I was a little shocked by your ignorance of The Hollow Crown - I was thinking you kept up more on Shakespeare in the news. You probably have seen Ben Wishaw (Richard II) before in the James Bond film "Skyfall" where he played the young "Q".
I was a little put off by the remarks you made about those who support you on Patreon. As much as you may think about your podcast, guys, there are more informed, deeper sources for appreciating Shakespeare than what you offer. Bardcast is a nice, chatty, introductory look at the plays, but much of what you offer is simple plot breakdown and opinion, not hard scholarship or research. It often sounds unscripted and loose, which is part of the reason I like it; but most podcasts are unpaid, simply because they're hobbies - not careers OR they're tied to a commercial site, to drive purchases and advertising.
I think, by trying to push BardCast into a money-making endeavor, you've lost a bit of the pure enjoyment that you had when you first started out - its a classic example of putting the cart before the horse.
A podcast about Shakespeare is NEVER going to be a big money-maker - it's too much of a niche audience - so either do it for the sheer enjoyment of it, or figure out a way to vastly expand your web presence in order to drive more commerce.
I wonder if the listener who's commented above may have misunderstood what you were saying about support on Patreon.
You just said that contributions wouldn't cover the hours you put in, if that's how you wanted to measure it - but that evidently isn't how you look at it. And then there was a self-deprecating comment that, in your opinion, some people are paying too much - 5 dollars per podcast - compared to what you feel the podcast is worth. No way was it a complaint or a push to make a profit. As I understood it, you were embarrassed that listeners were being too generous.
I enjoy the podcast and am very happy to put a few dollars your way now and then to help cover your costs.
It's clear that you do it for the sheer enjoyment of it - that comes across in every episode.
from Vanessa, UK (apologies for posting as 'anonymous' - I don't have any of the accounts listed for ID)
I was a little shocked by your ignorance of The Hollow Crown - I was thinking you kept up more on Shakespeare in the news. You probably have seen Ben Wishaw (Richard II) before in the James Bond film "Skyfall" where he played the young "Q".
ReplyDeleteI was a little put off by the remarks you made about those who support you on Patreon. As much as you may think about your podcast, guys, there are more informed, deeper sources for appreciating Shakespeare than what you offer. Bardcast is a nice, chatty, introductory look at the plays, but much of what you offer is simple plot breakdown and opinion, not hard scholarship or research. It often sounds unscripted and loose, which is part of the reason I like it; but most podcasts are unpaid, simply because they're hobbies - not careers OR they're tied to a commercial site, to drive purchases and advertising.
I think, by trying to push BardCast into a money-making endeavor, you've lost a bit of the pure enjoyment that you had when you first started out - its a classic example of putting the cart before the horse.
A podcast about Shakespeare is NEVER going to be a big money-maker - it's too much of a niche audience - so either do it for the sheer enjoyment of it, or figure out a way to vastly expand your web presence in order to drive more commerce.
I wonder if the listener who's commented above may have misunderstood what you were saying about support on Patreon.
DeleteYou just said that contributions wouldn't cover the hours you put in, if that's how you wanted to measure it - but that evidently isn't how you look at it. And then there was a self-deprecating comment that, in your opinion, some people are paying too much - 5 dollars per podcast - compared to what you feel the podcast is worth. No way was it a complaint or a push to make a profit. As I understood it, you were embarrassed that listeners were being too generous.
I enjoy the podcast and am very happy to put a few dollars your way now and then to help cover your costs.
It's clear that you do it for the sheer enjoyment of it - that comes across in every episode.
from Vanessa, UK
(apologies for posting as 'anonymous' - I don't have any of the accounts listed for ID)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete