#patreon #audiophiles #streaming

I'm now putting all my thoughts on best products and extra content on Patreon which I cannot say on YouTube to keep to my credible aims of 13th Note. This is a place which is just for viewers and consumers where necessarily YouTube is a place 50% for brands and 50% for consumers.

I'm deliberately keeping it low cost to attract people and support me and make it easy for you (£5/£5/€5 a month and no contract - cancel anytime). Patreon link : https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20783218

I set up this channel to be honest and credible, as it gets bigger it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so on YouTube, but I don't want to make out that I can be all things to all people on YouTube!

HiFi reviews are often a thankless task and videos take an enormous amount of time to make, typically anywhere from 30 hours for a quick video to 60-70 for a long one. I personally think that most HiFi brands should sponsor such videos. Those that aren't doing so, are on the one hand using a review for the ends of promotion which they would say is believable but yet at the same time when the reviewer has then given an honestly held opinion then seeks sponsorship for the same video, their attitude is reviews cannot be credible if paid. That's clearly a very incompatible position to take, but regardless of the rights and wrongs of this a subscriber model is I think better.

For YouTube reviews I have to do :
-listening and research which can easily take days especially when products run in
-scripting, which can take days.
swapping out and comparing gear - all day sometimes.
filming intros and outros - half day to a day depending on complexity.
Setting up cameras and lighting to do pieces to camera, then filming my presenting with mistakes and reshoots of clips, takes all day.
b roll - an afternoon or more of work
interlude sequences and editing adding music etc, can take a day or two depending on quality
uploading to websites and articles and writing articles - another half day, plus fielding comments constantly.

Ultimately you decide if you want the reviews credible by supporting me. You may think that reviewers are serving solely your needs on YouTube but this is not possible, due to YouTubers dual 50:50 role and the fact they rely on the brands for product loans, they don't want to mention bad products publicly (or say what is best) and upset brands loaning by doing so. The notion of awards is in my opinion, erroneous to telling you what is best as there is too much overlap and products that share categories and where new better products are in flux. A private place on Patreon and more open and honest discourse allows you to access the products I would buy myself, as the goalposts change with new products, saving you loads of money. It is implicit that YouTube is really for featuring and describing products and product awareness more than anything.

What is £5/£5/€5 a month - the cost of a drink. So please sign up today on a free 7 day trial. The link again :

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20783218

My aim is to get to 250-300 Patreon's (currently from around 40) to make this channel sustainable and a model where I am sustained by my viewers who are my customers is way the best way to go. Particularly as some of the nice subscribers predominantly post unbelievably encouraging comments (which is not always the case with HiFi firms). I'm giving myself around another 6 months and then I'll decide if I need to do something else, which is looking very likely.

I'm aiming to post 3-4 posts a week to Patreon with extra content, and taming down my production values slightly (but still probably a lot more dynamic than is the norm for YouTube) to get more content out including a review on YouTube every week. This extra benefits on Patreon includes;

Early Access YouTube Content
No adverts in videos on YouTube
Shoot out lists and articles and extra content in videos on what I think is best (I don't do product awards on YouTube for reasons that I don't think the excess amount of awards are a very credible way of monetising HiFi reviews - I would much rather this is monetised by an audience)
Product give - aways
Playlists

You can also sign up to the higher tier service ($£€20 a month) and get a 1 hour zoom chat each month. I'm not a technical audiophile but I can share all my real world experiences of how I get on with products which is way more valuable.

I can say what I think is best on YouTube but I cannot mention other products in this context but I may just move away from commenting on worth of products all together on YouTube and making them featurettes of products and just describing what they do and for comparisons and worth - that's will be for Patreon. This means I still keep doing what I set out to do and keep my credible and honest aims, whilst recognising the reality of the market I exist in and those who would be willing to pay for it.

Best Wishes
Simon