Patreon 3.0

Hey! It’s been a while since we posted here! In light of our recent conversation about our Patreon, we thought it would be worthwhile to post an overdue update.

Before we get into the details, we both wanted to thank you all for your immediate generosity and kindness. Even before this post, we’ve received a ton of messages with positive encouragement and have noticed an increase in the Patreon support. We have no words, you’re the best. Truly.

To recap a bit: In a recent episode, we discussed where the show is currently at and the current costs of production and upkeep. As evidenced by our previous posts here, we have been extremely hesitant monetizing anything around the show. We make Into the Aether because we enjoy doing it — and while we take it seriously, we’ve never really seen it as work because we find it to be creatively fulfilling and a positive weekly ritual.

That being said, we want it to be sustainable. After some conversations and encouragement from friends and colleagues, we realized there was a way to have the podcast generate income in a way that didn’t feel like we were compromising anything about the show or our own morals.

To give you an idea of what we mean by sustainable: At the time of this post, AJ is paid for his unparalleled editing work completely out of pocket. Even if we used the entirety of what the Patreon generates, it still wouldn’t be enough. So the first goal for the Patreon, with your help, is aiming to have editing costs covered in full.

With our current episode length and output, this would come out to around $500 per month. The good news is that we are already close to hitting that number! You’re all incredible.

If we were to surpass that, we’d like to pay AJ even more if possible! This money would also help pay for our podcast hosting platform. And while Brendon and I are usually comfortable buying games on our own, more Patreon money will allow us to even further expand our horizons.

As we discussed on the show, ads seem a bit out of our league for now (at least in the way we’d feel comfortable featuring them), so the Patreon (and upcoming merch) will be the main financial ways to support us if you feel so inclined to do so!

But enough about us. What do YOU get?! Good question ; )

Starting in late June, after the premier of Season 4, we will begin making patron only episodes once a month. Rest assured that our usual monthly bonus episodes will remain for everyone. But only patrons will get this new EXTRA episode.

Right now, the plan is to do these once a month, and the subject matter of each patron episode will vary. We still don’t want those who can’t support the Patreon to feel like they’re not getting the full show, but we’re comfortable with patrons getting more. An idea for the first one is a wrap up of E3 and Summer Game Fest. Another is maybe talking about Star Trek TNG or more Astrology? Who knows! It will be a fun place to experiment and try out ideas, including any you might have, so feel free to share them!

So just to recap, Patrons will receive the following:

-The shoutout in the show notes
-Access to the monthly patron only episode
-A discount for upcoming merch (more on this in the near future)

Again, thank you all so much for even allowing this conversation to be possible. Even though we’re currently spending a lot on the show, we do so gladly knowing that it’s something so many of you enjoy. And we’re hopeful we can hit these reasonable goals to provide you with even more.

You are the greatest. Thank you for being you.

Love,

Stephen + Brendon