Jump to content
🔒 The Earwolf Forums are closed Read more... ×

Scott Aukerman

Host
  • Content count

    136
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    8

Posts posted by Scott Aukerman


  1.  

     

    Scotty, I love ya, I was there 3 years back when it was a very small ticket price. It felt like the addition of a second show after the first one sold out took a lot of value from that ticket price. Only speaking for myself of course, but I would have gladly had another 30 minutes of laughs over a meet and greet

    • Like 1

  2.  

    I also have to call a spade a spade regarding one thing mentioned in the thread. The large back catalogue of episodes isn't an impenetrable wall to new fans. That's pure business spin for 'we're now charging you money for this content under the guise of benefiting new fans'.

     

     

    Sorry- I'm kind of super busy today, but just wanted to address this - it's not business spin, it's what made me feel better about taking episodes down. It's a real problem that we've heard about for a while, and have been discussing internally for as long.

     

    The more episodes we accumulate, the more clutter there is. It may sound counter-intuitive to you guys (cause you're such good fans, you have accounts here!), and it's weird to say, but having less choice makes something more popular. Like In 'n' Out Burger!

    • Like 6

  3.  

    I don't have any questions. I'm not getting the app. I'll buy t-shirts and premium episodes, but I don't want a 'podcast Netflix' and I hate that I can't recommend amazing episodes from the past to new people. You guys are going to do what you're going to do. I posted my concerns, you read them, and I don't want anything more from you than that.

     

    Thank you for all the incredible entertainment. I'm genuinely sad that things are going in the direction they're going, but whatever, right? Best of luck. I guess I'm a dildo and a douche, so I apologize for being those things.

    ok thank you! I truly appreciate your input.

    • Like 2

  4.  

    Ugh. Never fucking mind, man. You didn't even read my post. Enjoy your money.

     

     

     

    I didn't angrily rant, I shared my opinion. I'm not angry--just disappointed. And it's pretty rich to call me childish when your first move was to resort to name-calling.

     

    BTW, ganging up on dissenters is what makes you all assholes.

    you literally never asked a question, so it's hard to just address the general feeling that you don't like it. But please ask me something, and I will try!

    • Like 6

  5.  

    Correction: bunch of circle-jerking assholes. If you disagree with something I said, say it. Or just continue to insult me, that's more fun and I don't give a shit anyway.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    I would rather you just not address my post at all than address it with some condescending bullshit where you don't even acknowledge any of the concerns I brought up. You're not helping your case by being smug, for whatever my dumb opinion's worth. If you don't actually care what listeners being left behind have to say, then just say you don't care. Please just be honest.

    sorry, what'd you want me to address? Not being smug, i just remember the post being just anger. was there a question? Again, really wondering. I'm at work and have one ear and eye on pitching jokes.

    • Like 3

  6. 'Cleaning up the archives,' can only be a dumb idea or a lame justification for putting what used to be free to listen to behind a paywall. I was fucking Deee-Lited to discover a massive archive waiting to be listened to when I discovered a new podcast. What's 'impenetrable' is a paywall--as much as I'd like to support Earwolf, I can't afford to pay for a 'podcast Netflix' in addition to the Netflix I already pay for. If I couldn't have gone back and listened to the greps recommended to me by friends, I never would've started listening to CBB. I can't get into a show through a 'best of'; I always feel like I'm missing something.

     

    If I didn't feel so connected to some of the people who do shows on Earwolf, I'd unsubscribe from everything on the network. This looks to me like podcasting finally getting taken over by corporate assholes and that's kind of sad. Only kind of, though. 'Cause we'll all fucking live--won't we, guys? (And I know no one would care if I did do that--no need to point that out.)

     

    So anyhoo, I hope ya'll make a lot of money--I really do. I really hope all this user-unfriendly corporate bullshit at least helps out the ridiculously talented people who do ridiculously good shows I won't be able to recommend to my friends anymore.

     

    Byeeeeeee!

    i understand, and hope in a week (or day), after you've calmed down, we can discuss some more!

     

    seriously - i've been through change so much in my career (name of show, bandleader, etc...) that i understand the cycle of people being upset at first. (and maybe remaining upset!) god bless you, my child. much love

    • Like 18

  7.  

    I had a classic case of poster's lament and edited my original post. HOW EMBARASSING.

     

    Honestly, I do wish you guys well and I'll subscribe once all the kinks are worked out... but I'll never be able to take a buddy's phone and download an old Cake Boss episode for them to listen to. That just sucks. OH MARON.

    aw don't worry about it! You're okay by me.


  8. HI SCOTT!

     

    I wanted to say thank you to you and everyone in your podcast cartel for making Earwolf and all shows that my wife and I love to listen to every week. I'm grateful that I have a chance to pay for all these great shows in addition to our small monthly donations.

    thank you, lovey

    • Like 1

  9. First up, I'm excited to finally give back and pay for my Earwolf content, and I'm super excited for the miniseries and comedy albums.

     

    That being said, I started listening to Comedy Bang Bang from an episode that was over a year old, because it had guests I knew. When I started on HDTGM, I started with the first episode (that was also older than 6 months). The same can be said for I4H, Who Charted, and even the Apple Sisters. I'm worried this paywall is really going to discourage new listeners for Earwolf shows, I never would have heard any of the shows had it been up and I know everyone I've recommend the shows too has done similar things.

     

    I'm just curious why you opted for a paywall rather than, say, when you added Pepsi next ads to the beginning of older episodes in the archive?

    Haha, because everyone hated them!

     

    I promise I will work on ways of how to grow the show with new listeners - thank you for trying to get people into it over the years, and I hope you continue to. I'm more interested in how you, the current listeners feel about it!

    • Like 1

  10. I'm creating a forum account just to add my opinions to the discussion. Not that anything I've got to add hasn't been said already, I just want to stress that these issues are important to many of your listeners.

     

    First off, I have absolutely no problem paying $5/month to support the Earwolf network. I already do the same for Maximum Fun. But I have to say that putting old episodes behind a paywall will undoubtedly make certain podcasts less accessible to new listeners. Just because it works for Maron doesn't mean it will work for the format of every podcast. Nerd Poker, Hollywood Handbook, and CBB in particular will be far less accessible than they were before.

     

    Additionally, rolling out this service without an Android app available at launch is a pretty hard pill to swallow. Just the whole concept of having a separate podcast app forced on users is pretty hard, for me, to accept. I don't want to use two podcast apps. Nobody does. RSS links to allow users to listen in the app of their choice is absolutely needed.

     

    Downloading the files to your device is the single biggest issue here. I understand wanting Howl to be a Netflix-like streaming service, but downloading files for offline listening is an essential feature of podcasts for many many listeners. Myself included.

     

    I've read other people saying that episodes can be downloaded temporarily in the app(I'm unable to use it, on iOS7 and android), but not from the howl.fm site. I personally put a huge chunk of episodes on a USB drive and plug that straight in to the car's stereo for road trips. Sometimes I burn a CD full of my favorite episodes for a friend, to introduce them to a show I love that I think they will enjoy too. That's going to be impossible now, unless I only want to use new unarchived episodes.

     

    Those are my complaints. I'm really hoping some or even all of them can be addressed, considering Howl has only just launched. That said, I'm genuinely happy for Earwolf and all the podcasters being able to make a little more money.

    i think everyone has interesting points about the downloading - we will look into it. maybe like a package of "Best Of" complete episodes that are downloadable from the EW store and iTunes? Sort of like what SNL used to do?

    • Like 2

  11. This is probably the weirdest and dumbest question of all, but will there be some way to still hear the old shows with the ads? I like the ads. The people from Earwolf really make them funny. They are just as much a part of the show to me. Even if I hear the exact same copy used for Who Charted, Comedy Bang Bang, and Sklarbro I never skip them. Some bit of comedy always comes from them. The whole journey from ad to full episode that Sean & Hayes (of Hollywood Handbook fame) take is one of my favorite things to ever happen on CBB. I understand I'm probably alone here, but I'll miss hearing the old Squarespace and Stamps.com ads in episodes I haven't already downloaded to my phone. It's also the whole reason I'm not listening to new episodes in the app.

    This is probably the weirdest and dumbest question of all, but will there be some way to still hear the old shows with the ads? I like the ads. The people from Earwolf really make them funny. They are just as much a part of the show to me. Even if I hear the exact same copy used for Who Charted, Comedy Bang Bang, and Sklarbro I never skip them. Some bit of comedy always comes from them. The whole journey from ad to full episode that Sean & Hayes (of Hollywood Handbook fame) take is one of my favorite things to ever happen on CBB. I understand I'm probably alone here, but I'll miss hearing the old Squarespace and Stamps.com ads in episodes I haven't already downloaded to my phone. It's also the whole reason I'm not listening to new episodes in the app.

     

    this was brought up earlier in the thread - i think this is interesting, and not something we had considered. so thanks for putting it in our ear! There's something to do here, I'm sure.

    • Like 2

  12. I'm sure it's been a stressful day but a non-snarky response would've been nice when I was trying to be respectful to both you and your business but I don't own a major media company, so what would I know.

    haha, sorry to come off snarky - just trying to take the analogy to its logical conclusion.

     

    so here's what i'm trying to say about a comic store - if you walked in, you would have ONE issue of X-Men (the current one), to browse through in the store. Then they would have back issues for sale in boxes somewhere, wrapped in plastic. You would have to pay for any of them (which is where the analogy breaks down - we're letting you walk out of the store with the "issues" from the last six months for free). But it would be insane to walk into the store, and on a table in front of you, there were hundreds of issues for you to sift through. And you would have to decide which to read first.

    • Like 5

  13. Lotta people HOWLIN over howl today. That was a pretty good joke and I'll take some well deserved likes for that.

     

    Anyway, Scott, I know you aren't really involved with the tech sides of this thing so I'm not going to begrudge you on the topic of that. As someone who would've gladly payed a subscription fee anyway for the content that you've already been putting out, I'm actually pretty happy for you guys. Having exclusive content behind the paywall is fine and a great idea and I look forward to seeing more awesome and quality content churned out now that there will be a stream of cash coming in to help fund bigger and better things. Congratulations on that and just a quick thank you for all you have done and will continue to do for the world of both comedy and podcasting.

     

    My only gripe comes from putting backlogs behind the paywall. Shows like Whooch, I4H, HDTGM are pretty easily accessible from whenever you jump in but a show like Hollywood Handbook can be weird for someone, especially someone who isn't tuned into that style of humor, right away. So if I want to get someone into it, I'd pick episodes that ease them into the style and tone to get comfortable with. To use your comics/Doctor Who example. Let's say there is a "Doctor Who Viewing Website" and it's the only place where you can watch it but you have to pay for it. I'm told that I should definitely watch it because it's a great show but all that is available are the latest 6 episodes and a few of the really great classic episodes from seasons past. Okay, well I watch the latest episode and have no idea what's going on but I see that the Pilot episode is available and I go back to watch that episode to get familiarized with the world. Well wait, why is there a different person playing The Doctor and who is Rose Tyler and why isn't she there anymore? Now, I'm more confused than I was before but I see that another episode from season 3 is available and now David Tennant is The Doctor. At this point I would probably give up because I would have no idea what the fuck is going on or while the episodes may have been enjoyable, I don't know if I'm willing to commit to paying for the rest of the episodes because I might end up not really liking it.

     

    Or I walk into a comics shop and want to read X-Men but the only issues available are the latest issues of Uncanny X-Men and issues 7-12 of Whedon's Astonishing X-Men. I tell the clerk I want to get into it and he says that they have the entire catalog for me to look at in the back but I have to pay money to get into see them. Why would I bother?

     

    It just seems odd to me and I know that monetizing the old eps will help out those shows but I dunno. I'm sure it wasn't an easy decision for the Earwolf team but I'm just throwing in my two cents.

    i think a clerk would ask you to pay for ANY of the issues, but I don't own a comic shop

    • Like 7

  14.  

    We did not do well during the global recession. Its a bit too much to go into here but basically things went Greek bad, we accepted the EU bale-out terms, suffered years of crippling austerity, paid back the EU and just as we where finally in the recovery when taxes where meant to go down and austerity finally ended the government said "Yay! Here is a new bill!" Basically it was the final straw.

     

    Though If I am being honest we seem to just have some deep-seeded moral objection to paying for water (it rains all the time!). They tried to introduce water charges back in the 90s but so few people actually paid it the government folded on the issue.

    it's an interesting question - what do governments owe their people? I believe health care and water could be considered universal rights. But people in this country seem to prioritize taxes being really low.

    • Like 3

  15.  

    Water was free in Ireland for the entire history of the Irish Republic. Then the government says "yeah we are going to start charging for that. Because reasons. Also we are setting up a corporation called Irish Water to handle it." People where not happy. Its actually one of the biggest political issues in the country right now and might play a deciding factor in the next election.

     

    Irish Water haven't released info on how many people have actually paid bill but it is almost certainly less than those who haven't.

    that's interesting - it's a little like the carpool lanes here going to a toll lane... it's kind of a bummer, but i guess Ireland needed to make more money? We pay for water here (unless you drink it out of your neighbor's hose).

×