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You know, I’ve been thinking about this... and as AD creators, I think we’ve been perpetuating some unintentionally but deeply harmful myths about what we need to build our shows, when we crowdfund.
We rarely ask for what we genuinely need. We ask for what we think we can get. https://twitter.com/dallas_hawthorn/status/1333418188709761025
We rarely ask for what we genuinely need. We ask for what we think we can get. https://twitter.com/dallas_hawthorn/status/1333418188709761025
We scale down. We don’t pay ourselves. We double up roles, and trim corners, and wear too many hats because we cannot afford to do this on our own, but we’ve also over years of crowdfunding and a lack of transparency, gotten our audience to believe that these shows cost less
money than they actually do.
I have run failed and successful crowdfunding efforts before, and I have an active Patreon for my shows. I have NEVER had a production where I haven’t gone at least a little “over budget” because I was afraid to ask for what I needed.
I have run failed and successful crowdfunding efforts before, and I have an active Patreon for my shows. I have NEVER had a production where I haven’t gone at least a little “over budget” because I was afraid to ask for what I needed.
All my paychecks from AD/voiceover/writing and ANYTHING I put on an IGG page that is labeled for myself as the writer, producer, director and usually the lead actor goes straight back into production costs. Every single dollar. Because we have not reached a point where many
creatives (new OR established) can feel comfortable asking for what they genuinely NEED to pay their people fairly and pay themselves and make the show, without going into some form of debt.
The more transparent we are upfront about what we need, the more we might be able to
The more transparent we are upfront about what we need, the more we might be able to
change that pattern. Your audience might not like it — they may not be able to support you. But I think the only way forward is to start asking not for what we think we can get, but what we actually need, so that those numbers are VISIBLE and people can start to wrap their heads
around what the production of an audio drama actually costs when you run it as a business. EVEN IF you are doing this as a hobby, start putting those Real Numbers out there — because you could not only save yourself money, but you’re building a more honest space
where people will be less likely to get upset or to freak out when they see those Real Numbers showing up in the artistic sphere.
@MultitudeShows created a really fantastic article a while back that was dismissed out of hand for trying to talk about those Real Numbers.
@MultitudeShows created a really fantastic article a while back that was dismissed out of hand for trying to talk about those Real Numbers.
People saw the budget THEY were working with, and went “but I can’t afford that!” and stormed off, without reading further. If you dig deeper, you can see that Multitude did a really good job of laying out how to scale your budget to your show and the resources you DO have.
Which just goes to prove that ANYONE can make this work IF you sit down and think hard about what you’ve got and what you need. We don’t all have money. But we are all pouring resources into our work. The more transparent we are about what we need, the easier it’ll be to
grow that work and take it to the next level over time. We HAVE to know what we need, what is available, and what shortfalls we have to make up on our own in order for these shows to thrive and expand. We cannot do that if we turn a blind eye to these conversations.
I know this is ESPECIALLY hard for new creators who are just entering the sphere and don’t have “connections” or an audience yet. But I’d encourage you to try this anyway.
Ask for what you need.
It’s a good habit to get into and a skill that carries into all areas of your life.
Ask for what you need.
It’s a good habit to get into and a skill that carries into all areas of your life.
