WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:05.200 Friends, hello, and welcome to a Neverpost funding 2 00:00:05.760 --> 00:00:09.520 update. I'm your Neverpost funding update host, Mike 3 00:00:09.520 --> 00:00:12.240 Rugnetta. The long and short of the news I have for you is the 4 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:17.645 following. One, we're not going anywhere yet. Two, our runway is 5 00:00:17.645 --> 00:00:19.485 shrinking, and we need your help. 6 00:00:19.485 --> 00:00:22.525 We are at a pivotal and, honestly, a little bit spooky 7 00:00:22.525 --> 00:00:25.500 moment in our trajectory towards becoming a self sustaining 8 00:00:25.500 --> 00:00:29.500 program. And I'm gonna let you all know where we are, how far 9 00:00:29.500 --> 00:00:33.340 your help has already taken us, spoiler alert, very, very far, 10 00:00:33.500 --> 00:00:37.500 the whole way, and, how we are thinking about what happens 11 00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:46.375 next. So here we go. Up until this point, Neverpost has had a 12 00:00:46.375 --> 00:00:50.455 financial runway built by client work that we all do together. 13 00:00:50.900 --> 00:00:54.340 The bulk of this has been covered by one client, in fact, 14 00:00:54.340 --> 00:00:56.180 a single contract. 15 00:00:56.660 --> 00:01:00.580 That contract just ended, which means that we'll need to 16 00:01:00.580 --> 00:01:03.780 establish a sustainable financial situation in one way 17 00:01:03.780 --> 00:01:08.985 or another by the end of the calendar year 2025. There are a 18 00:01:08.985 --> 00:01:11.225 bunch of ways that we are approaching that challenge, and 19 00:01:11.225 --> 00:01:15.945 we are hoping that the way we can do it is through listener 20 00:01:15.945 --> 00:01:20.825 support, through memberships. This is both scary and exciting. 21 00:01:21.300 --> 00:01:24.180 We've learned a lot working together over the last year on 22 00:01:24.180 --> 00:01:27.860 both Neverpost and our client work. There's a lot that we 23 00:01:27.860 --> 00:01:31.700 wanna do with the show, and every week, we learn more about 24 00:01:31.700 --> 00:01:32.820 how to do it. 25 00:01:33.060 --> 00:01:37.385 With the exit of our one big shared client, we all worked on 26 00:01:37.385 --> 00:01:40.585 this client work together. We've encountered a kind of bargain. 27 00:01:40.825 --> 00:01:45.785 We now have the time to try out more stuff with NeverPost, but 28 00:01:46.665 --> 00:01:50.620 none of us currently has a job. So this is a big inflection 29 00:01:50.620 --> 00:01:53.740 point. If you like us and you want us to keep doing what we're 30 00:01:53.740 --> 00:01:58.060 doing with the show and maybe help make it the thing we do, 31 00:01:58.700 --> 00:02:01.020 please consider becoming a member today. 32 00:02:01.605 --> 00:02:07.125 Now is the time. If you've been waiting for some any additional 33 00:02:07.125 --> 00:02:10.885 motivating factor, you can become a member for $4 a month 34 00:02:10.885 --> 00:02:15.400 on our website at neverpoe.st. While you're there, you can also 35 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:19.000 tip us any amount of money one time. The links are in the show 36 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:22.200 notes. We're gonna be doing a few things over the next month 37 00:02:22.200 --> 00:02:25.080 to help us towards our goal of making the show financially 38 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:27.880 sustainable absent our client work runway. 39 00:02:28.365 --> 00:02:31.085 We're gonna be doing a member drive, roughly a week of mostly 40 00:02:31.085 --> 00:02:33.805 live streamed programming to help get some new members, 41 00:02:33.805 --> 00:02:36.685 introduce folks to the show, talk about how we think about 42 00:02:36.685 --> 00:02:40.445 and do what we do, and so on and so forth. We're gonna say more 43 00:02:40.445 --> 00:02:43.165 about this in the coming weeks in episodes and in the 44 00:02:43.165 --> 00:02:47.090 newsletter, but this is gonna be happening in late August. I hope 45 00:02:47.090 --> 00:02:49.890 you'll join us. We're gonna be selling our first run of T 46 00:02:49.890 --> 00:02:52.530 shirts, and they look red as hell. We already have the 47 00:02:52.530 --> 00:02:53.250 designs done. 48 00:02:53.250 --> 00:02:57.145 They're so, so good, so get really hype about that. And then 49 00:02:57.145 --> 00:03:02.025 we are also going to unarchive our old membership levels 50 00:03:02.025 --> 00:03:06.185 starting when this upload goes out. The $4 tier isn't going 51 00:03:06.185 --> 00:03:11.060 anywhere. It will still get you access to everything, but the $7 52 00:03:11.060 --> 00:03:15.940 and $12 a month levels will return, and they will both also 53 00:03:15.940 --> 00:03:20.100 have the same set of rewards. So there is no practical difference 54 00:03:20.100 --> 00:03:25.445 between $4.07, and $12 other than the final two are for folks 55 00:03:25.445 --> 00:03:27.925 who wanna help out a little more just because they can. 56 00:03:27.925 --> 00:03:32.245 And if you choose to do that, my god, do we appreciate it? 57 00:03:32.405 --> 00:03:35.300 Alright. That's the bulk of what I wanna say summarized. If 58 00:03:35.300 --> 00:03:38.420 you're a freak for the details, the rest of this upload are 59 00:03:38.420 --> 00:03:41.860 those. If you wanna bail now and go become a member straight 60 00:03:41.860 --> 00:03:43.780 away, I'm not gonna stop you. 61 00:03:43.780 --> 00:03:53.435 In fact, I'm gonna applaud you. Good work. Nice job. Just what a 62 00:03:53.435 --> 00:03:54.875 show. What a show. 63 00:03:57.755 --> 00:04:00.250 Okay. So if you missed the state of the pod episode at the 64 00:04:00.250 --> 00:04:02.410 beginning of the year where we talked about how we fund the 65 00:04:02.410 --> 00:04:06.010 show and how it's going, let me give you some backstory. We all 66 00:04:06.010 --> 00:04:08.090 work together at a small production company called Charts 67 00:04:08.090 --> 00:04:12.305 and Leisure doing client work. That means that companies hire 68 00:04:12.305 --> 00:04:16.625 us to make media for them. Over the last year and change, client 69 00:04:16.625 --> 00:04:20.305 work money has paid our bills, meaning we could do the work of 70 00:04:20.305 --> 00:04:24.385 Neverpost without being paid to do it, which, none of us are. 71 00:04:24.530 --> 00:04:27.490 The contract for our biggest client, the one providing 72 00:04:27.490 --> 00:04:30.850 coverage for all of us to make the show together, has ended. 73 00:04:31.090 --> 00:04:33.650 There was always a chance that this was gonna happen, but it 74 00:04:33.650 --> 00:04:38.530 happened a little sooner and a little more, completely than we 75 00:04:38.530 --> 00:04:42.445 expected. This effectively means we are all un or underemployed 76 00:04:42.445 --> 00:04:45.725 at the moment. We have enough in membership and ad money to pay 77 00:04:45.725 --> 00:04:48.685 for the show's direct expenses, including for occasional 78 00:04:48.685 --> 00:04:52.770 contributing producer segments. So we're not losing money, but 79 00:04:52.770 --> 00:04:56.130 the show doesn't make us any money in a meaningful way. 80 00:04:56.130 --> 00:05:00.930 So there's now a money vacuum in the life of the staff that needs 81 00:05:00.930 --> 00:05:05.330 to be filled. How it gets filled will have a big impact on the 82 00:05:05.330 --> 00:05:08.595 show going forward. So that's what I'm about to explain. The 83 00:05:08.595 --> 00:05:12.115 ideal scenario is that we become sustainable through membership, 84 00:05:12.115 --> 00:05:15.875 and this means that we each get paid roughly what it costs us to 85 00:05:15.875 --> 00:05:19.315 do the work required to make Never Post. We've made the show 86 00:05:19.315 --> 00:05:22.755 for a year, as something that we do between professional 87 00:05:22.755 --> 00:05:24.800 projects, and you've seen what we can do. 88 00:05:24.960 --> 00:05:29.120 We were an Atlantic best podcast of the year. We won a Webby for 89 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:33.440 our live show. We did a live show at XOXO Fest, the last XOXO 90 00:05:33.440 --> 00:05:38.015 Fest. We won an honorable mention for a best single 91 00:05:38.015 --> 00:05:42.255 podcast Webby. We were able to join Radiotopia, an extremely 92 00:05:42.255 --> 00:05:44.335 fancy storied network. 93 00:05:44.335 --> 00:05:48.095 We were featured on Apple Podcasts multiple times. Imagine 94 00:05:48.175 --> 00:05:53.880 what we could do if this show is all we did. To pinch a phrase, 95 00:05:54.200 --> 00:06:08.195 we are nowhere near our true power level yet. This is where 96 00:06:08.195 --> 00:06:11.555 you come in. If you join other people listening to become a 97 00:06:11.555 --> 00:06:14.515 member, if you aren't already, we stand a good chance of being 98 00:06:14.515 --> 00:06:18.690 able to focus more and more of our time on Never Post. 99 00:06:18.690 --> 00:06:22.050 And who knows next year, what sort of shenanigans we can get 100 00:06:22.050 --> 00:06:29.250 even more awards for. I bet I bet we can convince Georgia to 101 00:06:29.250 --> 00:06:35.825 sing. Tonys, here we come. Okay. So now but seriously, what are 102 00:06:35.825 --> 00:06:37.185 the other ways this can go? 103 00:06:37.585 --> 00:06:40.625 It is possible that the show's audience grows such that ads 104 00:06:40.625 --> 00:06:43.825 contribute significantly to sustainability, but this is 105 00:06:43.825 --> 00:06:47.790 unlikely. Ad rates are pretty low. Audience growth is slow for 106 00:06:47.790 --> 00:06:51.070 us and everyone else. I mean, don't get me wrong. Please tell 107 00:06:51.070 --> 00:06:52.190 your pals about the show. 108 00:06:52.190 --> 00:06:54.510 Share your favorite segments with them. It really, really 109 00:06:54.510 --> 00:06:56.670 makes a difference, but the number one thing you can do to 110 00:06:56.670 --> 00:07:00.145 help us in the near term is become a member. It's also 111 00:07:00.145 --> 00:07:03.025 possible that we pick up more client work. And if it pays well 112 00:07:03.025 --> 00:07:06.625 enough and doesn't demand sixty hours of work a week, we can 113 00:07:06.625 --> 00:07:09.585 divide our time the way that we have been up until this point. 114 00:07:09.905 --> 00:07:14.090 Finding new work and, you know, doing it takes time. 115 00:07:14.330 --> 00:07:17.290 And finding one client which can account for so much of our 116 00:07:17.290 --> 00:07:21.610 income as a whole team at once is really rare, but, hey, it can 117 00:07:21.690 --> 00:07:24.730 happen. And if any of you out there are looking to hire an 118 00:07:24.730 --> 00:07:27.865 amazingly talented content production team or work for an 119 00:07:27.865 --> 00:07:31.225 organization who might be interested in the same, you know 120 00:07:31.225 --> 00:07:35.065 where to find us. But the more we rely on client work and not 121 00:07:35.065 --> 00:07:38.585 the work of the show to support us I mean, what's to say that 122 00:07:38.585 --> 00:07:40.905 we're not back in this exact same situation in six months or 123 00:07:40.905 --> 00:07:43.450 a year? It's exhausting. It And also means that we miss the 124 00:07:43.450 --> 00:07:47.690 opportunity to see what we can do if the show is our focus. 125 00:07:48.250 --> 00:07:52.410 It's also possible a percentage of the staff go get, like, jobs, 126 00:07:52.410 --> 00:07:54.570 you know, like the normal kind where you're in an office at a 127 00:07:54.570 --> 00:07:57.370 desk, and they sort of frown on you making an unrelated podcast. 128 00:07:57.865 --> 00:08:01.225 It's also possible we each land our own separate client work, 129 00:08:01.465 --> 00:08:04.185 which could make it tough to coordinate six people making a 130 00:08:04.185 --> 00:08:07.065 show together. Or we land client work, but it's just it's so 131 00:08:07.065 --> 00:08:09.625 demanding that making the show alongside it becomes too 132 00:08:09.625 --> 00:08:13.510 difficult. The point being, the ideal here is we get paid to 133 00:08:13.510 --> 00:08:16.870 make the show that we make more and better. This, of course, has 134 00:08:16.870 --> 00:08:17.670 its own challenges. 135 00:08:17.670 --> 00:08:21.750 We have to go into fundraising mode at exactly the same time. 136 00:08:21.750 --> 00:08:25.055 So many other people and places and media outlets are doing 137 00:08:25.055 --> 00:08:31.455 exactly the same thing because, I mean, you know, you live in 138 00:08:31.455 --> 00:08:35.295 the world. You know what it's like out there. You know, I feel 139 00:08:35.295 --> 00:08:39.230 this as a consumer just as much as I do a producer. And, to put 140 00:08:39.230 --> 00:08:41.630 it succinctly, it sucks. 141 00:08:41.710 --> 00:08:47.870 It it just it sucks all around. But we also know, that, you 142 00:08:47.870 --> 00:08:52.105 know, you guys listen to the show, and you believe in it, and 143 00:08:52.105 --> 00:08:54.825 you're one of the many really incredible listeners who's 144 00:08:54.825 --> 00:08:58.905 engaged with us and the world around us and the Internet 145 00:08:58.905 --> 00:09:02.345 situation that we all inhabit and the media and information 146 00:09:02.345 --> 00:09:05.730 environment. And we just we hope that the things that we make are 147 00:09:05.730 --> 00:09:10.690 meaningful enough that, you feel inspired to help out. So we're 148 00:09:10.690 --> 00:09:13.010 gonna sell some t shirts. We're gonna reopen a few membership 149 00:09:13.010 --> 00:09:15.890 levels, and we're gonna do a membership drive in August, 150 00:09:15.890 --> 00:09:18.370 which we hope that you will join us for and tell your friends 151 00:09:18.370 --> 00:09:18.530 about. 152 00:09:18.935 --> 00:09:23.655 And if we're lucky, it'll all mean that we get to twenty 153 00:09:23.655 --> 00:09:27.335 twenty six, and we get to make the best dang version of this 154 00:09:27.335 --> 00:09:33.170 show that we know how to without, going bananas, been 155 00:09:33.170 --> 00:09:39.890 playing a lot of Donkey Kong lately, or into debt. I'm I'm 156 00:09:39.890 --> 00:09:43.250 crossing more fingers than I have. If you have any questions, 157 00:09:43.250 --> 00:09:45.890 we would love to answer them. Send us an email, a voice mail, 158 00:09:45.890 --> 00:09:48.845 a voice memo. Once we have updates for you on any of this, 159 00:09:48.845 --> 00:09:51.085 it'll be in the newsletter, in the news sections of the 160 00:09:51.085 --> 00:09:52.205 episodes proper. 161 00:09:53.805 --> 00:09:58.845 I I mean, thank you. Thanks for listening this far, to this 162 00:09:58.925 --> 00:10:04.090 detailed funding situation announcement. But really, like, 163 00:10:04.090 --> 00:10:07.850 just thanks a million for your support, and especially for the 164 00:10:07.850 --> 00:10:11.770 support of our members. We literally could not make this 165 00:10:11.770 --> 00:10:17.345 show without you, and that is only about to become more true. 166 00:10:17.825 --> 00:10:20.945 It's tough times, but we really believe in what we're doing. 167 00:10:20.945 --> 00:10:24.465 We hope you do too. We hope that we can keep doing it together 168 00:10:24.785 --> 00:10:28.945 the best way that we know how, and who knows, maybe even a 169 00:10:28.945 --> 00:10:32.560 little better. Alright. I'll see you this Wednesday, in a couple 170 00:10:32.560 --> 00:10:34.160 days with a full episode.