happening, and honestly I would be interested to dig into it more because a lot of content creators and their communities have collapsed from this type of behavior (maybe not in our space, but plenty on YouTube and Twitch and beyond).

there is definitely an important conversation to be had around the parasocial relationships that our community fosters, every creator is MUCH more accessible than any other type of media I have experienced. and while that can be a good thing it can also be a really really bad thing, especially if someone with power abuses it.

I know that Malevolent and Harlan's other projects do have quite a following and it keeps growing, so this is genuinely concerning to hear and I personally want to take it very seriously if it is happening.

if anyone has stories that they want to tell in an anonymous forum, they are welcome to send them and I will put it out there.

we can also just as a group try to start a larger conversation about the ways that creator accessibility might be dangerous (for BOTH sides) and how we can think about putting safety rails in place to make sure that things cannot get out of hand.

#anonymous ad #parasocial relationships #parasocial behavior #I would like to say that I personally am not the type of person who would advertise to fans such life events as having a baby #that level of intimacy and sharing my personal life does make me a bit uncomfortable and puts me on edge #especially given how readily accessible he is in comparison to other types of content creators who have a more obvious barrier #discord has definitely facilitated a little too much access in my opinion #which is great at small levels where we can network and bond #but really dangerous when someone starts to become a tent pole in a community

After reading through your apology, I genuinely think your heart is in the right place. I can imagine, from a consumer standpoint, that seeing these large production budgets essentially being made the audiences' problem is frustrating. But I'd like to at least explain why crowdfunds are the way they are, as someone on "the inside".

I get that your stance is "Capitalism is bad", but that doesn't mean we can ignore it outright. You said on you Shelterwood post "a "fair wage" is a capitalist idea that most don't benefit from", but does that mean people shouldn't be paid at all? Frankly, I disagree.

People deserve to be paid for their labor. Again, it's not fair that the budget has now become the audience's burden, but it's also not fair to say that the concept of a fair wage is bad, full stop. Especially for older content creators, we can't justify time for passion projects on shoestring budgets anymore. We can say capitalism is bad all we want, but while we're living in it, all your favorite content creators still have to play the game.

The money has to come from somewhere. Often, we crowdfund because the usual avenues of making money in podcasting isn't available to us. For what it's worth, how that's solved is a discussion many creators are having now. (This is why you'll likely see an increase in ads across the board, and I hope you have patience for shows that run ads when they happen.)

As I said, I think your heart is in the right place. And yes, there's a discussion that needs to happen regarding crowdfunding and what's realistic to expect from audiences. But I do want to make it clear that us creators aren't pulling these big numbers to swindle anyone out of their money. We just want to keep telling stories, and while we live in capitalism, we are need money to do it.

I don't know if this ask is from the same person, but either way thank you for hearing me out and giving me the benefit of the doubt in terms of my sincerity.

so I think that something that is happening here (which is something that I experience in my real life as a left-leaning person when I try to have these conversations with certain types of people) is that we are getting caught up in whether it's feasible to live within a capitalist system without being agents of it.

we are all victims to it AND victimizers. especially if you live in a "wealthy" nation (by the standards of GDP, not by the standards of how individual citizens are faring). if you shop at a chain grocery store, use Amazon, buy fast fashion, etc etc. a lot of things that are unavoidable to make it by, because doing otherwise is very expensive.

the point being, yes, we all have to survive under capitalism.

but I think where the viewpoint stated by this anon and my own differ is that we are trying to get that money to survive from different places. every content creator across all mediums (YouTubers, musicians, TikTokers, podcasters, etc.) has to figure out how to make it something that they can afford to do. things are not created out of nothing, they take time and effort and talent and MONEY.

where you are getting that money from and how you are distributing it is also really important though.

I am not against the concept of "fair wages", but the idea of this is something that exists in the realm of business. and if you are going to treat a production like a BUSINESS, then you need to actually think about what that means. a business needs to be able to support itself financially through the product it makes or service it provides. the problem is that within the context of audio drama that does not really exist as a path, it only works AFTER you have put in the un/underpaid labor to build a base of supporters.

obviously we don't really charge people to get to listen to podcasts, that doesn't work in our space unless you already have a massive base of support willing to trust blindly that it will be worth it. we kind of get around that through Patreon and Ko-fi by creators providing exclusive content, something much more akin to how a business operates. there are also now the "+" style subscriptions that some networks and apps like Apollo have started, but to me those are very similar in that they are basically aggregating the same content that people are posting to their Patreons in an attempt to be a more enticing proposition than supporting a single creator.

your podcast CAN'T be treated like a business until there is a sustainable way to support it like one, and crowdfunding just isn't going to be that.

we still need to think about what can be sustainable for the community, a point I made that you didn't really acknowledge here. crowdfunding cannot be a sustainable method in these high amounts, it is literally impossible. with campaigns this size every month, sometimes multiple at once, where is that money supposed to come from sustainably? especially in the context I've been pointing out about how people are struggling right now, something you can't ignore when the contributors to these kinds of campaigns are average people.

at that point what you are actually looking for is an investor, a very common business practice for a start-up. which is what these campaigns are basically attempting to be, so it is a logical method of getting the funds. especially when what is apparently needed is this high.

so, we need to be looking at who does have the money and would be willing to contribute to the types of things we make; groups that have the resources and connections needed to help these kinds of larger scale projects succeed.

and wouldn't you know it, there's a very obvious solution to this one problem: podcast networks.

podcast networks are a middleman in the space, seemingly collecting money with the only benefit being minimal promotion and advertising help, and of course slapping a recognizable name on there that maybe attracts a few more listeners because it has "network backing". what services are they providing with that money they are taking? it should be argued that if you are essentially paying part of your revenue to a network that they are using it substantially to help support your endeavors. I have not seen this level of support from any of them.

the closest we've gotten to this is when the Apollo app gave $10,000 to some creators last year to make something completely original and unique (for example, Ester Ellis, creator of Station Blue and The Goblet Wire, was able to create something completely unique and out of the box with Whale Song). to be honest, that obvious ploy to get into the community's good graces is more than any of the actual networks have done. it doesn't really matter that it was a calculated business decision that would benefit them, it also benefited US as creators.

making deals with a network or outside funder is ACTUALLY "playing the game" of capitalism, getting it from individuals as part of an unsustainable crowdfunding campaign is not.

and again, it really matters that these resources are being EQUITABLY spread, but that is another conversation to be had if/when these things start existing for people to take advantage of.

additionally, it is worth pointing out that there are cities/states/countries that offer artistic grants. if your project needs major funding it is part of your due diligence to look into these things as potentially avenues. ignoring these opportunities is honestly negligent and disrespectful to fans who want to see the show get made by putting the entire burden of the cost on them.

you also mentioned advertisements, something that is an annoying but everyday part of our consumer society. for a lot of content creators I know it is the ONLY way to make money (note: I include sponsorship deals within the banner of advertising personally) and I do not begrudge them that because it's just how this shit works. yeah we all dislike getting interrupted by an ad, even between distinct episodes, but I don't think anyone should get upset at that stuff unless it's truly egregious (something like 3 minutes of ads for 5 minutes of actual content is just being shitty about the value of people's time).

this is actually an example of the right type of revenue stream to be chasing. residuals and passive income are important parts of making a business sustainable, especially a content creation business where the "product" is freely available. that is literally what ads were made for, it's how network TV makes money too. no, I don't think that this alone can sustain the costs of a production team, but I do think that it's things like this that need to be where the thought and energy goes when looking for ways to supplement it. hence the popularity of monthly support options, merch, sponsorships, etc.

I would also like to point out I am also an audio drama creator, I've been very open about that. whenever I get an idea for a new project or even just making my current ones happen I am also having to ask and deal with these questions of money. and I readily admit it isn't easy, money and compensation for non-tangible services and goods is not straightforward.

but that's why I make it a priority to work within my bounds while I figure it out. my first endeavor did not include asking for more money than some people make in a year, it was me investing in a microphone and asking people if they were interested in taking part even though it wasn't paid. I figured out how to make it work by using Freesound and Audacity and spending hours googling when I desperately needed one super specific thing. I recognized that 1) it was not something I could afford to spend money at the time, 2) I had not proven myself to the community such that I would feel right asking for money without any indication of the quality of product they would be receiving, and 3) that creative budgeting was always going to have to be part of how I did this.

I know the term "creative budgeting" may not be familiar to all kinds of people, but it is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. it's something that people have to do every day to pay their bills and buy groceries and keep their businesses afloat.

asking others to pay me a business-adjacent "fair wage" for an unprovable possible product is not being responsible with funds. there are a lot of resources available that can help ease costs and get rid of the less necessary expenses, and that is part of successfully allocating funds for any kind of project.

one last thing I want to address on here:

you talk about older people not having the benefit of passion projects. while I can empathize with what you are saying, this is kind of an ageist and ableist take and I want to address it so that you can have a better understanding of why it's problematic.

first of all, I think it's fair to say that everyone is financially struggling right now. it is a privilege to even have the time and energy to create instead of having to spend every ounce of yourself just surviving, one I recognize that I personally have.

we're at a stage where identifying as an "older content creator" might just mean "Millennial", and yeah that generation has suffered a lot financially due to Gen X and Boomers. but so has everyone born after them, it is no longer a uniquely Millennial problem to have money trouble. I know plenty of people in this age group who are tight financially, but not so tight that they are actively in danger. and I know people in that group who are barely scraping together enough to eat and keep a roof over their head.

I can say the exact same thing about Gen Z. if anything, Millennials have the benefit of the hardest times hitting AFTER getting degrees and those vital first jobs that create the lucrative "job experience" that every application after will be looking for. it's nearly impossible for some younger people to land "entry level" these days.

I'm really discussing a larger issue here, but by bringing up the difference in age as a contributing factor, it somewhat feels like you are saying that you are more worthy of those types of contributions and investments because of age. which is the kind of language we all grew up hearing from our parents and from policymakers and eventually from our bosses. it's an unhelpful stance to take when all of us are more or less in the same shitty situation.

the longer I've lived the more clear it's become that these generational divides from Millennial downward have been very intentionally placed to try and make us alienated from one another. I am somewhere in that vast swathe and that's how I identify; as part of the generations who were screwed. it doesn't matter which one, when you were born at this point only has an impact on how long you've already suffered, not how long you are going to.

which is fucking bleak, yeah. but an important reminder that solidarity is important in all things, especially when it comes to the arts and expression.

your age doesn't give you more of a right to be exploitative. that is not an accusation towards anyone, it's more of a general statement about the ways in which we let a lot of the older generations who have power get away with abusing everyone beneath them.

to much more briefly touch on why it is an ableist statement, I'm just going to point out that there are lot of factors that can impact someone's life regardless of age and make things more difficult for them. I know there is a lot of neurodivergence in the community, which can be disabling for some. I also know that there are some physically disabled creators who have talked about difficulties and barriers that people twice their age haven't had to deal with. it's something that I understand can be easy to forget if you aren't faced with it every day, I do not blame people for that. but that's why I think it is important to point out here so that eventually it will be something that everyone considers.

lastly, a couple of small notes that didn't fit in anywhere above, but I wanted to include

it is worth pointing out here that it is a privilege to be able to pay someone at all, one that a lot of projects don't have the luxury of. I don't think that's right, but it is a reality of making art.

"swindling" may be a harsh word for what I think is happening with these campaigns. I certainly think it is inequitably pulling resources towards individuals, but I don't believe that people are literally getting scammed

that's all I've got on this one, thanks for sticking with me and I HOPE we can spur some more conversations from this. namely, if you are part of a network you should ask them what they do to provide support for the community. make them sweat a little bit, it might benefit us all.

#anonymous ad #crowdfund don'ts #crowdfund tips #crowdfunding can't be sustainable #sorry it just isn't possible #if you want to be a business then pursue business funding #or bully your podcast network into helping to fund you #I'm serious they have the money and I NEVER see them doing promotion after the initial push #what are they spending it on if not supporting the shows they get to profit off of #also as per usual fuck capitalism for making these conversations things that need to happen #I just want all of us to be able to create art in peace without worrying about how to live #but part of that is being conscious of how you are impacting the broader community and resources available

Shelterwood: a follow-up and apology

someone reached out to me after publishing my Shelterwood crowdfunding post with some very valid stuff that I want to address. they mistakenly sent it non-anonymously (something I confirmed with them before just responding to the Ask), so in the spirit of keeping things unidentifiable around here I am going to screenshot the entire message (so you can know I'm not selectively cutting anything out) and then I'll respond to it in chunks:

A Genuine Apology

so let's start with the first chunk of text:

I'm going to be straight with you: while there were absolutely some points you made about the Shelterwood crowdfund that I agreed with, like how unreasonable the goal seemed for a show produced by a novice showrunner, something's really sticking out here. That thing is that Stephen Indrisano and Nigel McKeon are both young, white, non-binary novice showrunners who secured some high-billing talent and picked unreasonably high crowdfunding goals, but you treated one of them with a lot of grace and understanding... and then turned around and not only accused the other of essentially being the problem with the current state of podcasting, but also called them cis in the process despite having acknowledged their pronouns earlier in your write-up. That was... certainly something. It's almost like you had a specific point you wanted to make, so you just sort of conveniently forget that Stephen is non-binary to make it. That or you don't actually think Stephen is non-binary and were engaging in some passive-aggressive gatekeeping, which also sucks, just in a different way.

this is 100% something I fucked up on, I will readily admit that. my accidental erasure of Stephen's identity as a non-binary person is not okay, intentional or not.

I wrote the initial post gradually over the course of just over a week, top to bottom, and then did a quick skim of it at the end to make sure things were still up-to-date in accordance with any updates to the campaign itself. a result of this is that between when I started the post (where I included Stephen's pronouns of "he/they)" and when I was writing some of the later parts I had forgotten this. I think part of the reason is that the campaign is not really about Stephen, so it isn't like there are consistent references to him as an individual. in the few places there are, such as the intro section of the main text and the FAQ, "he" is used exclusively, which I think mistakenly put that in my mind as Stephen having a male gender identity because I hadn't seen a self-identification as being non-binary on their website or Twitter. but someone deciding to use a specific set of pronouns in the text of something like this (to avoid confusion or for any other reason) does NOT invalidate their use of other pronouns elsewhere. similarly you don't have to outwardly proclaim your gender identity for it to be respected and not assumed as cis.

I am genuinely very sorry about this, it was a mistake and I am in the process of editing the original post to reflect Stephen's proper gender identity.

now then.

let's talk about the difference between Nigel (Among the Stacks) and Stephen and the way I approached them, because you're right that there was a difference.

I think a key way that these two projects differ is that one of them was very clearly made by someone who didn't know what they were doing and was in over their head. Among the Stacks was a clear trainwreck from the moment they started revealing how bloated the cast and crew were. I had many conversations with other creators during that early time where we were all wondering how this thing could function with so many cooks in the kitchen, and how you could have a coherent story with that many characters. it was clearly a product of someone new and over-excited who didn't have a real idea of how to do what they were dreaming of.

in contrast, Shelterwood seems to be genuinely well-thought out and approached like it was created by someone who has done their research and been part of the community for a while. it has a full concept with a clearly outlined size and goals and is a very realistic sounding first project. if it weren't for the goal and the rewards we wouldn't be talking about it at all. as a pitch it is perfectly reasonable.

I went a bit easier on Nigel because just from looking a lot of us could tell that Among the Stacks was going to end in disaster. we didn't know when or how, just that there was no way a project like that could actually succeed. I also knew from interactions between Nigel and other people that she was not very good at taking critique or hearing other people out on stuff that they didn't agree with. I went into that post with the intention of being harsh but fair, because I wanted Nigel to hear what I had to say and LISTEN. not just brush it off as "someone is jealous of my amazing idea and so they are being mean". I was still a bit mean in that post at some parts, I will admit that. my tone can swing a bit far on the sarcastic side, especially the longer I spend on a given post digging into things.

Shelterwood is full of people who should know better, something that it makes a point to brag about. it isn't just one person's dream project that they don't know how to wrangle, Stephen is clearly a proficient showrunner to have pulled all of this together (and I do genuinely find the show's concept to be interesting, even if I didn't really communicate that in the post as much as I could have). Stephen has ALSO been around the block a few times in regards to working on audio dramas, whether or not they have helmed their own. this means that from the start my expectations for them were higher.

my goal was not to accuse Stephen of being "the problem", but I think that this campaign is INDICATIVE of a lot of the "the problems" going on right now with audio drama crowdfunding.

I did seriously think about pulling the last section into a completely separate post, but what I wrote applies to the context of this campaign and so I felt it was important to have that connection. if I had been able to fully communicate my thoughts on it before now, say for the Arden campaign, it would have been part of that post. but it took me a lot of time to get those words down in a way that actually communicated what I think the problem is.

I know having it as part of the Shelterwood post has an implication, and the implication is correct that this campaign is PART of the problem, but it isn't the whole problem.

It's also very weird that you lumped Shelterwood, Arden, Among the Stacks and Afflicted in with The Magnus Protocol, which was on an entirely different level. They're not comparable. Not a single one of those first four shows actually made their crowdfund goals. In Afflicted's case, the all or nothing state of the crowdfund means 100% of that money was returned to backers. The Among the Stacks crowdfund was cancelled. Which means that for 50% of your given examples, literally none of that money ended up tied up in those shows rather than being contributed to other, smaller shows. This is not comparable with The Magnus Protocol crowdfund situation, and I think you know that.

it's 100% true that The Magnus Protocol is on a whole other level than these other campaigns, I said as much in my write-up. it is not comparable and I wasn't attempting to compare nearly $1 million USD to $26,000.

what I was attempting (and may have failed) to do was to point out that what Rusty Quill did was change the playing field for the worse. when looking at those two numbers you can much more easily make attempts to justify the high goals being asked for here, because in comparison that's downright reasonable to what they raised.

as a note: TMP had a funding goal of £15,000 (approx. $19,500 USD). so they weren't actually asking for hundreds of thousands of dollars to make 3 seasons of a show. in fact, what they asked for is less than the campaigns I'm trying to call out here. that Kickstarter has a lot of things that were suspect about it and felt slimey and exploitative, but the asking price was not really one of them.

however.

just because they didn't ASK for that much money doesn't mean they didn't know it would happen (maybe not to that extent, but still). this still had the same impact, which from what I can tell is making some people think that audio drama crowdfunding is for making a profit.

as for the next point about none of the shows except for TMA 2 hitting their goals:

the amount they are walking away with isn't really the point.

at the end of the day, it's about the fact that the more stuff like this happens, the more it is NORMALIZED. and these kinds of goals getting normalized is harmful.

as an example, in the world of video games there is something called "microtransactions". for anyone who doesn't know, these are additional, small purchases you make in a game that you often have already paid upwards of $60-70 USD for. in the beginning, they were marketed as "just cosmetic" and not going to impact gameplay. and so people didn't fight back too hard when EVERY game started implementing them. but of course, what that did was move the bar. it normalized people paying extra money on top of their purchase for something that used to be included for free with a game. and so the companies started pushing the needle further. and further.

now, this isn't a direct parallel for a lot of reasons, but when greed is being put forward as normal again and again (even when it continues to result in failure) it starts to cement it as something "normal". something to be expected.

the larger problem here is that these are unsustainable amounts of money to be trying to get out of the community.

which connects to this next section:

Speaking of The Magnus Protocol, there's also an assumption being made here that someone deprived of the option of helping one of these shows reach their crowdfund goal is automatically going to donate to another show... and I need you to remember that The Magnus Protocol's final tally was something stupid like 4000% of their original goal. Lower crowdfunding goals don't stop people from contributing once that goal has been reached. People just keep donating to that project. None of those people were donating to make sure the thing got made- they were donating because they liked The Magnus Archives, and the hard to swallow pill here is that that doesn't mean they would've contributed to other crowdfunds otherwise. I have my own issues with The Magnus Protocol thing. But the statement that that crowdfund snatched money out of the pockets of smaller shows by having an unreasonably high goal just straight-up does not hold water. That's nothing. It's 4000% less than nothing. You're allowed to be mad that that campaign got such a ridiculous amount of funding when so many smaller shows are struggling. You don't need to couch it in pseudo-logic to justify feeling that way. We're all mad about it. It's okay.

this is definitely a good call-out, this person is right that someone not donating to one campaign does not mean that money will go to another. in a lot of cases, the only reason someone sees a campaign is because it is being promoted by the things they already like (in The Magnus Protocol's case that obviously being The Magnus Archives), and that means they probably aren't going to be choosing between every campaign that is out there and deciding where their $5 is going to go. they might just as easily pocket it and buy a nice coffee the next day.

and that absolutely sucks, because it would be nice for the love that some people have towards specific shows to be something that extends to the whole medium.

but I do think there's something to be said for feeling like even a small donation is making an impact. I would feel kind of bad to only be able to give $20 towards a $10k+ goal, it isn't even a drop in the bucket towards what is needed and if I care enough to donate to something I do want it to succeed. but that same $20 to a campaign only asking for $3000? that's a lot more tangible of an impact. enough so that I could feel good about splitting that $20 between two projects maybe.

that isn't 100% the point of what you were saying, I know that. the reality is that not everyone in this community has a general investment in the success of others.

I think where that becomes the biggest problem is when some people only seem to have an investment in themselves, and no one else. that's where these things become problems, when the larger needs of the community are ignored for the sake of a few who repeatedly succeed.

I'm kind of bleeding a bit into my response to the next part, so here that chunk is:

And do I agree that we as a community need to start talking about what is and is not realistic when it comes to crowdfunding? Yeah, absolutely. You have a point there. That's a valuable and timely observation and I'm glad somebody said it. Unfortunately, the value of that point was absolutely buried by the extremely obvious fact that this time, in this case, something about this project is personal for you. I don't know what it is specifically, but I do feel the need to ask: You are aware that Tal Minear is involved in the show as a graphic designer and minor actor, right? They have nothing to do with the crowdfund or the rest of production. Their name being attached doesn't mean they're secretly running the show. This is not Tal's show. They'd be credited as a producer if they were that involved. So why do you feel the need to keep bringing them up? Anyway, it's extremely difficult to take your analysis in good faith when it's so transparently motivated by some sort of personal distaste for somebody/the people in the project, and that's a shame, because some of the things you're saying have value.

I certainly didn't shy away from pointing a bit of a finger at Tal Minear for promoting this ideology, among others. their clear involvement in this project makes me immediately more suspicious, because Re: Dracula was a self-admitted cash grab. and that stain on their character is not going to go away for me.

it's less that it's "personal" for me, and more that this is a figure in the community that I have repeatedly seen presented as an expert that MUST be listened to. including by themself. ESPECIALLY when it comes to the matter of crowdfunding.

now, if I were friends with someone like that AND they were involved with my project that was about to have a campaign, would I not lean on that resource? even just for advice on how to put it together and what needs to be included. Tal just wrote a small little article for Descript that has some very generic crowdfunding tips, so they are arguably the most knowledgeable person involved in the campaign to go to for advice and feedback.

I know for a fact that Tal has given crowdfunding advice unsolicited to people running campaigns, usually in the form of asking why crew is not being paid appropriately (a valid question in most cases where actors tend to get a huge portion of the budget). so I can't imagine a world where they didn't give at least a little input to a friend for a show that they are actively involved in.

I don't think they are running anything behind the scenes, no, Tal is not part of some audio drama Illuminati. but I do recognize the high esteem to which they are held by MANY community members.

my goal was to call out the culture that has grown around audio drama crowdfunding, and the ways that I've seen it hurting most people who attempt to do it. I have noticed that Tal is a big part of what has normalized that.

as for the ways in which I brought them up, yeah I like to be a bit snide and I probably laid it on a bit thick. it's easy to get carried away in these things, especially towards someone that I am admittedly not a huge fan of.

that is the extent to which it could be considered "personal" for me, but I understand if you don't believe that or if that still had too much of an impact on taking the rest of what I said seriously. that is your choice and I respect it, it's just very difficult for me to separate out their involvement given what I know outside of this.

You're just completely undercutting that value by surrounding it with so much pointless nitpicking and snideness. What happened to "#but actually my intention is to be thoughtful and not mean"? You claim to be acting in the interest and defense of the community, but as the creator of a small podcast that nets me absolutely zero profit, I'm not feeling it. This feels like it's about you, not the rest of us.

this is absolutely fair.

I am just one person at the end of the day. I've talked to others, discussed the situation surrounding this campaign and others like it with them, but I am the one typing it down and inserting my voice and my take on it.

as such, I am not going to be a perfect mouthpiece for everyone's thoughts about this stuff.

I WANT to be one that is largely beneficial, however.

sometimes I lean a bit heavy into the snideness for the sake of keeping things interesting; these write-ups are LONG and as a writer I recognize you have to do something to keep people engaged so they actually absorb what you are saying.

is that the right approach? probably not for everyone, but it is part of a reflection of my own voice that it comes out like this.

"#but actually my intention is to be thoughtful and not mean" is something I wrote, something that I still want to keep in mind but sometimes I fail at that. in this case, I found it hard to stick to.

repeatedly seeing campaigns like this is disheartening to me, it wears me out. there is an amount of what a lot of people might see as "bitterness", but it's not really about any specific project or person.

I think my massive fucking rant at the end of that post about capitalism ruining audio dramas with the need to make money unsustainably says a lot about how I feel about the current financial state of the world. a lot of that "bitterness" is from this deep rage towards to the system, directed outwards where it can be. maybe the flow of it was a bit strong on this one, but it is still an accurate reflection of the way that I see things.

note, an accurate reflection to ME. it's okay if it isn't accurate to you, that's part of why the conversations need to happen.

part of why I do the math breakdowns for the budget is to help myself try and get a grasp on what those numbers mean. the human brain is not really formatted to understand large quantities of things, especially something that is usually intangible in those high amounts like money. I also do it because I want to give someone the opportunity to say "actually, you're wrong because this does add up. you are just missing part of the picture."

I know the way I approached this might come off as defensive, that's not my intention. I decided to break it down like this so that no one would think I'm trying to skip over feedback or ignore certain points that make me look bad.

everything that this person said to me is a valid response to what I wrote, including the things I pushed back on.

I am very grateful that they reached out to me, and I want to continue the conversation. ESPECIALLY if they feel that I did not hear them here.

my responses are just that. a response. they are not a claim of being right or these reactions being unjustified. we are all only in our own heads, and the conclusions we come to are usually based in rationality. my mind is open to being changed, I want to see as full a picture as possible.

if you disagree with what I've said, that is fine.

if you agree with what I've said, that is fine.

if you aren't sure, that is also fine.

we're talking about something complex and nuanced and just because I'm the one bringing these things up doesn't mean I have the RIGHT opinion or that I am the person who SHOULD be saying it.

there is a reason that I am anonymous here, and it's mostly because the conversation is more important than who is speaking.

as always, my inbox and Asks are open.

feedback welcome, I mean that.

#anonymous ad #crowdfund tips #shelterwood crowdfund #Stephen Indrisano #Tal Minear #among the stacks crowdfund #The Magnus Protocol crowdfund #“but actually my intention is to be thoughtful and not mean” is something I will do better to keep in mind #at the end of the day I do want this to make us a better community #sorry that capitalism ruins everything as per usual

crowdfund review: Shelterwood

Shelterwood has been on my radar for a while, since last year when they were casting (I think it was last year, but at this point we're over midway through this one so it may have been more recently). there have been rumblings about it for a while, lots of people intrigued by the initial pitch of "suburban gothic horror", so it's already gotten a bit of traction. I was unsurprised to see it announce a crowdfund. even more unsurprised to see certain aspects of it weren't up to snuff.

as usual, the link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/shelterwood-a-suburban-gothic

so let's start as we always do...

(Un)Realistic Goals

#anonymous ad #crowdfund don'ts #shelterwood crowdfund #I shouldn't have to keep saying some of these things #like c'mon #this took too long #oh my god and then I saw the updates and had to go back #obligatory magnus archives reference #the magnus protocol gets a mention too #and WOE.BEGONE #and Among the Stacks because I can't escape the only reason anyone cares about what I say #exploitative crowdfunding #“a rising tide lifts all boats” is bullshit #trust me because I pay attention to all this shit #even when I don't say anything about it #I am watching because I care about this community #go look up what small campaigns are running right now

thoughts on the Shelterwood crowdfund?

oh boy do I have thoughts, and they are coming

#anonymous ad #crowdfund don'ts #crowdfund tips

do you have any links to crowdfunding campaigns that you think were good?

yeah, allow me to scrounge up a couple good examples (past and current) for all different reasons. I wouldn't say any of these are perfect, but they all have at least one thing they did really well: right now @tellnotalespod is funding their season 2 and I think their campaign has a lot of really good qualities. in particular I think their budget section is really thorough and makes a point to address why the numbers are broken up the way they are in. even with a goal of only $4044 USD, they made a point to justify the expenses and include things like fees, reward fulfillment, and what will happen if they under or overfund. this is probably the strongest budget section I've seen in a while.

@nightshiftpodcast did their campaign for season 2 earlier this year as well, and I really like how they handled the different backer rewards as a visual chart to show what was and wasn't included at each tier. I think it's really easy to lose track of lists of rewards when they most frequently just reference "and everything before this tier", so a visual aid is super handy. AND it really emphasizes the amount of stuff being offered at the highest tiers so it makes those look even more appealing to prospective backers:

@mortsafepod might have the most beautiful backer reward photos I've ever seen, just the painstaking perfection of the wax seal and the lavender and the brown pages even makes the stickers look fancier than they are:

lastly, @karenonepercent really committed to made sure to focus on the depth and intentions of the project in an interesting way as part of their immediate sales pitch. they start with a super intriguing plot elevator pitch, then a mission statement for why this project matters to the creator, and even spend some time alluding to the driving motivations and thematic elements to look forward to. it's surprisingly brief for how well it communicates the goals of the team and their purpose for pursuing funding, and it was more than enough to put it on my personal radar for future listening.

I know a lot of these examples are recent, but it's a bit harder to dig through and find links to some older campaigns (especially on platforms like Seed&Spark) and off the top of my head it's hard to remember which ones did specific aspects really well. but I hope these examples give some good guidance on some of the more positive things I've seen, I know a lot of the framing is pretty negative when I talk about crowdfunds because let's be honest: a bad campaign just has so much more to talk about than a good one.

#crowdfunding #anonymous ad #crowdfund tips #crowdfund wins #tell no tales podcast #night shift podcast #mort safe podcast #karen one percent podcast #yay for once it's compliment time

shelterwoodpod

THE CROWDFUND IS LIVE BABY

After 3 years of development, 3 full drafts of 270 pages of script, a casting call with over 400 entries, and uncountable hours of support from friends and family, Shelterwood is looming on the horizon. Check us out (and our very dramatic crowdfund video) here:

A 16 episode Docu-Horror Podcast about a missing girl, an impossible suburb, and the American Dream. | Check out 'Shelterwood: A Suburban Go

anonymousad

ah shit, I'm gonna have to say something about this, aren't I...

#crowdfund don'ts #shelterwood crowdfund #crowdfund tips #spoiler alert: it's about the money and rewards again

Hey will you still be posting a breakdown for the Arden crowdfund? I am quite curious to hear your thoughts on it

sorry it took so long, there was more to dig into than I thought and then there were two updates posted that made me do some rewrites, but it's out there now

#arden crowdfund #crowdfund don'ts #anonymous ad

crowdfund review: Arden Season 3

I was sent an anonymous ask telling me I should look at the crowdfunding campaign for Arden season 3. and so I did. and I definitely have some thoughts, though I'm sorry it took me this long to get them down because things have changed a bit since then (I've already had to adjust wording and update images twice because I'm slow).

here is the link to their campaign: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/arden-s3-midsummer-in-new-york-city#/

as well as their prior campaign to fund season 2, as I will be referring to it at several point: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/arden-season-2-a-town-called-elsinore#/

let's get started then.

First Glance, Let's Talk About Goals

so. that's a big number. $26,000 USD.

if you read my other crowdfunding review for Among the Stacks, I talked in-depth about how what you are asking for defines the expectations people have as well as what you need to make sure you provide. this is something to keep in mind as we look through this campaign, particularly because this is a big ask from a production that is established and wanting to appear very professional to justify this high of a goal.

let's compare this with their season 2 campaign. while you can't see the goal on old successful campaigns, it IS mentioned in that campaign video as being $6,000. that campaign wound up raising $17,167 from 461 backers, but the initial ask was VERY low in comparison to the current.

NOTE: there is a notably different set of numbers beneath these saying it hit $15,676 from 409 backers on Feb 19, 2020. I am not familiar enough with the intricacies of Indiegogo as a platform to be able to identify what this means exactly, but my guess is that that was the originally achieved goal when the campaign ended and maybe it has/had a feature where for a short time after the campaign you could still contribute? genuinely unsure, but we'll go with the number that the page highlights rather than this one.

I think it's also worth noting that this date of February 19th, 2020 was RIGHT before the pandemic hit, so people may have had more spare income such that this project could get $10k+ over its goal. I don't know if the overwhelming success of that campaign impacted the current one's goal being so high, but if it did that was probably a mistake because people just don't have that kind of money to spare anymore.

this campaign goal is set as "Flexible", as in they will get whatever is pledged no matter what, and I don't really have a problem with that usually, BUT. I will touch on why it feels a little bit different here towards the end of this post.

but let's hold off on digging too deep into those numbers just yet, we've got some stuff between us and the budget. there will be some.... thoughts in that section though, don't you worry.

The Video

2 minutes and 10 seconds is a length I can get onboard with. in comparison to their prior campaign video (4 minutes) it looks much cleaner and less amateur than the home-video style live action they used for the season 2 one, which I think is necessary for a campaign that asks this much. granted, it still feels very budget with just still graphics and stock images so I'm not particularly impressed by it visually.

the whole thing largely focuses on broadly covering the mysteries of seasons 1 and 2, interspersed with accolades and recognition, before giving the elevator pitch for the mystery of season 3.

as an aside, they tout their first season "being nominated at the Audio Verse Awards" on equal footing with Forbes calling them one of the 10 best fiction podcasts of 2018. all of us know the AVAs are just a "pay to get a nomination" thing, probably the least impressive thing they could be bragging about for anyone in the know. I have thoughts on that whole AVA thing as well, I'll probably put them together into a small post here soon.

but back to the video content. apart from addressing "people of Indiegogo" at the very start, it takes until the 1:38 mark for the video to even get to the point that it is telling you about a crowdfund and ask for support. if you were potentially unfamiliar with the show but stumbled across this campaign, it does a good job at selling you on the mysteries of the previous two seasons without giving away too much about what happens besides a romance between the leads.

the video ends with a call to action to donate, even if it's only a small amount, and then shows on screen as well as reads and spells the url to go to. good stuff, worth including for sure.

however, it feels like there's a disconnect in what the video is expecting from you as a viewer.

if I am finding this for the first time and know nothing about the show, it's a really great elevator pitch for me to add it to my podcast backlog.

if I am already a fan of the show, it just tells me about the existence of a campaign.

there's no mention of the campaign dates so there is no sense of urgency for me to check out the show immediately or go right to the campaign. there's no mention of the goal for me to get a sense of how much my contribution could positively impact it (I do think that with a goal this high there is less opportunity for people to really feel like their contribution is making a difference compared to a 3-5k goal, but still).

the video is not about the campaign at all, and that is kind of an obvious problem.

while the video for their season 2 campaign was 4 minutes with poor production quality and really iffy audio for trying to sell me on an audio medium, it does so much more for what it was trying to achieve. just about half of the runtime is dedicated to talking about the campaign goal, what it will go towards, the exclusive rewards, and why your support matters and makes an impact. based on just these videos, I would have been way more likely to check out and support Arden season 2 than I am to do the same for season 3.

I wish they had found a happy medium between the original low quality, but very charming live action and the new joke-corporate, but not particularly endearing, tone of the current. maybe they'll get it right for season 4.

NOTE - The Update:

right now there is a pretty significant update at the top of the campaign, I am jumping over it for the moment and we will touch on the contents in the "Budget" section where it makes more sense to.

They're Baaaaaack....

it was their joke, not mine.

this first section is pretty light overall, not getting into their sales pitch right off the bat, but informing or reminding the reader that the series is well-regarded by both critics and normal listeners and has already delivered on a successful campaign in the past.

this is very good to focus on upfront here, ESPECIALLY because people will go right from seeing the huge $26k goal to reading this and you have to justify that price tag immediately to not lose them. it highlights the stretch goals and extra content that they were able to produce before going on to say that they want to be even more ambitious for this next season, so that if you were to know or look up that the previous campaign raised about $17k you could maybe extrapolate and justify the nearly $10k increase from that amount being asked for here. it does direct us to the budget breakdown section lower on the page at the mention of wanting to provide proper compensation, which is good.

it ends with another call to action, inviting you to keep reading. this also recognizes that people will be looking at this first section to decide whether they want to continue reading.

overall, good section, but I don't know why I have to keep telling people to include links in here! you should want to direct me to your website, podcast feed, social media, etc. so I can find more information if I'm curious.

Season 3 Rundown

honestly I don't really have anything to say about this section. it's very similar to the plot tease from the campaign video with a little bit more details on the mystery. it's written to get existing fans excited and it probably does that just fine.

so let's move on to more of the meat.

Perks and Rewards

luckily for me, this section is literally just a text version of the different reward tiers with more detail. I am personally very grateful since this means I can skip covering the options on their own altogether because to anyone looking to back this section is very clearly highlighted covering all the details. thank you for giving me less work <3

to that point, I think for any kind of campaign that mostly focuses on digital goods it is really good to have this kind of text breakdown. for physical product focused crowdfunding you will have a lot more tangible images to show off to get people excited. in digital goods we are working with hypotheticals a lot of the time, especially in a story-based medium where you can't take a screenshot of your script to show off that it exists without giving out spoilers to the story you want to tell.

I will briefly say that I like the consistency of the tier images. the fake corporate employee badge is a fun format (though it means nothing to me as an outsider why it is relevant to the fake-true-crime angle of this series). it's also very easily customized to each tier without being a bunch of work to have unique images, which is less exciting, but also much less work.

I do also think it's worth mentioning that NONE of the tiers have a limit to the number of backers that can sign up for them, including the really high up ones that could cause trouble if too many people picked them (like the wrap party invite and some of the more involved physical goods). I think having restrictions on some of them is good for convincing people to go for them early because they're afraid of missing their chance, but also it can mean less work in terms of eventually needing to mail physical goods or coordinate personalized benefits.

but anyway, let's look at these tiers:

NOTE: every tier includes everything from the prior tiers, which I won't point out for all of them.

$1 FRIEND OF THE POD - aka the tip jar. honestly there's nothing offensive about this kind of tier existing, though I sometimes wonder if there's a point to it. but it does have 2 backers at writing so clearly some people appreciate it being an option.

$5 THE GOOD PEOPLE - honestly this tier has a lot of bang for your buck, like seriously for just $5 these are good rewards, but let's go over them individually:

early episodes - this is great, but what exactly does "Be the first on the block to hear S3 of Arden!" mean? I brought this up before for the ATS campaign, but if you just say "early" and don't quantify that you could be talking a week or a day or just an hour and I would have no clue. depending on what "early" means here I would be more or less excited by this reward. granted, this is the first tier with a real benefit which means that everyone above this point will also get this, so it isn't as though you are trying to use it to sell your $25 and up levels. however, the mention of a Patreon in a few sentences does make me wonder whether this is also a benefit patrons will have who don't back the campaign. potentially something worth clarifying.

special thanks in the credits - boy howdy that is gonna be a lot of names you have to figure out how to read and where to put with this also included in every tier from here up. as of right now that is 102 backers and it hasn't even hit 20% funded.

exclusive backer/Patreon minisodes - this is the tier that made me wonder if early episodes would also be a Patreon included perk, which I think its fine either way but worth making clear. I do think that the minimum quantity of minisodes should be specified, if only because "and MORE" is extremely vague. I think at this low of a tier it wouldn't be a big deal if it was only one more than the 2 explicitly listed ones, but specificity is nice even here.

$10 WHEYFACE INDUSTRIES EMPLOYEE - everything from the $5 plus a few small extras:

personalized digital employee badge - honestly a very cute digital reward that seems to go with the whole "Wheyface Industries" thing. this is an example of really good branding tbh, everyone should try to have something like this. we also have a good idea of how these will look because of the tier header images.

exclusive audio commentaries - so this both gives access to season 1 and 2 commentaries as well as the new ones for season 3. I am once again curious if this is something Patreon supporters also receive?

exclusive discord access - I feel like a broken record, but again is this a discord just for crowdfunding backers or is it also for Patreon subs? to be honest for this one I think having both is to the benefit because it means a larger more active community. some discords feel like they just exist because they're supposed to and have barely any activity, which would feel like a letdown if that was part of your incentive for doubling your $5 tier pledge.

customizable digital icons - these are explicitly donor exclusive and honestly another neat idea for digital content. they seem to have a good designer and a distinct style of these things, though seeing a few examples would be nice here.

$25 WHEYFACE ADVENTURER - here's our first physical rewards added onto everything prior:

buttons and stickers - would really love to see some mock-ups or designs here. I would also like to know with more specifics how many buttons and stickers are we talking about?

digital copy of "Escape from Wheyface Radio" TTRPG - we actually do get to see the cover of this in the video/image carousel at the top of the campaign, which I think sets the tone for it pretty well as comedic action (I'm assuming). honestly a good reward, though I'm curious if this has ever been offered anywhere else (i.e. in their merch store or to Patreon supporters).

$50 WHEYCON BADGE HOLDER - more physical and digital goods:

digital dossier of in-universe season 3 prep materials - a very fitting perk for a true-crime inspired show, probably adds some genuinely cool depth to excitement for and using along with the season as it airs.

linocut print - I think the mystery here of "an important location" is fine in terms of being vague. I think you could talk about the colors and size though just to have something a little more tangible for people to get excited about

digital soundtrack across all seasons - if you have a show with original music you should absolutely be making your soundtrack available in some aspect. good reward that is easy to distribute and deliver and will likely have the added bonus of some custom cover art for each of the 3 volumes.

$100 WHEYCON ARTS PATRON - more physical and more exclusive story content:

physical Wheyface Industries ID badge - very logical step up from the digital reward from earlier. I will point out that it does not say whether this is also customized, which considering the added cost of every single badge needing to be unique is probably not the case. but to some there might be an assumption that it is based on the earlier reward and that should be clarified sooner to avoid disappointment.

in-universe article from new character - this feels on the level of the digital dossier in terms of being content that the mystery solving fans would get a lot of value from. good addition, though I would be curious how much of the information will feel unique against the digital dossier.

Andy Wheyface diary - honestly I'm a little confused by what this entails. I'm assuming it's digital, though it doesn't specify. but in terms of format is it going to have a scrapbook journal kind of feel or feel more like someone opened a google doc and started recounting their day? doesn't appeal to me but I'm also not their target here.

$250 WHEYCON VIP - the big physical tier:

professionally printed dossier - the only specifics here about this printed version of the digital good is that it will be "gorgeous", but I think it would be nice to have a little more detail and maybe even a teasing pic of how it will look.

excluive t-shirt - broken record, but show me a mock-up! please! I don't wear a lot of t-shirts, would I even like the design???

behind-the-scenes discussion with Arden composers etc. - very cool if you love the show's music, and probably pretty interesting even if it isn't something you notice that much.

$500 WHEYFACE INDUSTRIES ADVERTISER - the big bucks personal:

full-sized poster collection - 2 examples are given, but if I'm thinking about reserving wall space for something or wanting to buy frames I need to know exactly how many to be expecting and what they classify as "full-size". I've bought so many posters that are just mildly different dimensions and that really matters if you want to frame them, which I assume many people who are spending this much would to best preserve and show them off.

write and produce your own custom advertisement with the Arden team - honestly this is an extremely cool idea that again seems to fit well into the Arden universe. sound like good bang for the buck just based on this alone.

$1000 WHEYFACE INDUSTRIES BOARD - exclusive event and autographed scripts:

season 3 digital wrap party invitation - these things always sound like they'd be awkward to me since everyone else has a relationship with each other, but I also totally understand why this would be an enticing reward for people. definitely worth the price to a lot of people I'm sure.

complete printed collection of autographed season 3 scripts - I know printed scripts (especially autographed) is something a lot of people enjoy having for their favorite shows, no complaints about this reward. tho it might be nice to specify whether it'll be bound specially in any way or if they'll arrive as loose sheets held together with a binder clip.

I think overall these tiers are really good, though I would like to see mock-ups or visuals for some of the promised rewards (particularly the physical ones like a t-shirt or poster examples). I would also like to commend Arden for not selling an "Executive Producer" credit as part of the rewards, I will continue to point out how bullshit those are until people stop doing it.

but let's move onto a big one.

The Budget

IMPORTANT NOTE: so as I was putting this post together (was pulled away from it several times for real world non-anon responsibilities etc.) the campaign posted an update. on March 30th, they added the following section at the top:

Hey, folks! We have some awesome news. Thanks to some additional funding which has come in, WE NOW ONLY NEED TO RAISE $6000 TO GREENLIGHT A SIX-EPISODE SEASON 3. And as of 3/30, we are very close to hitting that goal! [I foolishly deleted the image, but it was basically the same as the one below. The only differences were no "GREENLIGHT ACHIEVED" text, the blue label saying "MARCH 2023", and the progress bar showing that it had made it to $4125 of the $6000 target. Beneath is smaller white text that reads "Help us make Arden Season 3! $6000 raised on IndieGoGo will guarantee a six-episode season, with more episodes the more we raise!" and then beneath that the shortened url to the campaign.] WE ARE ONLY $1875 AWAY FROM GREENLIGHTING SEASON 3. Every $2000 past $6000 will add an additional episode. HELP US GET THERE TODAY!

on April 2nd, it had been updated to the following:

Thanks to some additional funding and your donations, we have now raised enough to produce at least six episodes of Arden Season 3! Every $2000 raised from now until the end of the campaign will add an additional episode to the season. All rewards will be fulfilled. And look forward to Arden Season 3: Midsummer in New York City - coming to your earballs this fall/winter.

I am not going to touch on this just yet, because I think we need to go over the budget breakdown first before we can assess it with this new information.

Budget Breakdown Breakdown

fun fact: the Arden team definitely saw my original response to the anonymous ask telling me about the campaign (or a similar critique elsewhere) calling out their lack of numbers in their budget section. I know this because it has since been rectified to include actual percentages on the chart itself as well as details of the number and approx length of episodes, two things that were definitely missing before. I don't have a screenshot of that section from before, I wasn't ready to dive into another one of these at the time, but it wouldn't be fair of me to show those anyway now as a "gotcha" when clearly they are open to feedback. I don't know if they read my prior post because there are still issues here that I think need addressing, but honestly it's a huge improvement from what there was. they did not however update anything but the image with specific numbers, which isn't ideal.

someone needed to put a little more time into this graphic because the labels are not super readable and for "studio recording" the number is almost completely obscured by the label beneath. we will be referring to these numbers for the rest of the section as this is the only place they are specified.

let's start at the end because it provides some very valuable context:

"Total, we have budgeted a cast and crew of 35 people to produce thirteen episodes with runtimes of 45 min to an hour, in addition to the additional expenses listed in operating expenses."

so that means we are talking about $26k to cover 9.75 hrs to 13 hrs of content, 35 people (26 of whom are cast according to this section), and an unnamed amount of contracted work potentially for commissioned additional art and music. this also doesn't include how much additional time and effort would be devoted to minisodes, digital content, and fulfilling backer rewards, so we can't really factor that in obviously except to just assume that funds for each of those would likely be equally distributed across the average cost. because of this, I'm going to just have to ignore them entirely as a separate thing, especially since those costs will be a bit more fluid until it's clear exactly how many backers will require physical goods fulfillment.

to break that big number down on a per-episode basis, we are looking at $2,000-$2,667 per produced hour of content, or a more round average of $2k per episode. obviously not every person will be directly involved with the creation of an episode, either because music is used in multiple places, a character doesn't appear in every one, and some expenses are one-offs.

but let's take that $2k average in mind as we hit the descriptors for each of the segments in this chart. I'll be using the provided %s to calculate the amount of overall budget and per episode budgets allocated to each.

CAST - 44% - $880/ep, $11,440 total

we know this is 26 actors total, only the main two characters are specifically named. it is likely that some of these roles are extremely minor and only appear a few times at most, so we can't really break this $880/episode number down any further. if it were meant to accommodate all 26 performers being in every episode that would be $33.84 on average, but I don't think that accurately reflects the breakdown in any way.

DIRECTORS - 9% - $180/ep, $2340 total

here we actually have more to work with in terms of figuring out the pay. I will be upfront that I am less sure of what a fair wage is for directing work, numbers on that are much harder to find than for sound designers or actors.

this section says "We are currently budgeted for three directors each working five days of recording." which could mean one of a few things. either there are 5 days of recording TOTAL and all three directors are present for all of that time, there are 15 days total and each director is in charge of a third of them, or a mix of some day with multiple and some days without. it doesn't really matter that much to the budget aspect to know which it is, unless there is a "head"/"assistant" kind of dynamic for days with multiple that might impact their rates. but let's just assume that it will be equal pay and the number of days doesn't really matter. that's leaves us with $780 total for each of the three directors across the full season (though keeping in mind the full number of episodes is 13 and not perfectly divisible by 3).

SOUND DESIGNERS - 17% - $340/ep, $4420 total

this section is also budgeted for 3 sound designers, though it's unclear if that is broken down for each episode with one doing the vocal cut while another does soundscaping and effects with one in charge of mastering or something. that is I think more likely than having the episodes fully split between the three because that could result in it sounding less consistent between episodes. I'm not sure exactly how good this compensation is when split like that, but if it were a single designer doing an episode I do think $340 is decent enough.

COMPOSER - 8% - $160/ep, $2080 total

I give a per ep estimate not because I think it actually provides value here, but just as a comparison point to the other roles.

however, I do think it's worth noting that we do have information about the amount of music from prior seasons to compare to, thanks to the digital soundtrack reward from the prior section. that boasted "60 tracks of music from Seasons 1 and 2 alone", meaning we can assume around 30 tracks will be made for season 3. this is probably not entirely accurate, there's some give and take for reusing music from previous seasons. that comes out to about $69/track (nice). I don't know what the standard rate is for musicians in this kind of work to be honest, but I would assume this is at least comparable to what the composer has been paid in the past or else they probably wouldn't be returning for the third season.

GRAPHIC DESIGN - 1% - $20/ep, $260 total

again, I don't think the per episode estimate is necessarily valuable here, unless there is unique cover art for each episode which I don't think is the case because $20 for that plus any additional graphic design work doesn't seem to be a fair wage.

STUDIO RECORDING - 4% - $80/ep, $1040 total

I think this speaks for itself honestly. the price will be the price that the studio space sets. in the section about the directors it was revealed that there are 5 days of recording, which as I noted could actually be 5-15 days total. however, here it only states "a few days of in-person recording with our core ensemble", so it probably only covers a portion of that total time. whatever the case, not much can be done to lower this and I'm sure they feel the benefit of spending this money for that kind of recording space is worth it.

OPERATING EXPENSES - 17% - $340/ep, $4420 total

to be honest, $4420 feels pretty low for everything they say is in this bucket. some of these things we can't really put a price tag on like rewards fulfillment without knowing how many people are going to be receiving those. especially when considering some of the higher cost and higher effort rewards like the personalized commercials. things like shipping costs also need to be considered (unless they have it setup to charge shipping separately, I do know that IndieGoGo offers this option) and just generally compensating people for the time and materials putting the packages together.

we can probably assume that the mention of SAG (something i covered quite a bit in my last crowdfund review) is for the annual base fee of $227.42 (not counting the additional 1.575% of earnings that have to be paid). it's unlikely this is something that all the actors have, but I would assume at least the two leads do, which alone accounts for about $500 of this total amount.

and that's not counting the misc stuff like the business taxes and licensing fees for any software being used.

there's also a very weird omission here, like seriously weird. where is the funding for the writing? my best guess is that it has been wrapped into "operating expenses", but to be honest that doesn't feel like an actual explanation, so I'm a bit suspicious that writing is not being compensated at all.

I did talk about this on the ATS crowdfunding post, but even if it's your passion project to write and make this thing, you should still be compensated for the time you put in. the fact it isn't mentioned at all is very strange.

I also think we should have larger conversations about how much more we are paying cast than crew. in this budget they have set aside 44% for the cast, with only 26% for the directors and sound designers (not to mention the missing writers I pointed out). this is a BIG disparity when you consider that directors are going to be present every time actors are (with the exception of small role that might be asynchronously recorded) and sound designers will be spending at least twice as much time as that when you factor in the dialogue cut, fitting in soundscapes, music, and effects, and general mastering of the episode.

[the stretch goals should be here, at the end of the budget section, but they are instead in the FAQ so we'll touch on them there]

a note on Patreon: I do also think that for shows that also have an active Patreon/Ko-fi/other monetary support avenue, that is valuable information to provide here. if that's only bringing in $250 per month, it might not feel worth it to address it in your budget section, but I think people can get suspicious about where money you "already have" is going when you start asking for more. I did not look up their accounts to see what they are currently making, I don't think it's relevant to my judgement of what this campaign is looking to provide, BUT if you were to tell me that that was how the writers had been getting compensated for the work they already put in that would ease my concerns on that front. stuff like that is good to know and again, when you ask for this much money people are going to be weird about it, and not unreasonably so.

Let's Talk About These 3/30 and 4/1 Funding Updates

now these both answered and raised some more questions.

needless to say, that portion of it is no longer entirely necessary, but I do think that there are some valuable points pertaining to stretch goals (and the absence of them) which can provide some value to shows looking to crowdfund.

so I have kept that section in below and done a small bit of editing, but mostly unchanged from my initial thoughts on the matter.

let's start with the March update:

Hey, folks! We have some awesome news. Thanks to some additional funding which has come in, WE NOW ONLY NEED TO RAISE $6000 TO GREENLIGHT A SIX-EPISODE SEASON 3. And as of 3/30, we are very close to hitting that goal! [I accidentally deleted the image, but it was basically the same as the April updated one. The only differences were no "GREENLIGHT ACHIEVED" text, the blue label saying "MARCH 2023", and the progress bar showing that it had made it to $4125 of the $6000 target. Beneath is smaller white text that reads "Help us make Arden Season 3! $6000 raised on IndieGoGo will guarantee a six-episode season, with more episodes the more we raise!" and then beneath that the shortened url to the campaign.] WE ARE ONLY $1875 AWAY FROM GREENLIGHTING SEASON 3. Every $2000 past $6000 will add an additional episode. HELP US GET THERE TODAY!

so there is some VERY important information revealed here.

first is that they've received additional funding outside of the campaign, which honestly is great for them and somewhat needed for a goal this large.

I touched on it fairly in-depth in a now-deleted section I wrote about the lack of stretch goals, before discovering they did exist but are hidden away in the FAQ. I talked about how the high campaign goal and lack of stretch goals was likely indicative of them having been wrapped up into that $26k number, which I still think is true to an extent. I think this announcement confirms that theory, and is actually in-line with the suggestion I made in that original section to pursue that kind of financial support in addition to a lowered goal.

however, I think the lack of detail here is really not great. for one, I'm making an assumption of some kind of external support, which is not necessarily what happened in the most direct sense. there could be caveats and stipulations attached to this money that might impact whether someone would support the campaign. maybe it's a grant from an arts supporting organization, maybe they've sold the TV rights to Arden in exchange, or maybe someone has just come into a lot of money from the day job. whatever the case, more details can be provided without revealing too much, i.e. "we've partnered with a network" or "received a grant to help fund season 3 should we meet this $6k goal" or something akin to that.

transparency is a good thing, especially when it comes to mystery money and me questioning why despite that you did not lower your $26,000 goal.

further, we have no idea how much extra funding was secured, so at this point it becomes unclear what amount of the goal is "extra" and what is required for the entire season. some math can help us extrapolate based on the $2k for each additional episode number we are given.

$6,000 (6 episodes) + $2,000 x 7 episodes (based on 13 episode number from budget section) = $20,000 total

so did they secure $6,000 in funding? at this point who knows.

the second thing that this reveals is that apparently there is a version of season 3 that could work with only 6 episodes total, which is not even half of the marketed 13 episode season length they claimed to be aiming for in the actual budget section! this is a pretty massive discrepancy with no kinds of qualifiers about "we'll be able to do the story, but it will be paired down and abridged in some parts" vs "the other 7 episodes are basically filler that could be cut". I feel like I don't need to explain the difference between these two sentences and why the first is superior in every way in terms of how people view your production as a whole.

okay, third thing. the goal arguably could have been for six episodes from the start with plenty of stretch goals for adding episodes and more. now, with the additional context of our budget calculations, this brings up some significant questions.

if we are to go with the average episode cost of $2,000 that we estimated, this means that $6k on it's own is not enough to actually make 6 full episodes. however, from our earlier calculation, we estimated that they maybe received $6,000 in funding, which actually solves the potential issue of underpaying themselves for the creation of those now guaranteed 6 episodes, which is a good thing. costs are costs and don't go down just because you have less money (unfortunately for all of us living in capitalism).

without this outside funding, this brings the actual (assumed) minimum goal to $12,000. this is SIGNIFICANTLY less than the current goal (though still higher than a lot of other AD campaigns).

so yeah, quite a bit of important information here.

what this update doesn't answer at all: are minisodes still going to be made? this already feels like barely enough for the core content based on their own operating costs, so that gets called into question for me and isn't addressed.

another thing that occurs to me: are there going to be some roles that are still getting full or near full compensation? I'm mostly thinking about the graphic designer and the composer, since the extent of their episode-by-episode contributions vs the overall season isn't as clear cut as it is for actors or sound designers or even studio space costs. I'm also curious how this impacts the fact there are 3 directors involved, that's a lot of voices for as little as 6 episodes total.

and now let's look at what else was revealed by the April one, which arguably has the most off-putting and concerning sentence in the whole campaign:

so. what is concerning to me is the sentence "All rewards will be fulfilled", because there is a BIG implication to how that is stated.

what this tells me is that up until this point, the backers had absolutely no guarantee of actually getting the rewards of the tier they may have chosen, despite this being a flexible campaign meaning that they would still have been giving the money in part for those rewards.

so, there are three interpretations of what this means:

if they hadn't hit $6k, season 3 wouldn't be made to any extent

honestly there's nothing to imply that this would have been the case in the campaign's wording, so I don't think this was the reality of the situation.

2. if they hadn't hit $6k, season 3 would still be made to some extent but some rewards just wouldn't be delivered

I have read through this campaign several times, and there was NEVER any implication that backers wouldn't receive the promised rewards, not at any point before this April update. and that is a big fucking problem if that was up in the air. I know we'd like to think that if someone was willing to shell out money to support a thing they will still want to without obvious rewards, but for some people we're talking about hundreds of dollars that maybe they could only justify spending for the promise of physical or otherwise unique rewards. if all it took was wanting to give support with nothing in return, people would just select to donate without a tier.

the rewards are not the point, but that doesn't mean they aren't really important to the campaign.

3. if they hadn't hit $6k, there would be refunds to some extent for backers whose rewards wouldn't be delivered

this feels unlikely considering they wouldn't have made much to begin with if we're at this point, but it is the more charitable version of the prior option.

but none of these are ideal and as far as I knew 2 days ago, none of them were even on the table! what kind of trust does that foster with your community to not have been upfront with the realities of the campaign? if they hadn't hit this point and one of these, or some unknown 4th option in which rewards wouldn't have been fulfilled as implied happened, why would I ever want to give this team money again? crowdfunding for season 4 would be basically off the table based on this.

this is what we're talking about when people say they want transparency, all of these questions brought up by these updates ARE important! it is on the Arden team to provide those answers as best they can because this is not some faceless megacorp doing behind the scenes decision-making that might trickle down to individual consumers. this is a small team that is seemingly passionate about their project and cares about fostering their community. and these are exactly the kinds of things that hurt that.

adjacent to stretch goals, a campaign having milestones is also a great way to drive engagement. and Arden does have these. on their twitter only it seems. I've heard from a lot of people (and seen it myself) that twitter is not really a great way to connect to listeners. it's a good networking tool among creators, but especially as more people leave twitter it isn't getting the reach that some people think it does. I can tell by looking at their statistics that even when a post is getting a lot of "views" (how twitter is tracking that and whether it's accurate are up for debate) it is only getting a couple of likes or retweets, or a single comment if they're lucky. I've actually seen this for a lot of AD accounts, I don't think this is an Arden problem.

BUT, that means they need to be promoting these milestones outside of this little sphere of twitter! I didn't go searching other social media, I only looked at the twitter because it came up very early in the google results, but these things should be captured ON the campaign! at time of writing, the next benchmark is at $3900, something they are only $59 away from. if I came to the campaign and saw that we were close to getting some extra content or information I would be much more inclined as a fan to immediately pledge rather than putting it off. this stuff can seal the deal and turn a scroller into a donator.

Other Ways To Help

nothing wrong with this section except that once again you should be providing links to stuff like your website and podcast feed. at least there are links to the Twitter and Tumblr accounts, with the carrot of winning prizes for paying attention to those.

FAQ

only two small sections here, but I don't think this section was utilized well generally to be honest.

all of this feels like information that should have been in the main body of the campaign. a lot of people don't even look at the FAQ because to be honest you should be using this section as a TLDR for the campaign rather than giving unique information.

When Will Season 3 Launch?

here is the reveal of a planned late summer/early fall 2023 release, information that I think would be better suited a part of the actual body of the campaign.

additionally there is mention of something known as "WheyCon" which was alluded to earlier in the campaign, but still unclear what exactly it is for the uninitiated. I assume it is a little studio event where they'll make announcements and maybe have some special stuff like a livestream. either way it is unclear and doesn't even provide a clue of where to watch for information about it.

Do you have stretch goals?

so I'm gonna be honest, I wrote this whole thing before checking the FAQ, including an entire section about why you should have stretch goals and my theory that the stretch goals were actually just rolled into the funding goal because they were fully committed to making them.

the existence of this proves me wrong.

I've salvaged what I can of it, but let's look at what is actually said here:

$27,500 - recorded version of DAY IN THE LIFE OF ANDY WHEYFACE, exclusive to donors

this $1500 above the goal is probably enough to cover this, since they probably wouldn't need as many actors or as in-depth of sound design based on the diary format.

$30,000 - special recorded Art Gallery tour with Bea and Brenda

the way that "Art Gallery" is non-specific and capitalized makes me think this is a fictional gallery within the world of Arden, but either way this is a clever use of the setting and theme of this season for something unique. I don't know how interesting it would be, but still.

at $2,500 above the prior stretch goal that probably covers the costs for something about the length of an episode, if not longer since a lot of guided art gallery tours are over an hour in length.

$35,000 - series of minisodes set behind the scenes of the Julie Capsom film

curious how many is considered a "series", but it's a logical follow-up to the prior campaign's minisode stretch goals and it's clear they enjoy making them. I think the "film" is a bit of in-universe content they've already made and is apparently popular enough for them to be interested in expanding on it.

this only being $5k more than the previous tier implies it'll be a short series (3+ episodes, much shorter length) which is probably fine enough.

$100,000 - purchase the audio drama rights to Stephen King's Under the Dome so they can say the show takes place in that universe

ngl this means nothing to me, I'm unfamiliar with that story or the potential significance of it here. but it certainly is a goal I guess, though I'm not sure this is quite how that kind of copyright stuff works.

all well and fine, but these shouldn't be here. they should be in the main section with more details. stretch goals exist as a tool to get people excited to exceed the goal, and can have an impact on how much they are willing to give extra to achieve that goal. they should be proudly advertised as part of the campaign, the same way that the donation tiers are. this is where you want people to go "wait, what might they do???", something I think the final stretch goal does actually do because of how impressive it sounds. you gotta use that temptation or it may as well not exist formally.

Closing Thoughts

Use the "Updates" Section

this is a small general note, but I found it weird that instead of using the built-in "Updates" functionality to post about the funding updates they instead just put it in the body of the campaign.

there's a couple reasons I think this is probably a mistake, the most obvious being that your supporters will get emails when you add an official update like this, but not if you just edit the campaign text. these updates could be driving your supporters back to up their pledges to help you reach your milestones. plus it keeps you on their minds so they keep posting to support you and maybe helping you gain new backers.

Funding Transparency Please

being vague about your "additional funding" just feels kinda sus, like there's a reason you don't want to share the details...

Milestones

these are a great way to drive engagement. and Arden does have these. on their twitter only it seems. I've heard from a lot of people (and seen it myself) that twitter is not really a great way to connect to listeners. it's a good networking tool among creators, but especially as more people leave twitter it isn't getting the reach that some people think it does. I can tell by looking at their statistics that even when a post is getting a lot of "views" (how twitter is tracking that and whether it's accurate are up for debate) it is only getting a couple of likes or retweets, or a single comment if they're lucky. I've actually seen this for a lot of AD accounts, I don't think this is an Arden problem.

overall I have questions and concerns but not a horrible campaign.

it was, however, unable to convince me as a prospective donor that all this money is necessary, especially in light of the updates. I think the overall lack of transparency is concerning as a whole though.

okay that's it, I'm tired of having to look through and revise this.

best of luck to Arden on however many episodes they get to make <3

#Arden crowdfund #crowdfund review #anonymous ad #crowdfund tips #crowdfund don'ts #please learn how to write a budget #like oh my god how is it this bare #sorry I'm late #I did my best to get to this but there was more to get through than I thought

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Untitled