I’m noticing something on Substack. More and more writers who have turned on paid subscriptions are becoming increasingly concerned with justifying that decision, it would appear. They’re offering paid only articles, emailed to all 'subscribers as ‘Previews’, they’re opening comments only to paid subscribers, they’re fretting about not putting out enough material and they seem to be churning out material, not because they are inspired necessarily, but because they feel obligated to give people their dime’s worth (or penny’s worth).
May 13, 2023·edited May 14, 2023Liked by Jaime Jessop
Zerohedge went to their occasional special articles for their paid subscribers. It is a bit annoying, and, while yes, a revenue stream beyond advertising dollars based on viewership, I do not wish to cater to that, and if the subject is worthy of attention, many others will publish for free about it.
As for my self, my small substack is always free, not a news feed, and has very few posts. ( To better understand the reasons check it out). And yes, I do not want to feel obligated to produce. ( It is more of a niche )
Some news feed writer’s, like Coffee and Covid, produce daily. I like that feed. I don’t appreciate asking more then the minimum monthly. (Some require considerably more). I wont patronize that. If a writers gets thousands of paid subscribers, and is doing event specific fund raisers, at some point it would be good to see some accountability. There is a very large desire in the global population to resist “wokeness” and Tyranny. I would really like to see the very successful producers pool some of those donations to specific aid for the many battles needed, and consider to be open about their revenue.
The only to add is that their is a philosphical postion that I support. The concept is that all the "inforation" in science, truth, spirituality, etc, is and always has been present, and we only access it, and so dont really "own" any of it. 
I can’t claim credit for the insight, and unfortunately can’t recall it’s source, but paraphrasing: movements, in time, become businesses, and eventually become rackets. I see an analogous risk with paid subscriptions.
It’s easy to understand how writers may want to get remunerated for their efforts, particularly when their willingness to speak the truth has resulted in their loss of employment. So there is no simple solution.
I think el gato malo, one of the writers on substack who is always interesting and very entertaining, has a good model, with his substantial articles being free, and bonus, non-substantial (humor) articles for paid subscribers. But he may be an exception with his probably unusual ability to create a second, distinct product under the same masthead.
"they’re fretting about not putting out enough material" - I think everyone frets about that, even those of us who don't do this for a living!
I'd like to see the option for people to donate to substack to keep the platform flourishing. We need to have platforms like this to hear sensible, rational voices - if only to let us know the *entire* world hasn't gone mad.
There is always that - viewing figures drop like a stone if you don't publish posts regularly. What worries me is that people will become financially invested in Substack, then the platform will be sold out to Elon Musk, for example. I'm already starting to think about alternatives if Substack gets ensnared in the tentacles of the Censorship-industrial complex.
For myself, I'm torn between seeking a larger audience and saying what I want to say. I've noticed that shorter, more emotive posts get a better response. Of course, social media's business model relies on just that.
I hadn't considered that substack might even be in the running for a buy-out. The question in my mind is: if this platform can be compromised that way, then how could a similar platform be constructed in future to avoid the same fate?
It can't. Perhaps there is no open source online platform that isn't vulnerable to a hostile takeover from TPTB. But you just settle where you think you have a reasonable opportunity to speak your truth, for a while at least. For the moment, that place is Substack. I hope it remains so, though I always presume that it will eventually be compromised by online censorship.
I really believe that open source is a piece of the jigsaw to rid us of these troublesome priests. As long as we continue to burden ourselves with the system we have allowed to take over, whether it's communism or crony capitalism or any other -ism, we'll always have TPTB. Time for a new approach!
Bravo. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
They were a great band.
And your honesty and pure motives are why I love your work!! Thank you for sharing. Love, Steshu.
Thank you for such kind words Steshu.
Zerohedge went to their occasional special articles for their paid subscribers. It is a bit annoying, and, while yes, a revenue stream beyond advertising dollars based on viewership, I do not wish to cater to that, and if the subject is worthy of attention, many others will publish for free about it.
As for my self, my small substack is always free, not a news feed, and has very few posts. ( To better understand the reasons check it out). And yes, I do not want to feel obligated to produce. ( It is more of a niche )
Some news feed writer’s, like Coffee and Covid, produce daily. I like that feed. I don’t appreciate asking more then the minimum monthly. (Some require considerably more). I wont patronize that. If a writers gets thousands of paid subscribers, and is doing event specific fund raisers, at some point it would be good to see some accountability. There is a very large desire in the global population to resist “wokeness” and Tyranny. I would really like to see the very successful producers pool some of those donations to specific aid for the many battles needed, and consider to be open about their revenue.
The only to add is that their is a philosphical postion that I support. The concept is that all the "inforation" in science, truth, spirituality, etc, is and always has been present, and we only access it, and so dont really "own" any of it. 
It is all free choice behavior, and the money doesn’t necessarily corrupt, I just like to see wise choices... https://anderdaa7.substack.com/p/does-absolute-power-corrupt
I can’t claim credit for the insight, and unfortunately can’t recall it’s source, but paraphrasing: movements, in time, become businesses, and eventually become rackets. I see an analogous risk with paid subscriptions.
It’s easy to understand how writers may want to get remunerated for their efforts, particularly when their willingness to speak the truth has resulted in their loss of employment. So there is no simple solution.
I think el gato malo, one of the writers on substack who is always interesting and very entertaining, has a good model, with his substantial articles being free, and bonus, non-substantial (humor) articles for paid subscribers. But he may be an exception with his probably unusual ability to create a second, distinct product under the same masthead.
"they’re fretting about not putting out enough material" - I think everyone frets about that, even those of us who don't do this for a living!
I'd like to see the option for people to donate to substack to keep the platform flourishing. We need to have platforms like this to hear sensible, rational voices - if only to let us know the *entire* world hasn't gone mad.
There is always that - viewing figures drop like a stone if you don't publish posts regularly. What worries me is that people will become financially invested in Substack, then the platform will be sold out to Elon Musk, for example. I'm already starting to think about alternatives if Substack gets ensnared in the tentacles of the Censorship-industrial complex.
For myself, I'm torn between seeking a larger audience and saying what I want to say. I've noticed that shorter, more emotive posts get a better response. Of course, social media's business model relies on just that.
I hadn't considered that substack might even be in the running for a buy-out. The question in my mind is: if this platform can be compromised that way, then how could a similar platform be constructed in future to avoid the same fate?
It can't. Perhaps there is no open source online platform that isn't vulnerable to a hostile takeover from TPTB. But you just settle where you think you have a reasonable opportunity to speak your truth, for a while at least. For the moment, that place is Substack. I hope it remains so, though I always presume that it will eventually be compromised by online censorship.
I really believe that open source is a piece of the jigsaw to rid us of these troublesome priests. As long as we continue to burden ourselves with the system we have allowed to take over, whether it's communism or crony capitalism or any other -ism, we'll always have TPTB. Time for a new approach!
Well said "This is not how creativity works."