#and we have all of the money (content)

[s0fter-sin]

last thing i’ll say; people aren’t owed free content but creatives aren’t owed financial compensation either

#i say all this as a cretive btw lets head that off #their bottom line was ‘we want more money to make bigger things and we cant afford to so we want more money in order to do them’ #and that is a valid desire #but you cant just expect everyone to go along with that just bc you want it #watcher got where they are due to a loyal viewer base #to reject money from corporations in favour of money from that viewer base? thats skeevy #to default to a complete and absolute paywall removing all your content then pretend that you weren't going to? thats skeevy #to make a countdown to an announcement then make the announcement a somber trip down memory lane #and an ‘if only we can make more stuff like this wink wink’? thats skeevy #and its skeevy bc theyre a company and no matter how personable they are companies are not your friend #are they the rich we should be eating? no #but when your ceo drives a tesla and eats expensive food that is written off as a buisness expense #AND you have a patreon that you dont capitalise on but still brings you on average 100k a month #you cant act like youre a hard done by creative #endevouring to make more elaborate creations is a good idea #monetisation is a good idea #absolute monetisation with no thought to an alternative isnt #name one indie artist that relies entirely on paid content ill wait #coming out of my cage and ive been doing just fine.txt #watcher #shane madej #ryan bergara #steven lim #hey there demons it’s me ya boy #ghost files

[heartru]

my least favourite thing from the watcher discourse has been people saying “WE never asked for higher quality” or “your most popular shows are where you just sit around and talk!!” - babes its likely not what THEY want to do for the rest of eternity lol. they’re allowed to want to grow as creatives and make things they are proud of?

#like i absolutely didn’t agree with their move to a paid model platform but this response isn’t the criticism u think it is #that and also the continious shit i saw about steven owning a tesla #like babes its HIS money? he’s allowed nice things and upgrades in his life lol? #AND the stuff about them making 100k from patreon with eat the rich comments #100k per month likely doesn’t cover all operating costs like you guys r thinking it does #they likely didn’t want to keep doing ad reads that interrupted their content structure and how they THEMSELVES percieved its value #as a former business major tho i def think even a little bit of market research could have stopped this lol #respectfully no one wants to pay for another thing #and the communication on it was unfortunately shit #but its not that big of a mistake that we tear em down like this #watcher #ryan bergara #shane madej #steven lim

[twilight-deviant]

Telling content creators it's wrong to explore artistic freedom and be independently funded by fans, and they should instead continue taking advertisement revenue from google* is

NOT

the anti-capitalism stance actually.

*(Yes, google owns youtube.)

#Watcher #This post is specifically and exclusively about the people who seem to have the capitalism bit wrong #It's almost fascinating how no one is hearing themselves speak #I feel like some of you don't understand WHY we support small businesses and are anti-monopoly #I've seen multiple posts saying “Shane is so anti-capitalism there's no way this was his idea.” #So... you think it's pro-capitalism to start your own business instead of relying on pennies from the exploitative mega-corporation? #Guys... we support small businesses KNOWING it will cost the consumer more #Stop thinking you're entitled to someone's product #That's what got us in this mess #I understand $6 is a lot for many many people but that is what makes certain things a luxury #Nothing used to be this way #Nothing used to be “free” so you can be monitored for your viewing habits and sold to advertisers #If you see a little guy trying to leave youtube/google and you paint them as the capitalist??? You. have. taken. a. wrong. turn. #I don't know how many more ways I can say it #It is better to support someone (if you can) than to pressure them into taking money from the trillion-dollar corporation #so that you can have what they put all their blood/sweat/tears into for free #If you want something badly enough you're going to have to pay for it #Them's the breaks #If you don't want it that badly then maybe it didn't mean enough to you personally #Thinking otherwise is how corporations like youtube take over and squeeze out small competitors #btw on monopolies: having almost every single video content creator (outside of tiktoks and video game streams) on youtube is BAD #You understand that's bad yes? #How tf are we going to diversify unless SOME CREATORS leave youtube??? #It's almost the responsibility of larger creators to do so #Ironically what I said is backwards #In its ideal state‚ capitalism is supposed to inspire innovation and new business‚ giving every person a chance to succeed #But I think we all know that's not the reality we're experiencing #I just went with what everyone means when they say it

[spearxwind]

Oof I'm kinda scared to ask... Why do you not want to be an artist professionally?

Its just like, incredibly miserable in my experience.

Everyone wants their dream job of being paid to draw whatever the hell they want but 99% of the time you are hired and tasked to draw things that you don't have a lot of interest in, professionally speaking, and constantly getting your artistic efforts undermined by the rest of the team (this is esp. true in the videogame industry) artists always try to push for better designs and get their takes watered down for the sake of general public pleasing. Also you don't have a security blanket unless you're under long term contract. Most freelancers live gig to gig with the fear of not being able to support themselves if they don't take a job to take a break. Videogame and movie jobs arent stable because companies never keep the art teams, they are laid off and rehired whenever there is a new project

During my major, I drew nonstop for 4 years for class. Not always things I enjoyed, but also not always things I didnt like. In fact I enjoyed my major immensely! It was so fun. But the burnout is very, very real, and the workload was similar (even inferior to) regular art jobs. What happens if you like to draw in your off time? You spend your days making and pumping out art nonstop for hours, and then on your free time breaks you draw some more? I personally couldn't do it. I just wanted to do other things

And like.... I spent the first three years being told by teachers (people with stable, contract based jobs) how cool of a job it is to do art, and then the last year getting grilled on how insanely hard it is to make it out there. If you don't have connections, money, an audience, a studio, it's actually impossible. You need to be your own lawyer, abide by the very strict self employment rules that take a severe chunk out of your earnings. Do all of your finance/schedule/marketing etc while on top of that constantly producing work (I know there's people who can do it but, personally, I cannot) I really admire the people who were able to build themselves up as artists from the ground like this (because its definitely possible, just insanely hard)

Also, making something you love into your job ends up being miserable too. I experienced this with patreon, which I posted to as like a chill thing and it just got increasingly hard to make content for it or just post in general, even drawing my own ocs and sharing stuff about them started to feel like a chore.

Maybe it's just me though, this has just been my personal experience but yeah in general I realized I am immensely happier just keeping art as a hobby or its gonna suck my soul out (Since I already experienced it)

I don't mean to discourage anyone, I think the world in general needs more artists. But for that we would need to actually be taken seriously and valued, which sadly we are not, at all. And if there's anyone reading that is considering art as a job: it is absolutely grueling. It's not an easy job. Even if you desperately love art it can suck the life out of you and the joy for what you do

(As an extra sidenote. Artists are usually exploited using this mentality as well. That they are supposed to love their job. So they expect you to work your wrists off "For the passion". Dont fall victim to it)

#ask #anon #genuinely i just wanna share my stories and content. see others stories in turn and make friends about it #the desperate need to monetize everything that makes you happy is such an insidious mentality. #people need to learn that you can have hobbies without needing to monetize them. your joy has inherent value and you dont need to sell it #like... i need people to stop being like 'oh you are so good at art/crochet/writing you should sell things : )' it fucking sucks #there is a lot of nuance to the topic of course but im talking like. in general #doing art out of ones heart is always good but having to pump out content under the crushing wheel of capitalism and need to survive is not #this is about my experience with drawn art but this goes for any other artistic discipline #music... writing... etc. we are all in the same boat #sorry for the long winded answer and tags i am just so passionate about this #and especially as someone whos skill wasnt taken seriously until i started making money from it........ fuck that so fucking much #you are allowed to create. in fact you should create. without feeling the need to put a price on it #not everything needs a price tag to be valuable. #especially not your joy.

[angeltannis]

I hope decades from now they teach Overwatch as a master class on how capitalism and the pursuit of limitless growth at all costs will inevitably break down and consume even the most creative and globally-beloved ideas until they’re bled dry of every dollar they could extract from fans

#for those not in the know: #Blizzard has been very strongly hinting that JOHN CENA is going to be heavily involved in the next season of Overwatch #why? because Fortnite did it and printed money!! #who cares about the integrity of the universe! who cares about breaking immersion! #let’s chase that Fortnite money babey!!! #let just shove as many celebrities - who wouldnt even be alive in OW’s timeline - in there as we can and charge top dollar for their content #let’s have the Avengers help out with the omnic uprising! let’s have Goku fight Doomfist! #let’s have TRACER’S NIKE AIR MAX CHALLENGE and let’s have TikTok celebrity of the week help take down Null Sector #all for the low low cost of $30-40 per crossover skin bundle #fuck it! franchise is dead anyway! #🤑🤑🤑 #overwatch

[pa-pa-plasma]

bro you are on the FANDOM WEBSITE why are you NOT supporting your fandom creators????? do you WANT us to stop??? do you want there to be no more art & fic?? because that’s what happens when you don’t reblog our stuff. this isn’t a threat, this is a reality. if there is no one here wanting to see our stuff we won’t post it. I’m not trying to guilt trip here, none of us are, we’re literally just saying that if there is no motivation to spend 10+ hours making fanart or 5 years writing a multichapter fic for free then we won’t fucking do it

^this shit? ridiculous. I LOVE EVERYONE WHO REBLOGGED & INTERACTED WITH MY ART! I LOVE EVERYONE WHO ASKED QUESTIONS & COMMENTED!! but so many of these people just liked it & left. this has been getting worse over the years, too. the reblogs to likes ratio has been getting crazier. I create because I love it, but if I have no reason to post, I won’t. fandoms dry up because of this. creators quit because of this.

we just need to stop acting like this is instagram, or that anyone cares what your blog looks like. people don’t see your likes, they see your reblogs. you want that favourite content creator to post more art? you want that writer to post the next chapter of your fav fic?? reblog it. share it. show them you care, because otherwise they won’t. this is a hobby we do for free. you consume our stuff for free. you aren’t entitled to it, so please just reblog, it isn’t hard.

#we aren't asking for money we're asking for you to hit a button #stop being a little bitch #this is tumblr. no one gives a shit about your ''aesthetic'' or whatever #no one even looks at who reblogs what on here #i'm sick of seeing people not sharing works out of spite & acting like wanting attention for our labour is bad #I SPEND 15 HOURS DRAWING YOU BETTER FUCKING REBLOG IT. I'M POSTING IT SO I CAN FEEL BETTER #AFTER SPENDING 15 HOURS HUNCHED IN A SHITTY CHAIR WITH MY WRIST ALL FUCKED UP & MY LAPTOP TRYING TO KILL ITSELF & ME #im not asking to be PAID im asking for you to share artist's & writers' works. we are 99% of the fandom's content #you want more content? fucking motivate us to make it. you are getting it for free. stop being an asshole & fucking reblog it #i'm so fucking tired of people with their cold ass takes #if i EVER like anyone's art & don't reblog it THAT WAS A MISTAKE. I MEANT TO REBLOG BUT TUMBLR GLITCHED OR I RAN OUT OF REBLOGS #i KNOW how hard it is to spend hours days YEARS on something & for no one to care #i am literally just asking for everyone to have some sympathy #like imagine if your employer started complaining about how selfish it is you work for free? that's this #you'd quit that job #YOU CAN'T COME TO THE FANDOM WEBSITE & COMPLAIN THAT FANDOM CREATORS WANT ATTENTION FOR THEIR WORK #EVERYONE WANTS ATTENTION YOU STUPID MANTHING IT CAME FREE WITH YOUR FUCKING HUMAN BRAIN

[briarrolfe]

I read this aloud to Charlie and we both wondered whether or not anyone’s actually told Archer magazine that they don’t actually have to be a queer magazine.

It’s not like the community is forcing them to write about queer sex at gun point. But to be fair, if we were… they would probably publish more stories about queer sex…

#I’m thinking back to the time I pitched to them and only then realised… I’m too poor to write 800 words for $50 #I know they’re a small publication but $50… it’s just enough money to really rub in how much you’re not being paid for your time… #like that’s maybe half what a week’s groceries cost? #anyway all that to say. you get the content you pay for. if you wanna publish articles for $50 get ready for: oops all middle class writers #leafing through the queer magazine searching for the centrefold only to find a story about one person’s self care journey during lockdown #this is so funny it’s just. oh my god. they’re such a small mag I shouldn’t dunk on them but they’re all we have and it’s.

[un-pearable]

why are 99% of crochet animal patterns just vague blobs. cmon. i know we can do better as a community. have you seen the shit the national parks service put out? yeah, the NPS. there are grandmas on the frontlines of the most formally accurate critters this side of a 3D printer. we can do better than orb with two triangles sewn on. we can make a more accurate cat. that is NOT what a turtle looks like. step AWAY from the axolotl

#EVERYTHINGS TOO CHIBI CMON. WE CAN HAVE VARIETY. WE CAN HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF CHALLENGE #i’m not saying everything has to be photorealistic. but it feels love every new pattern i see is the same basic shapes recycled #because people are so desperate to have ~content~ that they don’t have time to technically develop their skills to a point where they #actually have something to contribute to the conversation artistically #text✨ #this is extremely petty. however : come ON. so much of the crochet content i see is extremely beginner basic stuff newbies are being tricked #into mass producing for ‘markets’ where they are very unlikely to sell #and then they burn out of the hobby within a few weeks. this is NOT sustainable. and extremely wasteful of time and resources #i hate you should sell culture it’s. extremely annoying #i try to only do stuff that is either a) at least nominally useful or b) a gift for someone . bc i so desperately do not want to burn out #on this hobby and i love it sm . i feel so bad for all the people i see getting conned by the you gotta sell attitude and just. ruining the #hobby for themselves. you gotta do it for you you gotta #on topic. also like cmon. stop chibifying animals that are culturally significant to other communities just for money

[chheese-mmmhh]

am i hoping for bad things to happen to watcher? no!!! absolutely not!!! i really hope they continue to do great and pull in more people HOWEVER do i foresee bad things happening? yeah for sure…like just on a business level this was a horrible move and i have such mixed emotions because i WANT good things for them but that just…won’t happen

#watcher i still love you and i still want you to be so successful #but on a PURELY BUSINESS LEVEL this is so dumb #like just a bad idea #like they deserve to get good money for all that they do because they make GREAT content for us #and their employees deserve good wages because again…they do a lot to make such good quality stuff #but again….this isn’t going to work out #like im in college i don’t have enough money to pay for this :( #i still use my moms netflix :( #anyway #watcher #ghoul boys #we are watcher

[s0fter-sin]

Thinking you shouldn't have to pay for Watcher content is you being entitled, actually.

did i ever say i shouldn’t have to pay for it? no, i said it’s disappointing that i would now have to after years of it being free. it would be easier to take if they were completely changing and upgrading their shows or established that the stream wouldn’t just have their current shows and maybe discontinued ones, that it would be different from their youtube channel and worth the sudden charge, but it’s hard not to feel like they’re throwing their audience under the bus

#from what weve seen the shows will still have the same number of episodes so we arent even getting more of the same content #just nebulous ‘better’ content which could mean anything and also nothing when the shows have gradually started to feel overproduced #it is my and anyone elses right to be disappointed by this #and its a personal choice #if you think its worth the money or if youre in a place where you can afford another service then thats wonderful and i hope you enjoy it #but that doesnt make it any less tone deaf to say we as a company need more money when people cant afford to eat #plenty of creators have successfully crowdfunded their own shows without putting all of it behind a paywall #critical role immediately comes to mind #they have literal thousands of hours of content for free and when it came time to ask for money people showed up for them #the answer didnt have to be put everything on a streaming service when there were plenty of other options #its also just a bad business decision but i dont have the expertise to talk about that #tldr people are allowed to feel however they want about this #also acting like its somehow more ‘authentic’ to get money from your audience #instead of advertisers and sponsors who can actually afford it is sus as hell im just saying #mailbox #coming out of my cage and ive been doing just fine.txt #watcher #shane madej #ryan bergara #steven lim

[starrierknight]

like/reblog ratio goes crazy. literally what

#hhhhhh okay before i get anyone in my imbox saying im acting entitled and selfish: #i know that I'm not “owed” interaction #i know that!!!! we all know that!!!! #but when you spend hours creating smth and you sit there nervously having just posted it #and the notes slowly trickle in #sometimes you just wonder why you even bother sharing it #now let me just say: i WRITE for MYSELF #i SHARE for OTHERS #i will never stop writing #but jesus fucking christ I'm collecting more reasons to stop sharing #what is it about hitting “reblog” that soany of you are afraid of? that someone will see and give a shit? this is TUMBLR #literally who gives a shit on TUMBLR #are you afraid that someone will (God forbid!) see that you have interests? hobbies? likes? #i don't know #i just can't believe that a large chunk of you really do so very little to support creators you enjoy #it costs zero money to reblog #but not reblogging may cost you that content you so enjoy #im gonna say it: as creators; we are motivated by interaction #that silly little serotonin boost we get from a comment or reblog is what motivates us to share #just wow #[ ❀ ] — reece's rambling #delete later

[skys-haunted]

the current days of mischief situation isn’t abt cosmetics really. its about the history of dodgy communication and sketchy behavior from That Game Company towards its playerbase

#sky beta #tgc critical #we don't need cosmetics to play the game and there's more to the game than dress up yeah #im willing to bet folks arent mad that they have to pay money for a popular item (it makes perfect sense) #folks are mad because the company is purposefully miscommunicating to them to get away with asking for more quick cash #and when the company gets called out on it they act like we simply didn't get the memo #its not just cosmetics its been going on with in-game features and updates #beta testers aren't even beta testing because their feedback falls on deaf ears all the time #and that feels bad! people dont like being ignored manipulated and gaslighted #and it looks bad on the company too!! people aren't mad that tgc is trying to make a profit off their game thats perfectly reasonable #i couldn't care less if tgc rolls another event around and 90% of the content is behind a paywall #ftp players already have access to the entire core game its ok if we're less than an afterthought sometimes #whats not ok is the blatant greed and disregard for its entire userbase

[uncertainty5]

My thoughts on the Watcher drama youtube controversy

lol. lmao

#everyone is being stupid from every angle #go outside and touch grass #it will be very funny if their company goes under but i doubt it #wether they succeed or not will depend on if their already paying fans stay with them and theres enough new fans willing to pay for what is #essentially a single youtube channel with recycled buzzfeed content. And i say that as someone who enjoys puppet history and ghost files #i cant say they aren’t allowed to charge whatever they want no matter what the content is because thats their labor #but i think if u do pay for it then itd better be money you could see disappear from your wallet and not notice #but i do think theyre very very stupid for doing this lol. Ur fanbase is the mostly white tumblr liberal who watches true crime #u cultivated a parasocial fanbase through free content. This backlash is entirely expected. Even if a lot of it comes from content hungry #brain rot and the entitlement to art and media you have a parasocial relationship to #also if u say this is all stevens fault then drink bleach. I dont even care if its revealed as true. WE KNOW WHY UR SAYING IT #watcher drama

[taroshusband]

@ sakana fandom: WAKE UP WE BACK IN BUSINESS

#we need taro content #i cant use all my money commissioning art of him i have to eat #sakana #sakana comic

[the-innefable-idiot]

#interview with the vampire #iwtv #i couldnt understand for the life of me why iwtv wasn't getting the attention it deserves #but then i remembered they *dared* to put 2 black people in major roles #god damn it that's why we can't have ni e things #it's so hard to find good and engaging stories nowadays and whenever someone tries to be different it flops #i think in the end we deserve the bullshit asoiaf and lotr spinoffs we are getting because passion and love for the craft is dead #it's all about the money and the viewers and the sanitized content and the influencers and the unoriginal stories #god im mad #i can already feel this show getting canceled after season 1 #because of those fuckers who clench their pearls and gasp in horror abt Claudia and Louis being black #so it is my mission in life to enjoy every second of this show when it airs I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD