VGMO Patreon page update
Late last year, after a successful fundraiser that gave us a good amount of website funding, we began a Patreon page to re-organize the entire funding process of our website. Originally, we were entirely self-funded, which included out-of-pocket payments for expenses like interview translations, review copies, coverage of large events, and hosting costs. With our Patreon, we have been able to build a small pool of VGMO funds that we carefully allocate for these expenses, with the majority of the funds going to interview translations.
However, this was our first attempt at a consistent fundraiser, so it has been a learning process for us. In order to make our Patreon more long-term, we realized that we needed to repurpose the fundraising and modify some of our rewards. We have been discussing the changes extensively over the last couple of months in order to fund a more sustainable site, as well as give our supporters feasible rewards that we can provide.
The two biggest edits we are going to make are as follows:
1. The Patreon will now be used to broadly coordinate and support site activities. Whereas the original fundraiser solely focused on Japanese interviews, there will now be options for Patrons to contribute to other site articles, including liner notes translations, Western and indie composer interviews, and podcast subjects. This is reflected by changes in the current rewards structure. We will be able to publish one podcast, one liner note translation, and up to three interviews per month if we maintain funding at the $100+ per month mark.
2. The choice interviews with Japanese composers will be gone. Unfortunately, this process has proven very challenging as the composers chosen have either declined interview requests or have taken months to respond to questions. To avoid further disappointments, we are scrapping this option. We are going to continue working at ensuring the already-pledged interviews happen. However, some of these will take some time to publish and it is possible that some will fall through (in which case pledgees will be asked to change their interview choice). However, if we maintain $100+ funding a month, we will continue to be able to publish a Japanese composer interview at an average of once a month.
All of our writers, editors, and coverage leaders contribute outside of their separate day jobs, and the ability to continue using our new website funds instead of our personal resources is amazing; not only does it encourage us to continue writing, but it is an honor to have our game music website funded by readers, composers, and other fans who have an interest in seeing game music journalism continue. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about donating or pledging, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Posted on April 6, 2016 by Emily McMillan. Last modified on April 6, 2016.
About the Author
Emily McMillan A native and lifelong Texan, I currently work in software education while contributing news, reviews, and interviews to VGMO on the side. I love the feeling that comes with the discovery of a brand new soundtrack, and always look forward to the next rekindling of that excitement. Outside of VGMO, I enjoy playing piano, listening to classical music and film scores, and trying to go unnoticed in any stealth RPG I can find.
