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Patreon Only videos (Patreon)

Published:
2017-05-25 14:43:35
Imported:
2021-10

Content

Hello to you my lovely peoples.

So you probably know that YouTube is becoming less viable/has already become un-viable for the sort of short-form animated content we make. This raises the question of what to do in order to carry on making stuff. 

What are your thoughts on making Patreon subscriber only videos? Possibly the new series of Weebl and Bob is what I'm thinking right now. It's a somewhat big step for us to take since I've always wanted as many people as possible to enjoy our work and it may or may not work out. 

I'd really love to hear your thoughts on this especially those of you who have backed us for a while  (Rob I am looking at you). Is this something you would be into or does it mean more to you that your support allows others to enjoy our work? Obviously there's positives and negatives involved here.


Comments

Mircea Kitsune

Personally I'm not a fan of the paywall approach, and am not using it myself either. However I understand if it's something you might need now, so do what you have to do. It's also nice that you're asking your followers before taking this decision, some artists don't do that before going straight from freely available to paywalled.

mrweebl
>>5340010

I've pushed against having paywalled work for a long time and ideally it wouldn't even be a question normally. Obviously an ad funded way of working no longer works for many, many different creators now.

mrweebl

If you guys have thoughts on a better way to do something like this I am all ears.

Anonymous

Phew! This is tough to answer! If you think that it would be more viable to make certain things require a $1/month pledge then I can support you making that decision. I think that if you do decide on doing so I would suggest heavily promoting any series you make Patreon-only, and maybe releasing the first episode to help people get on board.

mrweebl
>>5340104

What sort of thing do you feel should require a pledge? This is all very helpful by the way. Thank you.

Anonymous

1st) I'm not against. 2nd) but patreon only video might be forgotten, where on youtube there's recommendation and old video still get views (it's a guess, I don't have datas). There's the possibility to make a series availlable only on patreon for the time it's being made, then release the first episode and do something like this "next episode in 1 month, or become a patron and get all episodes now !".

Anonymous

If the question you're trying to answer is whether you'll get sustainable funding for new animations by using Patreon as a paywall, I'm not sure we're the right people to ask because we're already here to support you regardless. :-) I agree with some of the comments above regarding exposure; YouTube may pay peanuts, but in theory at least it has a better chance of getting your videos in front of more people. One thought crossed my mind... What does it take to get more long-form content on YouTube Red? And would it pay enough to keep making it? I don't subscribe to YouTube Red today, but if there were a Robot-Chicken-style Weebl series made of short clips tied together with goofy plot devices (like the plot for the Russian Dancing Men game for iOS), I would be all over that. Also, out of curiosity, does selling the tracks to your animations on iTunes help much? While I get a lot of laughs out of the animations and can appreciate the work that goes into them, it's the music that sticks with me. I listen to Savlonic literally every day and buy nearly every track you release. The enjoyment-per-dollar ratio of those is very high for me... Would be great if the revenue-per-day-of-effort for you could also work out.

Anonymous

It would fit better if you swap from per video to per month. I think timed exclusivity would be better than Patreon only videos. You could also consider adding bonus content like out takes.

mrweebl
>>5340574

The music sales is probably where most of our money comes from outside of commissions. As for getting something on Red I'd be interested but I suspect YouTube are more interested in using their big faces more than animators work at the moment. I've got to say that the people animating on YouTube would put something quite amazing together if they did commission a show. Red is only available in the US as well right now so getting someone UK based involved probably wouldn't work.

Anonymous

Personally, I'd rather have the work available to everyone. That fits better with the idea of patronage and as a path to a better world and all that stuff. Plus, things like Weebl and Bob or Badger Badger wouldn't really have the same joy if I were accessing them as part of a small private club of people. Half the fun is having them be a part of the cultural milieu.

Anonymous
>>5343174

I agree with this. It's the shared/event nature of animation release on the internet that brings a lot of value to these things, although that may be less the case these days with things more personalised and direct relationships more common. On that side, maybe a specific series that's relatively niche can remain patreon only;- the trouble is you will need to put feelers out to provide something to new audiences otherwise your existing audience has the potential to just sit and (a) stagnate (b) drop off over time with new patreons replacing the new old ones, limiting growth. It's important to view it as a small community/club and not just another vide platform. Especially when there is financial behind it. Myself, I actually struggle to afford anything as an artist and Weebl is my only patronage ever. So I would certainly advise against putting everything behind Patreon and I would go as far as to say that would not end well. Is there are problem with the model of delayed public release of patreon content to the platforms? I currently feel special enough getting direct communication and the new videos to my e-mail and then I don't really care who else sees them, I don't feel like I need to "hoard" that access. It has more value, to me, than a YouTube subscription, that I barely ever remember to check in and just mark all the "New YouTube blahblah" as done, whereas I keep Weebl e-mails unread until I actually watch them and I often play them to other people (read: my girlfriend, I have no friends).

Anonymous

I think a two stage approach is good. (I think you are already doing it?) Where the patreon folks get first crack at it, then a week or so later it goes to youtube. Maybe another advert campaign to get more people to sign up would be in order as well. I'm gonna keep being a patron as long as you will do this, so its whatever would work best. Keep on keepin' on. :)

mrweebl

So It seems putting toons behind a paywall isn't the best answer (part of me is relieved). Delayed release generally seems popular would you agree? Also as patreons what do you think would be a good draw to encourage others to sign up too?

Anonymous
>>5344176

Three things pop into my head: • Invite only live events/studio/desktop tour/Q&As/performance (can be streamed obviously). I quite liked hanging out with you & the Savlonic lady on Twitch or was it YouTube or themtubewhats. Made it feel more real, childhood hero :))))))))) • Discounts on merch (I tried to buy once btw, but the address form or something didn't work :( ) • Maybe just 1 or 2 exclusive toons/things from time to time. Like a one off weebl & bob, something you can do with rigs, subscriber T-shirt, etc. • Send cake Those things have club special fuzzies etc. to me. I think the trick is to add value but without taking anything away from those who don't want to make a regular payment But generally, just staying in touch with your BFFs, it is nice. 1000000 years ago it was, "I go t weebls-stuff.com watch flashes and then wonder what to do with my life, spill guts to crush on aol instant messenger, make plastercine models". Now it's, "wake up to do design work, o new e-mail from Weebl, I should make more plastercine models". I like it when Weebl comes to me not the other way around, because I am busy, and not looking for teenage love on the internet anymore while my sister plays Wheatus.

mrweebl

Right. I'm going to be doing a stream about the toys and just chatting in a few minutes over here <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/Weeblsstuffpage/live" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/c/Weeblsstuffpage/live</a>

Anonymous

Thank you for all you do!

Anonymous

Just caught the Q&amp;A, great performance mate. Pledged for the Narwhal too, was hesitant but realised I won't be charged right away. Now just to work a fraction as hard to pay for it!

Anonymous
>>5340085

i am not a paying patron but i would like to put in an option that i'm currently doing myself: just let the paying patrons get to see your shows first. you could have them see the videos a week before releasing it to the publicity of youtube, or you could post them in groups of seasons (i'm not sure what the animation plan is, will there even be seasons?). but just giving your patrons the ability to see it all before anyone else has worked nicely for me so far, everyone is happy in the end :)

Dave

Sorry for the late comment. Its hard to say to be honest, lots of Patreons do have Patreon exclusive content so there may definitely be something there, advertising it may be tough, but could work well.