Where we've been, where we're going... (Patreon)

Happy Sunday everyone,

I've been extremely busy as of late, but I wanted to take the time to give you all an update on what's going on with the channel, and the future of this Patreon.

Let's start off with a little bit of bad news. We're bleeding Patrons. A few months back, we were over $2600 a month. Things were looking very good! Sadly, it seems like we've gone a bit backwards and we're now just below $2400 a month. It's not too bad, but it is a bit worrying. We aren't gaining too many new Patrons at a rate that can keep up. The nature of my videos doesn't lend itself well to a monthly Patreon because the things I make can take many months to do, and by the time they are done interest has waned. It's understandable, but it is part of the risk I took in making a Patreon.

While the support has been overwhelmingly positive, I fear there just might not be enough of a push to get us past the ideal $5000 a month to escape the hellscape of YouTube. It's totally understandable though. I am not entitled to anything, I'm not curing cancer, I'm making animations on YouTube. As I said in the original Patreon launch video, I am leaving the fate of the channel up to you (the viewers). Even with the incentive of the return of "Sonic Zombies" and "Christmas with Sonic", I don't think my relevance is strong enough to push for more pledges even with the looming of doom for my channel.

For those who are reading this who are not Patrons or "free" members, it would be a massive help if you considered pledging at least $1.00 a month. I understand if you can't, I don't expect anything, and absolutely do not pledge if it's going to be any sort of negative burden for you. I want this to be a fun and positive experience, not a pity for a dying channel stuck in the olden days of YouTube.

So, with that being said I do have some plans to try to keep things afloat.

Right now, I am preparing for the upcoming "Sonic Revolution" convention here in California. I hope I see many of you there! I've been extremely busy with that and having guests over for the next month, so I haven't had any time for animating and such. After the convention and my friends leave, I will be going full time on "Sonic in JAWS: The Finale Reanimated" which hopefully will release sometime in September. After that, I will be animating a small segment of a collab piece with my friends at Sasso Studios, and that should finish off the year as far as my schedule goes.

This is where things get a bit cloudy. I had considered trying to squeeze in another small animation before the year ended, but with the very little new patrons gained from "Sonic in Jurassic Park: T-Rex Chase", I think it would be wise to get back to work on "Sonic in Scared Stupid: The Final Chapter".

I know I originally said that I couldn't continue without the Patreon, but I have been spending a lot of time crunching numbers, taking a look at every situation, and I think it would be best to continue working on the movie rather than waiting. I cannot stress enough how important I think this animation is, and how it will be my finest work, and maybe even my swan song.

I say that last part because I will be honest, I can't see things getting much better with YouTube, and it's such a delicate situation that it has caused me a lot of physical health issues. I try not to be too open about my personal life, but I can tell you that the past few years have been extremely stressful in my life. I don't want to go into too much detail, but I have had multiple panic attacks, and was almost even hospitalized due to the stress. It's always been hard, but external harassment, stress of finishing videos despite everything going against them, and it doesn't help that YouTube is not a place for people like me anymore. I am clinging to the past, still expecting my animations to do well on a platform that doesn't want them. They pay me very little, and treat my animations like trash.

So here is my current plan, and plans can change.

If this Patreon can stay at least above $2000 a month, I should be able to get back to work on Scared Stupid. I cannot say when it will be finished, might not even be next Halloween, but I would be working on it full time at the beginning of the new year. I cannot stress how much this will basically be walking on thin ice for me. It's an extremely delicate balance, and one wrong move or a new policy from YouTube may end my entire career in an instant. I absolutely still have to worry about "Made for Kids", but I am going to go forward with the movie anyway because it's about damn time it was done.

The entire purpose of this Patreon was not to gain more revenue, it was to create a safety net that in the event YouTube nukes my channel tomorrow, we'd be safe. The $5000 a month goal would cover that, while also allowing me to have independance from YouTube. As we speak, what I am making on Patreon wouldn't even cover my rent. I hate that I even had to make a Patreon in the first place. The bad faith critics, the mixing money with my passions, is just another anxiety for me. I don't even like people knowing I exist, let alone asking for money. I only hope that if you are a current pledging Patron, your investment has been worth it.

So, if you have gotten this far I would hope that maybe I have convinced you that even a single dollar means a ton to me. I wish it wasn't this way. I wish I was paid fairly for the work I do so I can continue to make entertainment for years to come. I have a lot left in me. After Scared Stupid I was planning on starting an entire years long series of "Sonic Warriors". I don't know if that project will happen at this point, but times change, and maybe after a few more animations we'll get more Patrons.

I appreciate all of your time, and I hope that things turn around. For now, look forward to the upcoming "Sonic in JAWS" animation!

Feel free to join my Discord if you have any questions: https://discord.gg/balenaproductions

See you in the future!

-Steve