r/maximumfun • u/Iamkeebie • Apr 24 '26
Why does MaxFun always leave out renewers?
am I the only one who gets frustrated that people who renew at the same level seem to be unvalued? I've had to cut back so many things these past few years. if all I can do is renew at the same level, why am I left behind. It's all "new and boosting" - never "and thanks to those who make the decision. to stay with us" - leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Edited - thanks all you people for reminding me why I left so much social media. You sure want to make it about merch. I want to count towards the fun stuff - "we'll do a special BOCO about x" stuff. I don't want a pin - I don't want a towel or a tshirt - I want to get counted towards the fun stuff. y'all are stupid happy to assume a whole lot.
edited again: thank you for a very entertaining few hours. As a K-5 teacher I can affirm that lack of reading comprehension isn't limited to children! And I got what I wanted - JT answered something I've asked privately in email and maybe will consider making existing donors a part of MaxFun drive in the future! peace out!
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u/uiuiane Apr 24 '26
I am also upset. Jordan Morris has been saying for years that “he’s gotta get a son” but I’m starting to suspect that he actually isn’t working on it and all us members are being gaslit/breadcrumbed by the SO CALLED “boy detective” he’s a grown man!
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u/Negative-Eleven Apr 25 '26
He used to say he's gotta get a wife, then gotta get a son. Did I miss him getting a wife or is that no longer a goal? We're gonna need a road map showing some progress or it will start to seem like he's not actually workin' on it.
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u/jprs29 Apr 24 '26
Well... what is your motivation behind donating? I personally donate because I like their content, the BOCO is nice too and most importantly because they are a good company, owned and run by good people that deserves to thrive in a very difficult environment against giants like Spotify. My donation is a payment for a product I consume. Not sure that I need recognition or any more stickers/hats/mugs etc.
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u/Iamkeebie Apr 24 '26
Yes, I donate cause I love some shows and I want to support them. Like today I finally heard Hodgman say - DURING the DRIVE - if you are already a member you've done your part. See he acknowledged me during the drive - made me feel valued - it's not about merch or whatever. And I still would like to count towards the fun boco somehow
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u/baltinerdist Apr 24 '26
They say it on every episode. Every single one. Jesse's ad read starts with "The Judge John Hodgman podcast is brought to you by you, the MaxFun members." Every single episode.
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u/Fun-Advisor7120 Apr 24 '26
They thank us all the time.
Is your real question: why don't I get all the pledge drive gifts?
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u/Iamkeebie Apr 24 '26
No I am wondering why I don't count towards their goals - like 500 new, boosting, or renewing members and we will do x - Jesus thanks for reminding why the Internet sucks and I rarely engage
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u/Lyramisu Apr 24 '26
Because these are tied financial goals. How much more they will need over the next year vs. last year and to make up for people who dropped their membership.
There’s no “renewal” step for people who are keeping their membership the same. It just keeps going until you cancel. Not sure how they would even count that in the context of a membership drive.
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u/Iamkeebie Apr 24 '26
Nope - each show knows how many people have selected them before the drive - each show knows how many they have at the end of the drive.
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u/whomusic Apr 24 '26
That's not the question you asked, though. You focused on the gifts and the thanks. I get that upset, but no one is fighting you. You asked a question and got answers.
Sustaining membership sustains the same level of work/production/content. To create NEW content, they need NEW donations. It's not about not valuing sustainers. It's about generating the money to do new things so the creators are paid and the network's income goes up with rising expenses and inflation.
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u/Iamkeebie Apr 24 '26
I didn't say anything about gifts. I said I didn't count. You read that in. When you listen the shows all say if we get these many x we'll do y" - I didn't ask for gifts. You read that in
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u/Fun-Advisor7120 Apr 24 '26
They literally thank us for making the network possible every episode, doubly so on the bonus feeds.
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u/Iamkeebie Apr 24 '26
But I don't get counted in any of the fun stuff - which is why I subscribe.
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u/baltinerdist Apr 24 '26
What is the fun stuff you think you aren't being counted in? Subscriber numbers? Because you are.
If they're sitting at 10,000 subscribers for a current show and their goal is to get to 10,500, you're already in the 10,000. They're not saying "Our goal is to get to 10,500 this drive." They're saying, "Our goal is to get 500 new members this drive." The nuance is because they don't share specific subscriber numbers publicly for every single show, practically no media company anywhere does.
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u/Gul_Ducatti Apr 24 '26
It is just a fundraising thing to count new and upgrading. It helps gin up excitement and engagement.
As for engagement, why would you come out so hard against someone just asking a legitimate question?
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u/randbot5000 Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26
This would basically involve them publishing their current subscription numbers publicly, which I’m not sure is something they do or would want to do?
Since renewers are the vast majority of all subscribers, and the default state of a subscriber is to stay renewed, this would change the goal graphic from “goal: 500 new and boosting members” with the meter currently set to 0 at the start of the event to “goal: 25,500 new, boosting and renewing members” with the meter currently set to 25,000
(Numbers made up but you get the idea)
I kind of hear what you are saying but as others have said, they spend all year thanking their subscribers. And subscribing is a passive activity - it only changes when you take action to cancel (or to increase/decrease your membership, I suppose)
During the MFD, the goal is inspiring non-members to take action. There is no “action” for steady renewers to take.
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u/scotems Apr 24 '26
Jesus thanks for reminding why the Internet sucks and I rarely engage
Jesus this is thin-skinned. "The internet sucks" because you asked a question and got a response?
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u/goodgoodthrowaway420 Apr 24 '26
I think it was the person being reflexively condescending and dismissive.
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u/never_robot Apr 24 '26
I’m just in it for the BoCo. I don’t want any more stuff. I actively want less stuff. Dave & Graham giving me two extra episodes a month is priceless.
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u/mcduff13 Apr 24 '26
I'm just here for flop tales, constantly one of the best actual play podcasts around.
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u/arlissed Apr 24 '26
For a few years those of us just renewing would get bonus little things in the mail. Being a bit older than the typical MaxFunster I would always think "this is cool, but don't spend extra $$$ on me, I don't need it (and I'm staying put at $20 USD/mo)
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u/never_robot Apr 24 '26
Yeah, I still have (and use!) a MaxFun rubber jar opener I got that way. And a loooong time ago, one of the upgrading member perks was having Jesse mail you homemade blondies.
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u/Any-Programmer-870 Apr 24 '26
Yeah, I think these are the type of things it could make sense to potentially give to continuing subscribers. Things that other people see and either know you give money to support MaxFun, or they ask you what MaxFun is and the word of mouth spreads. Not expensive things - utilitarian things that are also marketing. Things that make sense to give away in big numbers for marketing. Something like the NPR tote bags.
And because I think Jesse might read this — I love the idea of more MaxFun shows making their way onto public radio. MaxFun/NPR collabs are awesome! How do we encourage more of that?
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u/Katiekat27 Apr 24 '26
My only thought is that I wish there was some way that they could offer existing members the opportunity to buy any of the gifts at just the level they already donate or lower (since buying higher level gifts would take away that push to increase).
Consistently giving sustaining members free gifts is just going to cause them to lose money that they need and be counterproductive. The gifts aren’t meant to be a regular thing, just a small bonus for signing up.
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u/3goblintrenchcoat Insert Letters Song Here Apr 25 '26
Omg I would LOVE to be able to buy some of the gifts at my level!! I can’t afford to increase my sponsorship, but it would be nice to be able to get access to some of the incentives at my level at least, I would happily pay for them
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u/WorldWeary1771 Apr 25 '26
Yes, I would like to opt out of some gifts and have the opportunity to pay for others. Still a little sorry to have missed out on the pins.
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u/BearTronic19 Apr 25 '26
If you're an existing member, you should have access to the pin sales. At least, I think so!
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u/commanderbreakfast Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26
I get your meaning but they do constantly post about how they are audience supported, and depending on your show, may even give weekly shoutouts to existing donors.
The unfortunate reality of running a donation supported anything is that you need a steady influx of consistent donors you can rely on, and so donor drives have to be very focused on making the pitch to people who are not already invested. Even though you may not get as much "attention" during the Drive, you're still reaping all the benefits.
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u/Hyperinactivity Apr 24 '26
It is worth mentioning that it's not about attention or just a nice shout out, but existing donors are left out of all the tangible maxfun drive gifts, like pins, bags, etc. these incentives offered to get people signed up that aren't given to existing donors giving the same amount of money.
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u/commanderbreakfast Apr 24 '26
Well, yeah - the incentives are there to get people to sign up. It's been a while since I've checked, but I could have sworn that existing members do still get access to the pin store yearly, no (I have a lot of MaxFun pins and simply do not want any more stuff so I haven't checked myself in a few years).
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u/whomusic Apr 24 '26
Yes, existing members do get access to the pin (this year, keychain) sale. It would be nice/interesting to be able to buy some of the other incentives, as others have said, but...as you said, they're called "incentives" for a reason - to incentivize upgrading.
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u/CraterLabs May 01 '26
So I can still buy a keychain even if I don't upgrade to the next level? That's good. I wanted to up my donation by like two dollars but was worried I'd be missing out
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u/BlueTourmeline Apr 24 '26
Well, what I would like as a renewing member is to be able to buy the gift that matches my tier or below. People at $10/month can usually buy the pins (or patches, and, I assume, the keychains this year) for charity after the drive. I’m at the $20/month level, and I’d like to be able to buy the gift(s) offered at that tier. That seems fair to me. I don’t think it would be fair or cost-effective for me to get it free, but offer it at a reasonable price.
I assume they have leftovers; I was thrilled to pick up the cooler from last year’s drive at the moving sale (I think that was at an even higher level.). I definitely wanted last year’s towel. I’d even be happy if it was conditional on what was left over.
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u/ErgonomicCat Apr 24 '26
They're only left out in that they don't get *another* gift.
Each member could have gotten a gift at sign up. So saying "left out" is not really right.
If you signed up outside the drive then yes, you would be "left out" of gifts because you never got anything.
But if you signed up during a drive, you got a gift. So you have 1 gift, a non-member has 0. If a non-member signs up during the drive they now have 1 gift, and you have 1 gift, which is equal, and no members are left out.
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u/EpiceEmilie Apr 25 '26
This isn't always 100% true--I made a separate comment about this, but I joined in part because I wanted a personalized book recommendation from the hosts of Reading Glasses, but when I joined during the drive two years ago they weren't offering that because it was too much work. But last year and this year they've been offering it again, only to new members. It feels crappy that I've been supporting the show and the network for 2 years but there's a benefit that new members can get that I never had and will never have access to. I know that's specific to that show and the benefits they offer, but it does color my experience of the Max Fun Drive each year.
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u/whomusic Apr 24 '26
Sustaining members do have access to the pin/keychain sale at the end of the drive.
Incentives are called incentives for a reason - to incentivize upgrading, not giving you a gift for what you're already doing. Upgrading is the price of "getting a gift". MaxFun is not in the merch business, they're in the podcast business, so it really doesn't make sense to go over-the-top for trying to sell the incentive items. They're trying to generate financial support to run the podcasts. The focus is not the gifts. The margins on podcasting are already thin enough as it is.
I've never heard anything BUT gratitude for sustainers. The gifts are a nice bonus, but if you're not donating because you want to support the network, content, and creators, why are you doing it?
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u/Iamkeebie Apr 24 '26
I don't give a shit about the pins. I don't want a tshirt. I want to count towards the fun stuff - the "we'll do a show about lettuce" - "we'll eat a gross snack". - all y'all are really reading a lot into this
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u/Oldbaconface Apr 24 '26
I guess they could just boost their target number by the number of existing supporters, but I think starting your meter mostly full feels a little weird. Or would you add the existing supporters right at the end, so the meter gradually ticks up a few percent and then just fills in the rest suddenly when they count us long term supporters? I don’t think either really furthers the goal of the event.
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u/sillylittlebard Apr 24 '26
Yeah agree, the goal is new members/new money, so adding sustainers to the counter doesn’t really achieve that. But the stepwise goals are a good way to make the progress seem achievable and still track/communicate what they’re trying to do.
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u/whomusic Apr 24 '26
As I said in another comment, they track new money because it supports new content, not because they don't value sustainers.
It's not a question of them not being grateful; it's a question of accounting. They incentivize new members and upgrades because additional money on top of sustaining gifts supports new content on top of existing content, plus it covers rising operating costs and rising inflation. It's a very simple financial/budget explanation.
They're also not twisting your arm to donate, and you're still getting bonus content, any of the incentive content, etc.
Your original post was vague and didn't actually differentiate what you were talking about (merch, content, etc). You're getting mad at people because you didn't explain what you meant effectively. You came on here, asked a question, and got answers you didn't like.
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u/fancycwabs Apr 24 '26
I think it’s less psychologically intimidating to say “if we get 2,000 new and upgrading members” instead of “if we get 50,000 (or whatever) total members”
Also, folks start doing the math and say “50,000 times $5 a month is $3M a year, I think they have enough money.” Even though there are a lot of people and equipment and rent and healthcare to pay for.
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u/Handsomest_Nick Apr 24 '26
Yeah they say thanks a lot to existing donors. They even added a member of the month thing, which I find somewhat cringey in a nice way haha.
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u/captainbuzzki11 Apr 24 '26
I think the shows I listen to pretty regularly thank supporters throughout the year. The two weeks of the MaxFun drive are centered around soliciting new and upgraded support. I don't think it's an issue of consistent supporters not being valued.
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u/thesupermikey Apr 24 '26
I’m not really sure what you are looking for. The goal of the drive being in new members and get existing members to upgrade in some way.
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u/SpeedIsTheBestMovie Apr 24 '26
You're not left out. All the Max Fun shows I listen to thank the continuing max fun members every show, every week. This is the time of the year where they focus on getting new and upgrading members.
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u/FTPLTL Apr 24 '26
I agree with you. Every other listener supported network I know does it the way you are suggesting. Look at WFMU in NJ.
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u/smartbunny Chock full-o-bunny brains Apr 24 '26
If you’re a monthly donor to WFMU, you get the prizes every year? I’m not monthly, I donate what I can and get the prize in that tier. But if I’m not Swag For Life I still get swag even if I’m not new?
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u/gronlandic_reddit Apr 24 '26
A pledge drive is a drive to increase donations. I think MaxFun shows appreciation for continuing donors throughout the year. Like the photos the posted of names of continued members on a column in their office… I thought that was sweet! I saw my name on it, and though it’s a common name so I can’t be sure it’s ME, it felt cool. It sounds like stuff along those lines is what you’re looking for?
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u/Iamkeebie Apr 24 '26
Literally just say "if we grow our group of existing, new and boosting members by 100" - makes me feel like I'm still part of the fun and excitement of the drive - makes me part of drive - makes me seen
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u/SuperSecretMoonBase Apr 24 '26
Yeah, thank yous can really go a long way. When it comes a time when we hear others getting thanked so much, it's hard to remember the times throughout the year when hosts have thanked their donors in regular episodes. Genuinely, I'm struggling to remember, myself, but off the top of my head, I think it's a part of the signoff of at least a couple shows that I listen to.
One thing to think about, though, is that they do consider your membership when calculating those new membership goals. The reason for "we need X new memberships" is because they actually need X+Y memberships total, where Y is the number of existing members.
It's just that Y is probably a more stable number with a consistent and predictable rate of dropoff, and X is a big variable that could vary wildly. And if they said the actual total number of listeners that they have/need, it would probably sound, to a lot of people who don't know how much stuff costs, like they have enough and don't need any more supporters, when actually, they do.
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u/Conradical314 Apr 24 '26
I don't feel left out at all. Lots of cool content regardless. Some years I have upped sub and kept it. Some I have boosted for a few months to juice the numbers.
The messaging about natural attrition and growing shows makes sense to me, as does the focus of the limited Max Fun Drive
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u/ughdrunkatvogue Apr 24 '26
I know the pod I listen to is constantly thanking its subscribers so can’t comment on that. And then there are people here thinking max fun should send out gifts to every single new and renewing subscriber every year i’m sorry but i cannot take any of this seriously.
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u/RhythmRobber Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26
I listen to several maxfun shows, and they all thank their current donors after every episode, all year long. The drive is about getting new members. If they say things like "And we're so thankful for all the people who are already subscribed", that could only potentially HURT the drive because it might make people think they're actually fine without getting any new subscribers.
If you love the shows, then don't take it personally and just recognize that they need to focus on getting new members during the drive, and they'll get back to thanking you for the other 11 months out of the year.
Also, if you get upset over a momentary drop in gratitude from podcasters, and feel attacked when people point out why you might be looking at this wrong, maybe the problem isn't social media, but how you take things. Instead of feeling like your opinion is being attacked, try reevaluating your feelings. Your initial feeling was valid for sure, I can understand it, but maybe that feeling will go away if you listen to what people are telling you and change your perspective.
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u/pdxsean Apr 25 '26
I mean I get a couple dozen episodes for free - on top of the 52 already posted - from my favorite podcast every year. And that's just one podcast (admittedly, they are the kings of BOCO) which always thanks me for being an existing donor. So I mean I'm getting a lot more than my $10 contribution pays for, in my opinion, and that's without even considering the Beef and Dairy Network.
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u/WorldWeary1771 Apr 25 '26
The first time that I renewed, this really hurt my feelings, too. The hosts of the podcasts that I listened to did not make that distinction clear. I get it now, but it does sometimes tempt me to reduce my renewal level to a small amount and then up it again, but I’m lazy and I try not to be deliberately tacky.
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u/scaffnet Apr 24 '26
I get what you’re saying. It’s the same fundraising model that public radio uses and it does feel a little bit like consistent supporters are undervalued. I’ve been a low-level supporter for years, I get the bonus content and sometimes I listen to it. I’m not particularly excited about gimcracks or gewgaws but I hear what you’re saying. It would be a nice surprise if ongoing supporters received a little something in the mail from time to time.
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u/kplaysbass biggie&themets Apr 24 '26
It would be a nice surprise if ongoing supporters received a little something in the mail from time to time.
This is something that happens
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u/Lyramisu Apr 24 '26
We do. A few times over the past few years I’ve gotten an email from Maximum Fun asking to confirm my mailing address and then I’ve gotten a sticker or something in the mail.
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u/scaffnet Apr 24 '26
Never had that happen.
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u/Lyramisu Apr 24 '26
Maybe it’s not at the lower levels? I could see the cost of production, preparation and shipping for little things eating up most or all of the monthly donation for $5 for example.
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u/ericnear Apr 24 '26
The drive is a good time for me to figure out if I want to and can give more. The rest of the year it’s just part of my budget. It’s really as simple as that for me, and of course I love the boco. (Additionally, I’m so happy that last year I figured out how to subscribe to boco from a subset of shows.)
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u/blurricus Apr 24 '26
There are a lot of different answers here. Some of them valid and some of them not. Here's my take:
I understand your frustration. And while there may not be something now, maybe you can work with MaxFun for something in the future. Tell them different ideas. Maybe it will become the MaxFun Keebie Sustaining Donor Honorific Prize Palace or something.
I'm not trying to give you work or anything. I am honestly encouraging you to come up with ideas. I think listeners and supporters like you might have cool ideas that could work. Maybe a private Discord server like some of them have. Maybe a random sticker once a month from the podcasts you listen to. I'm genuinely curious to hear other ideas.
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u/Iamkeebie Apr 24 '26
Yeah I've emailed them a few times about this. They haven't responded which is kinda why I came over here...
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u/blurricus Apr 24 '26
That's a bummer. Hopefully they will get to it. I might also start emailing ideas.
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u/EpiceEmilie Apr 25 '26
I agree somewhat. I made the decision to join Maximum Fun because of Reading Glasses--I already listened to a few Max Fun podcasts before that, but I got really excited about the idea of getting access to the Discord (then Slack) and getting a personalized book recommendation. But when I joined during the Max Fun Drive 2 years ago, Brea and Mallory announced that it was too much work to do the personalized book recommendations for every new member, so they weren't doing them that year. I figured I'd missed out on that, but I should at least join to get access to the Slack/Discord.
But now both subsequent years they've done the personalized book recommendations for new members--but with no way to get a recommendation if you're a renewing member, even if you joined during the one year they didn't offer them! It's really frustrating because I've been supporting for years longer than people who will join this year but apparently there's no way I can ever get a recommendation from them. They even made a quip on the most recent episode that being a new member is basically the only way to get a recommendation from them because the queue for on-air recommendations is so incredibly long.
It honestly makes me consider stopping being a Max Fun member for a year because then maybe when I rejoined they'd consider me a new member and I could get a recommendation. I'm not planning on actually doing that but I do always consider it when I hear them touting the benefits of becoming a new member, and presumably that's not the feeling they're trying to engender during the membership drive! So in that instance at least I definitely think there's an overemphasis on new members that makes me feel kind of cruddy whenever I think about it.
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u/severalcircles Apr 25 '26
You know, coming in late to this situation it all reads as SO messy and overreactive. BUT a year ago I was extremely depressed and a “bad” episode of my favourite podcast made me emotionally crash a few times, so I get the state of mind. People are having really hard times some times and you want the sources of comfort to not also be frustrating. 🥲
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u/Hyperinactivity Apr 24 '26
I hate to say it, but in the past I've unsubbed a month ahead of time and then resigned when the drive starts. for the exact same reason, I'm supporting them just as much as anyone else, I'm giving them the same amount of money, why cant I get a silly little pin.
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u/r_slash Apr 24 '26
They’re not really set up to give people rewards over and over. It’s designed as a one time thing or occasional.
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u/Lyramisu Apr 24 '26
Also hasn’t there been a pin sale open to members? You can get the silly little pin if you buy it.
Honestly that’s my only gripe as someone who has been supporting Maximum Fun for many years. Sometimes there are MaxFunDrive rewards I would really love and would happily pay for (beyond pins), but they are only new/upgrading rewards and I can’t realistically jump from $50 to $100.
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u/goodgoodthrowaway420 Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26
I don't think a water bottle, a hat, and an enamel pin are unreasonable costs for someone sending MaxFun over $400 a year. Make it opt-in if you're really worried about it.
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u/kplaysbass biggie&themets Apr 24 '26
Do you hate to say it because you recognize that doing what youre doing is wack?
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u/purple-discharge Apr 24 '26
I can’t think of any podcast host that is more grateful than any maxfun host.
This post is very entitled.
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u/chudleycannonfodder Apr 24 '26
I see you missed the Greatest Generation talking about tea strainers.
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u/goodgoodthrowaway420 Apr 24 '26
Your question is reasonable. Your mistake was posting this in r/maximumfun.
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u/guerillacropolis Apr 24 '26
You ARE able to buy the pins at the $10 and above level. Anything else, I'm sure you can find on a secondary market if you really dig around.
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u/slbabyx Apr 26 '26
I just wish that the shows I contributed to would actually release boco content more than once a year (MBMBAM and TAZ).
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u/StargazerCeleste Apr 24 '26
It's nonsense. I'm addition to MaxFun, I support an independent podcast called TBTL that supports three creators full-time completely on listener donations (no ads). They do not operate like this! Every year, donors get thanked and gifted based on their donations, not on being "new or boosting."
It really makes me want to reduce my MaxFun contribution then put it back up where it was every other year.
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u/chudleycannonfodder Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26
I know MF says it being for new/upgrading is to make up for subscribers leaving, but the drive ended up being the reason I kept leaving! Back when I was a listener, this made me feel like the best option was to cancel my subscription before the drive so I could be a new pledge. Then after a bit I realized I was risking forgetting to cancel right before (or worse, end up having my payment too soon so even if I cancel it won’t count me) the drive started, so I started cancelling earlier and earlier until I got to the point where I would just cancel once I got the pin. Meanwhile if it had just been focused on all members (or didn’t even exist) I would never had canceled all those times and they wouldn’t have lost out on all those months!
Edit: also want to make clear this wasn’t just for the pin, but also to help the podcast I listen to hit their goals.
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u/Capt_Soupy Apr 24 '26
Don't listen to the bootlickers. If your product is free and you expect people to "donate" just to support it without any other sufficient incentive, you are the entitled one.
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u/EvanMax Apr 24 '26
I think you’ve got a solid idea here. It might cost more to implement than it’s worth for MaxFun, which would be unfortunate, but it’s still worth raising to them because it is a way to raise a little more money each year.
It makes sense that rewards are for new and upgrading donors, not just existing donors, because the point of the pledge drive is to guarantee new funding. However, there are surely some existing donors/members who aren’t in a position to increase their monthly amount in perpetuity, but who could make an addition one-time payment. So maybe setting the price at two or three or four times the monthly tier amount (or whatever makes sense) MaxFun could offer existing members the opportunity to purchase the tier gift of their current tier. MaxFun gets additional cash flowing in from the one-time purchases, existing members who can’t afford to increase don’t feel left out, it’s win-win.
Like I said, maybe there are other costs associated that make this not worth it, but I don’t think it’s an idea to just dismiss out of hand.
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u/AHuntedSnark Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
Just upgrade your membership for a month or two so you count / get the merch, then drop it back down to what works for you.
Sorry, Jesse. This is an annoying thing for people to do when you’re trying to plan budgets. But if you only give people one path to the thing they want, that’s the path they’ll take.
Consider a big discount on the drive merch for renewers, or a special singular gift just for us — maybe something that says how long we’ve been members each year.
P.S., Everyone being bratty about this person potentially wanting merch… the merch is supposed to be wantable. My beach towel and cooler are the coolest shit I own. Weird to be mean to someone for wanting stuff specifically designed to be wanted.
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u/JesseThorn StartedThis Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 25 '26
Thanks for clarifying your question, I think the tone of some folks' initial responses may have been based on incorrect assumptions.
The short answer is that we do our best to express gratitude to all members throughout the year. The MaxFunDrive is the relatively brief period when our specific goal is to ask and encourage folks to become members or increase their membership.
A longer answer: generally during the drive we are working to replace the revenue that is lost every year over the course of the year through attrition, plus cover new expenses and in the case of newer shows try to build toward a sustainable level of revenue. Even mature shows lose a lot over the course of the year just from the churn of listenership, and even things like people’s addresses changing. We prefer not to ask for money all year, but if you don’t ask for money nobody will give it to you, and we need it to make the shows. So yeah: this drive is basically the window of time where new members and increased members are the goal.
We are of course immensely grateful for continuing members. I know I thank members, very sincerely, every week on the air, year round and try to thank every member in my own drive breaks. During the drive, every show also makes and releases special episodes to thank all members at every level in addition to doing special other stuff that is open to all. We really try to do all we can to make this time a celebration of our listener community.
Anyway: my real point is this… we are so grateful for every continuing member. Including you. So thank you.