Some of you guys are beyond belief with your presumptuous negativity, and some of you have an inherent failure to think about the big picture, or even peek outside of the box you're so comfortable in.
Put yourself in Crobb & Co's shoes:
They are sitting on prime content produced on a winning formula, and are against making core changes to that product in an effort to monetize it. Good call.
Imagine if Google started charging people to use their Search function, or made people watch a 5 second ad before being shown their search results. It'd be corporate suicide.
- Requesting donations at any stage during the show changes the dynamic, and they they risk losing viewer/listener immersion.
People don't like change in general, let alone changing the format of something they enjoy as is. The already ruthless YouTube comments will consist of shit like "DAE remember when The Nine Club was cool".
Even if some of us are already accustomed to being probed to contribute financially to the Podcasts we listen to, the majority of the audience aren't.
- Corporate sponsorship not only puts them at risk of accusations of 'selling out', but also of being strong armed into doing things they mightn't want to do. Simple enough.
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So without changing the core product, we have to create value via peripheral products or services:
1. Open a store and sell Merch? Simple win. Not a cash cow, but gives them a supplementary marketplace which can just grow passively on the side as they focus on what they're good at.
May or may not turn into something where you can get exclusive third party branded products, like The Berrics Canteen. Neat.
2. Utilise their skillset to create more of what they're good at, which is high quality video content.
Even better, research trends in video consumption, recognise the cultural shift that is happening towards consumption of Live video content on the Internet, establish why that is, how to leverage that, and create something for this market.
Enter 'The Nine Club Experience'.
Know why Live sports has always been the holy grail of TV?
Because it's NOW; No-one gives a fuck about replays of sports games.
Know why live Social content with a high production value is the logical next step for any video content producer?
Because it's ENGAGING.
Know what's better than tuning into two hours of Fred Gall on The Nine Club?
Being able to talk shit with him from your couch at the same fucking time.
Is being able to watch good quality content while having the opportunity to actually converse with the producer/guests in realtime worth a dollar?
Guess we'll find out after the first few episodes drop...