Torgo
Moderator Emeritus
-segment with Crow?
Posts: 15,420
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Post by Torgo on Apr 6, 2021 23:34:09 GMT -5
It's definitely Hampton and Baron. I know those voices. You think? I could believe Hampton, but that doesn't sound like Baron to me. I'm guessing it's one of the tour performers, because I don't recognize them. I'm 100% certain it's Baron. I've compared him to his replacement voices, and it definitely has Baron's tone.
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Post by wedestroymyths on Apr 7, 2021 0:18:43 GMT -5
I'm into this idea, but I'm struggling to see how it would last long term. Maybe it'll make sense with more details, I just can't imagine such a niche subscription service could become self-sustainable at the cost-per-episode price tag we're seeing in the video.
I mean, I'm a huge Guided By Voices fan, and when they had to stop touring due to the pandemic, they put together a weekly "from the vaults" subscription service and emailed subscribers old demos, unreleased concerts, early listens to new songs--that kind of thing. It cost $100 for a year of emails, and I bet maybe 500 people--tops--signed up for it. Worked pretty perfectly and the band made $50k.
But, and I'm no math guy, but it seems safe to say that 50k is a far, far cry from 5.5 million.
I'll pledge to the Kickstarter, and I desperately want this to be successful and last for years (and maybe there's more to the plan we don't know about that might help it make more sense)...I just can't quite wrap my head around it being sustainable without annual kickstarters or something.
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Post by kidflash on Apr 7, 2021 0:43:40 GMT -5
You think? I could believe Hampton, but that doesn't sound like Baron to me. I'm guessing it's one of the tour performers, because I don't recognize them. I'm 100% certain it's Baron. I've compared him to his replacement voices, and it definitely has Baron's tone. Oh, that's absolutely Hampton and Baron. I'd have to see what the price point is before dipping my toe into any subscription service. If we're talking the cost of a box set for a year or thereabouts, then maybe. But anything beyond that...
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Post by ds_36 on Apr 7, 2021 6:51:55 GMT -5
I guess my question here is does Joel plan on doing additional Kickstarters every time the show is up for renewal (every time he has to fund an additional batch of episodes)? I'm really not a fan of the same products constantly asking their supporters for more money. I think it's the modern thing but it just feels like a really bad look to me. The performance of the first Kickstarter was absolutely phenomenal and groundbreaking. But there's really no way that a second Kickstarter is going to perform anywhere nearly as well. I feel like this is setting himself up for disappointment. I'm not largely into streaming but I keep hearing about larger companies having issues setting up paid services like this. I can't believe that a fairly niche show would be able to attract enough interest to keep a service going long term. Just selling the episodes directly to customer / supporters sounds like a better plan.
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Post by Diet Kolos on Apr 7, 2021 7:05:07 GMT -5
On the whole, at least if we are to take the video at face value, this is probably the best outcome as far as how the show is seemingly going to be made that we could have hoped for. Episodes made one at a time (supposedly) is what most of us wanted. It even goes against what Torgo insisted was the standard production norm.
I still think they'd be better off with a Patreon and releasing through YouTube or Shout Factory's streaming service, but we'll see.
As far as funding it...I'm probably 40% more likely to join in at this point, but I need some more details, and preferably some assurances that they've perfected the process of the theater bits. But we'll see when it launches.
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Post by Diet Kolos on Apr 7, 2021 9:44:14 GMT -5
So thinking about the funding tiers again.
2 million for 3 episodes and the "Gizmoplex". 3.3 for 6 episodes and getting Gizmoplex onto more platforms like Roku. 4.4 for 9 episodes and events for Gizmoplex viewers. 5.5 for 12 episodes and 12 shorts.
Funding tiers include 3, 6, 9 or 12 months subscriptions to Gizmoplex.
But...what if they only fund 3 episodes and you donated at a 12 month subscription level? Do they stretch 3 episodes out to 12 months?
Why are the tier levels the same as when they launched the first time and had to start from zero? Are they starting from zero again?
Lots of holes that need filling.
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Post by wedestroymyths on Apr 7, 2021 11:03:14 GMT -5
Why are the tier levels the same as when they launched the first time and had to start from zero? Are they starting from zero again? Lots of holes that need filling. Was thinking about this, too. The "starting from zero" part this time has to be to build out the Gizmoplex, right? I'd imagine the design/programming/hosting etc... for all of that is pretty pricey.
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Post by BoB3K on Apr 7, 2021 11:47:48 GMT -5
Here's a thought no one has mention yet about subscriptions --
Looking at Joel's post MST3K TOS track record, who can trust him to put out timely content. Cinematic Titanic ended up making only 7 shows before giving up pre-produced stuff and just going live tour (which is being paid as you go if you think about how that works), and even then only put out like another 5 eps that way. That would be a total of 12 eps... in FOUR YEARS. Fast forward to 'The Reboot™', and he did make all 14 eps that were promised in the KS... and then 6 more the next year paid for by an evil corporation... and then nothing for THREE YEARS.
So...
I'm really not sure I'm going to back the KS. Joel should just start making damn episodes and putting them out for sale.
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Post by Diet Kolos on Apr 7, 2021 11:51:35 GMT -5
Another question no one's raised.
Why isn't Shout just paying to jump start production on, say, 3 episodes and launch the standalone subscription service at the same time?
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Post by BoB3K on Apr 7, 2021 11:53:47 GMT -5
Another question no one's raised. Why isn't Shout just paying to jump start production on, say, 3 episodes and launch the standalone subscription service at the same time? Yes this. Over these last few years, I don't like the -- I don't know how else to say it but -- greedy lazy kind of vibe I've been getting from Joel and this whole new version of MST3K. It's like, do you guys actually want to run this as a business, or are just milking old (and new) fans of any money you can get with no risk of your own.... Just put out a damn product and many Misties will probably buy it. I almost want to abstain from the KS for this very reason -- voting with my wallet as the saying goes.
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Post by Megalon on Apr 7, 2021 12:12:21 GMT -5
Another question no one's raised. Why isn't Shout just paying to jump start production on, say, 3 episodes and launch the standalone subscription service at the same time? Because they probably see Kickstarter as an endless well of money. Why spend your own capital when you could just draw some from the money well? It's a no-risk investment using someone else's money. Of course, this isn't taking into account the good will of the fans, which can run dry (and maybe will after this attempt). But until then, they have no reason not to go this route. Sure, it pisses some of us off, but as you've seen from Reddit, there are millions of people out there whose main purpose in life is to consume products, then eagerly await the next product, shedding gobs of money and dignity along the way.
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Post by tvsfrank on Apr 7, 2021 12:39:36 GMT -5
Rifftrax Live did Kickstarters for each season.
I don’t see any reason why MST3K can’t.
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Post by Troy's Dad on Apr 7, 2021 13:20:06 GMT -5
Rifftrax Live did Kickstarters for each season. I don’t see any reason why MST3K can’t. Agreed. I love Rifftrax, but their bare minimum are audio only releases that do not require upfront funding. Without Kickstarters, we would not be seeing 3-4 (or more) Rifftrax Live events each year. If Rifftrax gets a pass for holding Kickstarters for their live shows, MST3K should be allowed to fund their new shows. Especially if they plan to go without a network moving forward. I'm optimistic about 3 or even 6 episodes, and can even see the 12 plus 12 shorts happening. I was a $200 pledge for season 11 and felt that they exceeded the value of my backing amount.
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Post by BoB3K on Apr 7, 2021 13:35:58 GMT -5
It's up. don't know if we need a new thread or not.
$100 for a year pass. So, 9 bucks a month for a streaming service with one show.
I'll be interested to see if this makes any money.
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Post by monkeypretzel on Apr 7, 2021 13:38:05 GMT -5
Here's a thought no one has mention yet about subscriptions -- Looking at Joel's post MST3K TOS track record, who can trust him to put out timely content. Cinematic Titanic ended up making only 7 shows before giving up pre-produced stuff and just going live tour (which is being paid as you go if you think about how that works), and even then only put out like another 5 eps that way. That would be a total of 12 eps... in FOUR YEARS. Fast forward to 'The Reboot™', and he did make all 14 eps that were promised in the KS... and then 6 more the next year paid for by an evil corporation... and then nothing for THREE YEARS. So... I'm really not sure I'm going to back the KS. Joel should just start making damn episodes and putting them out for sale. I was talking about this privately with a friend a few days ago. The MST3K.org page asked for fan stories about the first time people saw MST3K on January 26. It's April 7 and none of them have been posted; the last update (3/15) said Lesley was still figuring out how best to share them. It's over two months, and you can't release content that is literally a cut and paste of what OTHER PEOPLE wrote for you? The same thing happened so many times during the Kickstarter - "Oh, sorry, we haven't updated you, we've just been SOOOOO BUSY!" The comic book was late by almost a year. The Coffee Table Book was late by over two years. Even Season 12's release was delayed, by Joel's personal request. The owner of Zen Monkey complained back in 2018 he wasn't getting any response from Joel or Alternaversal on product design after numerous emails. A lot of this can be explained by Joel and Alternaversal having a shoestring staff on a shoestring budget. But suddenly they are going to have the resources and organization - and Joel is notoriously disorganized as a person and as a businessman - to create and deliver content on a schedule which would ensure subscribers are receiving what they pay for each month? Joel is promising, from what that video says, a year of monthly episode releases IF he gets 5.5 million TO START. That's...optimistic. If he can do that, great, but can he get enough subscribers to continue on that schedule and create enough new content?
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