I guess I'm late to the party here, but thought I would give my 2 cents. First, I don't think people realize just how much time and resources must be invested to produce a good show like the Paracast. It's not unreasonable to try and fund the process and make something to survive along the way. Not to mention the show has tons of potential (at least, I think it does) as more mainstream fare gets watered down and veers in different directions.
Times get lean for many. My husband and I have struggled with the "how are we going to pay that bill before shut off?" or "Grab change around the house so we can get gas to get to work" scenarios. I completely understand that there could be times when $7 or $8 is too much to put into something that's not an immediate necessity. That being said, I haven't seen anything about the Paracast being off limits to non-subscribers. Most of the forums and new shows (unless I read it wrong) will still be available along with many shows going pretty far back. That's a lot of content to enjoy without paying a cent.
And here's my worthless opinion on the rest:
1. Offering older episodes of The Paracast on the premium service is a non-starter, unfortunately. The network sells ads on the basis of the fact that they will be heard in the archives, no matter how old. Episodes prior to July 2010 might be considered; we'll see. But not the ones that were carried by GCN.
I don't mind the ads. Sometimes I find them humorous. I often serenade my husband with my ad-inspired impression of Alex Jones.
2. Special audio and video programming will be part of the package. Perhaps an "After The Show" discussion, plus special interviews that contain material we weren't able to include in the core program.
Love it! I have seen at least one other radio show do this and it was great. Of course it all depends on WHO is in the after show. And I think even sessions involving the hosts only could be very interesting. I would definitely tune in (and it would be nice if these were also part of the permanent archive so they can be accessed and re-accessed later - yes, I listen to shows over and over again on topics I find interesting
).
3. Chat rooms. This has been a request, and the ones that work best need to be carefully monitored to prevent abuse.
Another good idea. I don't know that I would use them all the time (sometimes the pacing of a forum with its post-and-check-back format is easier for me but I do enjoy a good real time conversation now and again).
Might I even suggest listening chat rooms? Maybe each week the listening room would loop the current episode so members could stop by, have a listen and discuss topics relevant to the episode? I have seen something similar with websites who do music and movies. They let users create a room and have a DJ or someone (both being a user) starts a video clip and they chat while they listen and watch together. Something like this would be awesome if users could get together and experience episodes in a chat room as a group. It might be too difficult to let users pick and start episodes, so maybe have scheduled airings in the listening chat room (maybe a morning, afternoon and evening airing) that just auto starts and users can come and go to chat. This may require more development than is accessible right now, but just a thought. I wonder if any of the online apps I have seen offer access to an API or something that could easily be developed (uh, I mean easily by someone with the skillzzz)?
4. Custom forums. We'll have a special premium area only accessible via paid members.
I could take it or leave it when it comes to premium forum access. I will frequent any forum that interests me, but I could see how it might restrict conversations by cutting out part of the community. I'm pretty neutral on this one.
5. Discounts on premium merchandise. A possibility, but our take on these items is minuscule as it is. We'll see.
Manufacturing physical goods costs money, and I think everyone can understand that. Personally I would be fine without the discount. If you wanted to give something to premium users, maybe offer a couple bucks off a month to use on orders if they happen to place one (say some kind of monthly coupon code that changes, so if it is not used that month it expires and a new one is issued so the coupons can't be saved and stacked). But no discount is alright with me.
I would pay around $7 for monthly access. Actually I usually prefer a longer term sub when I can afford it just so I can subscribe and not have to pay for a while (plus you usually pay less per month that way) so I'm sure I would eventually do the $40 option.
Other suggestions:
Maybe along with the monthly/yearly sub you could also offer al la carte episodes that are on the premium access list. So that way if someone wants to hear an archived premium episode, they could pay a small fee for access to that one episode. If the fee was really cheap it could expire (say after a few days or a week). It would have to be cheap if it's not permanent, but it would offer more flexibility for the user.
And what about a gift subscription option? This is what I was thinking - it could give one user a way to buy access for another (maybe a friend on the forum, etc). Of course soliciting gift subs on the forum/private messages/chat should not be permitted, but this functionality could also be used as a donation platform. Maybe have two options when buying a gift subscription, one to include another user's info (to give it to a specific person) or a donation recipient option. Let users 'donate' a subscription that goes into a community pool. Non-subscribing users could enter a monthly or quarterly drawing to receive one of the free donated subscriptions. That's also another way someone who might want to give more than the cost of their subscription to support the show could also help another loyal listener benefit.
And finally, categories for shows would be really nice. Kind of like how C2C breaks down their episodes into Paranormal, UFOs, Weird, etc. Some subjects interest me more than others so I like to be able to browse everything in that category. Searching by keyword doesn't always produce the best results. This might be something we in the community could help with initially.
I don't think this should be a premium feature, but just something that might improve the archives and might appeal to newcomers who are looking for content related to specific topics.
Just a thought. Take it or leave it.
Anyway, just my 2 cents worth.
