Crowdsourcing Support for Creators: "Is it idealistic? Hell yes, it is."
July 23, 2013 1:59 PM Subscribe
John and Hank Green of the Vlogbrothers have launched a new subscription service called Subbable, that aims to crowdsource support for content creators through direct payments, rather than through the typical model that uses advertising. Subscribers can pay nothing and still view the content, but those who opt to pay earn Perks from the channels to which they subscribe. Right now, the vlogbrothers' educational channel Crash Course is the only content available, although applications are being taken for other content creators to join...assuming it works with Crash Course.
The creation of this service follows years of frustration with the advertising model and with YouTube's most recent attempt to de-emphasise the value of subscriptions, which, alongside view counts, are traditionally the way content creators measure the engagement and popularity of their work. Subbable works on the notion that the value of a channel is not in the number of dollars it earns from advertisers, but rather from what learning and connection are enabled through their videos.
From the FAQ:
Most importantly, you’re making the content you love possible, and making it free to people who can’t afford to see it. Hank and I are fond of the Zambian Teenager Thought Experiment: Imagine a teenage girl in Zambia. This young woman probably can’t afford to support Minute Physics, but perhaps through Minute Physics, she’ll learn a lot and be inspired to learn a lot more, and then maybe she will make a major discovery that improves all of our lives, a discovery that never would’ve been made if you didn’t pay to support Minute Physics lo those many years ago in the dark days when we didn’t have robot eyes (or whatever). Also, the money you spend to support creators you like will go into your perk bank, so that’s something.
Previously. Also previously. Also also previously. And I post this with the full knowledge that Metafilter does not do vlogbrothers well...
The creation of this service follows years of frustration with the advertising model and with YouTube's most recent attempt to de-emphasise the value of subscriptions, which, alongside view counts, are traditionally the way content creators measure the engagement and popularity of their work. Subbable works on the notion that the value of a channel is not in the number of dollars it earns from advertisers, but rather from what learning and connection are enabled through their videos.
From the FAQ:
Most importantly, you’re making the content you love possible, and making it free to people who can’t afford to see it. Hank and I are fond of the Zambian Teenager Thought Experiment: Imagine a teenage girl in Zambia. This young woman probably can’t afford to support Minute Physics, but perhaps through Minute Physics, she’ll learn a lot and be inspired to learn a lot more, and then maybe she will make a major discovery that improves all of our lives, a discovery that never would’ve been made if you didn’t pay to support Minute Physics lo those many years ago in the dark days when we didn’t have robot eyes (or whatever). Also, the money you spend to support creators you like will go into your perk bank, so that’s something.
Previously. Also previously. Also also previously. And I post this with the full knowledge that Metafilter does not do vlogbrothers well...
But Crash Course is delightful!
posted by The Whelk at 2:41 PM on July 23, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 2:41 PM on July 23, 2013 [5 favorites]
...but those who opt to pay earn Perks...
*sigh*
Perqs.
It's short for perquisites.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:42 PM on July 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
*sigh*
Perqs.
It's short for perquisites.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:42 PM on July 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
I'm excited for this to take over from Kickstarter (one-time donations for one-time projects) as a major source of crowdfunding for larger-scale projects. Hank is also friends with Jack of Patreon, which serves a similar-but-still-reasonably-different (link to Hank's Tumblr) version of Subbable (that mainly caters towards musicians so far, partly because its founder is a musician).
Even if only one of them survives (Subbable or Patreon), I'm excited for a durable source of crowdfunding that goes beyond the PBS-style pledge drives or one-month crowdsourcing extravaganzas. This could really help change how internet content is produced, in a way that (hopefully) de-emphasizes the advertiser in favour of the fan.
re: perk, it's been the accepted spelling in NA for at least a century, if this old dictionary I own is anything to go by.
posted by flibbertigibbet at 2:55 PM on July 23, 2013
Even if only one of them survives (Subbable or Patreon), I'm excited for a durable source of crowdfunding that goes beyond the PBS-style pledge drives or one-month crowdsourcing extravaganzas. This could really help change how internet content is produced, in a way that (hopefully) de-emphasizes the advertiser in favour of the fan.
re: perk, it's been the accepted spelling in NA for at least a century, if this old dictionary I own is anything to go by.
posted by flibbertigibbet at 2:55 PM on July 23, 2013
This is cool. As an unabashed fan of John & Hank et al., I'm excited to have an opportunity to actually support the stuff I like.
posted by ocherdraco at 3:27 PM on July 23, 2013
posted by ocherdraco at 3:27 PM on July 23, 2013
In my ideal world there would be on here:
The Brain Scoop
C.G.P Grey
Vi Hart
And about a hundred more. Because money is for the spendin'.
posted by poe at 3:32 PM on July 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
The Brain Scoop
C.G.P Grey
Vi Hart
And about a hundred more. Because money is for the spendin'.
posted by poe at 3:32 PM on July 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
Strangely, on every FPP I write, someone picks a weird grammar/word usage issue and that becomes a focus of the thread.
John and Hank use the term "Perk Bank" - just keepin' it consistent with the original content.
A few months ago, they did a census of their audience and found that a huge percentage would be willing to pay to support their ongoing content creation. I think that the potential of this idea is really, really exciting, and could give some YouTubers more freedom in how they make videos.
Some of the most innovative content is being done on YouTube, and beats the hell out of the majority of what's on TV in the US.
posted by guster4lovers at 3:34 PM on July 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
John and Hank use the term "Perk Bank" - just keepin' it consistent with the original content.
A few months ago, they did a census of their audience and found that a huge percentage would be willing to pay to support their ongoing content creation. I think that the potential of this idea is really, really exciting, and could give some YouTubers more freedom in how they make videos.
Some of the most innovative content is being done on YouTube, and beats the hell out of the majority of what's on TV in the US.
posted by guster4lovers at 3:34 PM on July 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
Perqs.
It's short for perquisites.
Let's check Google:
Perq: 400,000 results
Perk: 47,400,000 results
I think this war might have been lost.
posted by IjonTichy at 3:39 PM on July 23, 2013 [8 favorites]
It's short for perquisites.
Let's check Google:
Perq: 400,000 results
Perk: 47,400,000 results
I think this war might have been lost.
posted by IjonTichy at 3:39 PM on July 23, 2013 [8 favorites]
In my ideal world there would be on here:
The Brain Scoop
C.G.P Grey
Vi Hart
And about a hundred more. Because money is for the spendin'.
I would bet that all of those people, plus WheezyWaiter, Daily Grace, Platoon of Power Squadron, The Good Stuff, Hannah Hart, [and tons more that I can't be bothered to add right now]. will end up opting in to this kind of model, and may already be lined up for the first wave after beta testing. The Vlogbrothers are connected to a whole lot of awesome on YouTube...even with just their channels - Sci Show, Lizzie Bennett Diaries, Brain Scoop, Crash Course, Sexplanations, Mental Floss.
posted by guster4lovers at 3:43 PM on July 23, 2013
The Brain Scoop
C.G.P Grey
Vi Hart
And about a hundred more. Because money is for the spendin'.
I would bet that all of those people, plus WheezyWaiter, Daily Grace, Platoon of Power Squadron, The Good Stuff, Hannah Hart, [and tons more that I can't be bothered to add right now]. will end up opting in to this kind of model, and may already be lined up for the first wave after beta testing. The Vlogbrothers are connected to a whole lot of awesome on YouTube...even with just their channels - Sci Show, Lizzie Bennett Diaries, Brain Scoop, Crash Course, Sexplanations, Mental Floss.
posted by guster4lovers at 3:43 PM on July 23, 2013
A few months ago, they did a census of their audience and found that a huge percentage would be willing to pay to support their ongoing content creation. I think that the potential of this idea is really, really exciting, and could give some YouTubers more freedom in how they make videos.
I was one of those people. I said, iirc, that I'd pay $25 a year (about as much as a paid livejournal subscription was for me back in the day) especially if some portion of that went to charity.
Here is a video that's over twenty minutes long on Hank's personal side-channel where he does a very unscientific roundup "analysis" of the census, in case this sort of thing interests you. (And this being Metafilter, surely that's more than just me.)
These sorts of opt-in to support your favorite creators dealies really appeal to me. I've been a big webcomics fan since they were a thing, but most webcomics lose something in print, and I never wanted to fill my space with tshirts or mugs or whatever else. John Allison (of Bad Machinery, Scary Go Round, Bobbins, and more) does some great print books, but as of a couple years ago he tried this "subscription" thing that I've been avidly contributing to. I don't know if it's worked for him, but I hope it has.
I'm hoping stuff like Subbable and its ilk can help creators who haven't been working in their field for over a decade.
posted by Mizu at 4:31 PM on July 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
I was one of those people. I said, iirc, that I'd pay $25 a year (about as much as a paid livejournal subscription was for me back in the day) especially if some portion of that went to charity.
Here is a video that's over twenty minutes long on Hank's personal side-channel where he does a very unscientific roundup "analysis" of the census, in case this sort of thing interests you. (And this being Metafilter, surely that's more than just me.)
These sorts of opt-in to support your favorite creators dealies really appeal to me. I've been a big webcomics fan since they were a thing, but most webcomics lose something in print, and I never wanted to fill my space with tshirts or mugs or whatever else. John Allison (of Bad Machinery, Scary Go Round, Bobbins, and more) does some great print books, but as of a couple years ago he tried this "subscription" thing that I've been avidly contributing to. I don't know if it's worked for him, but I hope it has.
I'm hoping stuff like Subbable and its ilk can help creators who haven't been working in their field for over a decade.
posted by Mizu at 4:31 PM on July 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
Hank starts talking about the money questions at about 13m07s. Interesting to listen to this again and his disbelief compared to Subbable existing now.
posted by Mizu at 4:42 PM on July 23, 2013
posted by Mizu at 4:42 PM on July 23, 2013
There are too many things worth a couple bucks a month.. I wish someone would aggregate subscriptions for me. Let me pay $20/month and fill my stream/river with intriguing content from a variety of creators each month.
Actually, if someone could disperse the money to whatever lands on the MeFi front page each month, that'd probably work.
(full disclosure, I just subabbled for $5/month solely because of how much I love Crash Course History)
posted by DigDoug at 6:10 AM on July 24, 2013
Actually, if someone could disperse the money to whatever lands on the MeFi front page each month, that'd probably work.
(full disclosure, I just subabbled for $5/month solely because of how much I love Crash Course History)
posted by DigDoug at 6:10 AM on July 24, 2013
Mizu: "Interesting to listen to this again and his disbelief compared to Subbable existing now."
Yeah, these guys work fast.
posted by ocherdraco at 9:42 AM on July 24, 2013
Yeah, these guys work fast.
posted by ocherdraco at 9:42 AM on July 24, 2013
Every time I look up these guys the phrases like 'Nerdfighters' and 'Decreasing world suck' irritate me so much I cna't watch their videos.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 4:56 PM on July 24, 2013
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 4:56 PM on July 24, 2013
Mizu: Interesting to listen to this again and his disbelief compared to Subbable existing now.
Ocherdraco: Yeah, these guys work fast.
Hank's video today shows the video John made a few months ago (before he took paternity leave) that talks about finding a different way of paying for content.
Charlemagne In Sweatpants: Every subculture needs its own inside jokes. I'm sure people outside Metafilter find it weird when we talk about beanplating, ponies, hoping people, taters, etc. Plus, the Vlogbrothers' audience is almost entirely 12-24 years old, and they have higher tolerance for phrases like "Nerdfighters" and "decreasing world suck."
Although I'm 30 and it doesn't bother me at all. Maybe I'm just immature.
posted by guster4lovers at 7:07 PM on July 27, 2013
Ocherdraco: Yeah, these guys work fast.
Hank's video today shows the video John made a few months ago (before he took paternity leave) that talks about finding a different way of paying for content.
Charlemagne In Sweatpants: Every subculture needs its own inside jokes. I'm sure people outside Metafilter find it weird when we talk about beanplating, ponies, hoping people, taters, etc. Plus, the Vlogbrothers' audience is almost entirely 12-24 years old, and they have higher tolerance for phrases like "Nerdfighters" and "decreasing world suck."
Although I'm 30 and it doesn't bother me at all. Maybe I'm just immature.
posted by guster4lovers at 7:07 PM on July 27, 2013
Charlemagne In Sweatpants: Every subculture needs its own inside jokes. I'm sure people outside Metafilter find it weird when we talk about beanplating, ponies, hoping people, taters, etc. Plus, the Vlogbrothers' audience is almost entirely 12-24 years old, and they have higher tolerance for phrases like "Nerdfighters" and "decreasing world suck."
That bothers me, too. Its just so... fake-enthusastic? Automatically cringeworthy?
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 6:16 PM on July 28, 2013
Or, you know, genuinely enthusiastic and doesn't care what other people think.
posted by ocherdraco at 9:43 AM on July 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by ocherdraco at 9:43 AM on July 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
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The vlogbrothers! They combine the two things I hate most!
1) Vlogs
2) Brothers
Damn them to hell!
posted by Going To Maine at 2:33 PM on July 23, 2013 [5 favorites]