Last weekend I drove from Boston to D.C. to attend the East Coast Acappella Summit. Most of this show is about the journey to the summit and my time there, so there are only four songs this time around. Songs by:
- The Richter Scales – I Hate A Cappella
- The Blanks – Somewhere Over The Rainbow (a lá Israel Kamakawiwo’ole – IZ)
- Men In Black – Don’t Be A Baby, Baby
- The Chromatics – Habitable Zone
I also bring up the topic of moving the podcast to AcaTunes. I’d love to hear from you about this, especially if you support it, I don’t think those against it need a reminder to have their voice heard.
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#1 by Jacob on April 1, 2007 - 8:20 pm
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I’m sad to hear that the Acapodcast is apparently going to a paid subscription model. Although it is quality content that I am willing to pay for, I have still not recovered from feeling tremendously ripped off by “the other a cappella podcast,” which promised to provide a specific amount of episodes (but didn’t), and then promised that it would get caught up with the original promise, and then just fell further and further behind, ultimately taking a lot of money in exchange for… nothing. I have cancelled my subscription to that one.
If “the other podcast” were a larger operation, I sincerely think that “the other host” would be facing a class action lawsuit by now. Although I’m not saying Chad is necessarily the same way, I will not be subscribing to any paid podcasts unless they provide a very specific minimum publishing schedule, and a very specific refund policy if they don’t keep up with the schedule. I guess that sounds pretty harsh, but if you want people to pay for something, you have to expect to be held to a much higher standard.
#2 by Chad Bergeron on April 1, 2007 - 8:29 pm
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Jacob,
To a large degree, I agree with you. I know a number of people have been displeased with other subscription podcasts, and that’s part of why I invited comments. You’re not the only one to express this opinion, and it is one I take seriously.
#3 by Jim on April 5, 2007 - 6:34 pm
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I’d second Jacob’s comment. I was subscribed to that other podcast as well, and ended up withdrawing from the subscription also. I understand that you’ve put in a lot of work, and your podcast definitely is up there with my favorites, but I’d be unlikely to subscribe as well. I completely understand wanting to go to that model, both for the income and the protection from copyright violations, though. If so, thanks for the episodes you have shared to this point.
I’m curious how much, if any, benefit the groups you featured have experienced as a result of the exposure. If there was any, clearly reducing your audience by going to the subscription model will affect that, but life is full of tradeoffs.
#4 by Rich on April 6, 2007 - 12:34 am
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Listening to the podcast now, heard the news about AcaTunes, I’ve got several thoughts about it, in no particular organization:
1. I imagine it’s a bit better for you financially. In that I mean you’re paying licensing fees now, and I suspect AcaTunes handles that nicely. There may be profit as well in it, but I doubt that’s a primary concern of yours. Nothing wrong with making a buck, though.
2. After hearing a couple of other acappella podcasts [that eventually moved themselves], you’re clearly the most professional, the one I don’t cringe listening to. So if anyone can, I suppose you can.
3. I don’t know if I’m a typical listener, but I doubt I’ll be following you over if you’re moving to pay. I might pay for albums, but I don’t for podcasts. I enjoy the genre, but I’m not a current practitioner.
4. I could be wrong, because on the face of it AcaTunes looks really well run, but–it seems like if you’re looking to increase the amount of acappella aficionados (and that does seem the goal of the founder of CASA, etc. based on an interview on one of Those Other Podcasts), you don’t want to wall this music off behind a paid subscription.
5. If you want more audience, what’s wrong with ITunes? I assume something is, or else there wouldn’t be eMusic, etc. out there. Then what’s wrong with them? Maybe there’s a ton of genre-specific sites out there, and I’m wrong. It just seems that being insular doesn’t spread the word.
Just as a note: one of my favorite podcasts is Coverville. I don’t know what ASCAP licensing is for podcasters, but he’s swinging it. Maybe he’s taking a loss here, but what I’m getting at is that he’s gotta pay them too and manages. If it went to paid, I doubt I’d continue there, either.
I suspect there’s a really hard sell going on here. Either there’s some arm-twisting going on (which is what I suspected for your, ah, counterparts since it’s presumed they skipped the licensing thing based on what they were saying), or there’s just an “offer you can’t refuse” (in this case, access to tons more music, and less hassles on the licensing). With you I’m thinking it’s more the latter. Not that a hard sell is bad, either–just that it’s weird everyone’s scrambling for the AcaTunes.
Anyway–and I really should have started with this–great show. I’ve enjoyed it, and was pleasantly surprised at how well it was produced. If this is it, thanks at least for the seven shows I grabbed a couple of weeks ago when I found the show.
#5 by Rich on April 6, 2007 - 12:38 am
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Forgot to add–since I jumped in late in the game, I hadn’t noticed that the other guys bailed on their podcast after moving to subscription. I hadn’t thought of that possibility, and that revelation makes it even less likely that I’d pay for a podcast. You strike me as much more likely to follow through with things (yes, I know, psychoanalysis via your podcast is notoriously imprecise…), but still, life happens and there is a (probably small) chance that you’d be forced to give it up.
#6 by Freddie Feldman on April 6, 2007 - 11:21 am
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As one of the owners of acaTunes, I just wanted to state…
Any issues related to the content (or frequency of publication) of “the other a cappella podcast” are completely out of the control of acaTunes. We are merely the publishing medium for that podcast. In order to improve the frequency of episodes, acaTunes has even taken on the creation of one of the three episodes each month (I’ve done two so far).
You’ll find that those issues are tied only to that podcast and not to our newest video-podcast (vodcast): Wes Carroll on Drums (instructional mouthdrumming vodcast).
Think of a paid-vodcast as being an interactive show. With Wes Carroll’s vodcast, we now have a Forum online where you can post comments, questions, discussions about the vodcast topic. Wes is very ready to sculpt the episodes to meet the desires of the subscribers. You can send in video clips and he’ll discuss them in an episode, etc. Like your own video-lesson. You’re not going to get that on a radio show or free iTunes vodcast.
We love you all very much!
–> freddie
#7 by Chad Bergeron on April 6, 2007 - 11:54 am
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Thanks Freddie. And to the listeners: I love the discussion, but let’s try to keep it about _this_ podcast, ok? *grin*
#8 by Will on April 11, 2007 - 4:10 am
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I first came to your podcast after listening to an episode from Coverville, featuring a cappella cover songs. Did a search and your podcast showed up. I have been a loyal listener since then. It saddens me that you will be missing out on hundreds of new listeners who are curious about the music, and miss the joy of listening to pure voices creating music. There are a very few free podcast that is dedicated to a cappella and losing you to paid subscription will make that list even smaller. Whatever your decision is, I can only wish you the very best and thank you for providing an incredible show.