I'm shaking it up - a message from Mishkin

Dear Patrons,

If you have time - please do watch the video, it sums up on a more personal level what I'm about to write here. If you're in a rush then just scan through to the bottom and take the poll.

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SHAKING THINGS UP

First things first. For those of you who have been with us through the last few years, or even just joined us now - THANK YOU.

It has not been easy in so many ways. The pandemic, brexit, war, climate change, and the cost of living crisis has badly affected so many people I know, myself included and working through it all has been tough. I am still proudly (and luckily) self-employed and earning my living through full-time music but the workload and hours have pretty much tripled for me. I've taken on a lot more than I can really handle, and some days I'm not coping very well with the balancing act that is life. But, I'm grateful that the work is there for me. I know there are many people worse off, and I'm hoping things will improve, given time, for all of us.

The Nest Studios is finally up and running so I'm hoping for a lot more music output coming your way.

Anyway, what I really wanted to tell you is that I want to change a few things around here. I feel like my Patreon releases and content have become a little sluggish, perhaps repetitive and I really need a fresh start... so here is what I am suggesting.

1. ALL CONTENT FOR ALL

What this would mean is that no matter what you pay, you would get everything, every month.

Except for the merchandise tier and a couple of things, everything else would remain the same, but it would mean that everyone gets access to it.

But hang on I hear you say - if I'm on a higher tier, I should get exclusive access, is this fair? Why are you doing this? And why now?

Well...

The problem for me releasing separate "things" to various groups is that not a lot of people get to see the content I'm making - and I feel quite spread thin.

I could make a whole talk or a cover song (which takes hours) and only a handful of you actually experience it. I might get little or no feedback on these higher tiers, simply because there is just less of you there, and you have lives! I realise that not everyone can check every post all the time.

Also what I've realised is that those of you who do give a lot, are very generous and also don't mind too much sharing what they receive. Most of the time I can see that you just want to support. Therefore, everybody could be getting a lot more and this could liven up the Patreon Feed massively and make me feel like a little bit more of what I do is being seen.

We could then all discuss the releases as a whole, and I could put everything out in one big blog at the end of the month, instead of several different posts which I sometimes feel is a little overkill. I don't want to pester my patrons with a bombardment of posts! What I'm suggesting is quality over quantity, and that it could be experienced by more of you.

However, before anything happens I have made a poll to make sure that that decision is made by YOU. Nothing will change without the majority patrons fully supporting it. The poll will be anonymous so you can really tell me how you feel.

The Patreon posts will still always remain exclusive to Patreon and I will not be sharing the content publicly, I just want to be able to release one big monster blog at the end of the month with all the "things" so we can all share in this, no matter how much money you are giving.

This does not mean that the higher tiers will not be receiving certain perks! I will give them more choice when it comes to the content, perhaps choosing the cover song, the talks and every now and then I may do an exclusive livestream or gift to my top tiers, to say thank you for the extra financial support they/you give me.

I hope this is ok... I'm a little nervous to be honest about asking, but taking a leaf from Amanda Palmer's book, why not just ask and see what happens? This group has been so incredibly supportive over the years and I really feel like now is the time to shake things up a little.

Ultimately by doing this, it will also create more time for me to work creatively, and produce even more music! I think this will make the experience better, by not spreading the content thinly across several small separate groups but instead letting us all thrive together. I know this has been successful for several Patreon pages, but, let me know what you think! Ultimately it's about making sure everyone is happy with how we go forwards.

2. THE BEB TALK TIER

While this tier is great, again, I feel like this could be a little more interesting and beneficial so I'm proposing a livestream, every month. This would be Patreon only, I would play a few songs and then maybe talk about the songs, let you know the news and what's happening at The Nest HQ. I would also then sometimes open up the video on zoom and we could all have a chat or Q&A and it could be like a monthly "check-in" with music. I could even invite the other band members in and we could all catchup.

This would also be an opportunity for you to tell me what you enjoyed about the "things" and what we could do better here on Patreon to make you guys happy :)

3. MAKING IT HEXY

Finally, I'll be updating the patron tiers titles. I've loved working with the moon themes but now that we're starting to release the songs from HEX (which is esoteric in subject) I think it's time for another shake-down... look out for the new titles soon.

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That's it from me. The last thing to do here is to vote on the poll! You can do so at this link

https://xoyondo.com/ap/O8EQtKj9rQnhoum 

Thank you for your time, your support and your feedback. Here's to many more years of Patreon!

Love & Feathers,

Mishkin, Hana, Garry & Anna xx

PS - this month will remain in the same format, with separated tiers, and with your approval I will update the new system from September or October, depending on how soon I get an answer from you all. Thanks again x