How Much Would You Pay for a Reasonably Good Free Podcast Show?

Announcing Aliens & Artists Plus?-)

$4.99 a month for bonus content?
No thank you Stu:-)

It always makes me laugh when a reasonably good free podcast show tries to cash in on its popularity by seeing if it can survive behind a paywall, or adding a paid subscriber bonus show that freebie "subscribers" can't listen to.

I wish those podcasters well, but not by throwing my money into their wishing well.

It just about always reminds me of the woman outside the cookie shop in The Simpsons handing out free cookie samples hoping to hook in future paying customers when I hear these podcast shows that start out for free, because they have an important message for humankind and the future of our planet with the work they feel compelled to put out-there, have to bitch and moan about how they'd love to keep their show going, but without your cash flowing into them to pay the bills they can't go on making the show.  
Well, sink or swim I say, as there are way better free fish in the podcasting sea for me.

I mean it's like Whitley Strieber and his Dreamland podcast where he feels compelled to bring his information from "the visitors" to us monkeys behind the keyboard, but can't because of overhead costs involved in bringing the show to us monkeys who are living on peanuts anyway.

 Then I think why can't your smarter than us rock ape listeners "visitors" give you this weeks winning lotto numbers, or place a bar of gold on your doorstep to keep your show going and you from starving and having your power cut?-)   

I didn't get into listening to podcasts to pay for listening to them, I got into listening to them because for free there are plenty of good ones out there to listen to.

And even those free podcasts I first thought were good turn rather stale after a while, and I give them the flick from my podcast favourites list. 

I can buy a jar of coffee that will keep me going for a month nearly, for less than $4.99 (American dollars) a month.

That's how I save money, by not hanging around coffee shops all day paying $5 for a slightly better cup of coffee all day long, and then using those peanuts I save to buy books, albums, or see a movie or play that I might want to see.

So why would I want to throw $5 a month away to some other monkey behind a microphone who can't make ends meet doing what he feels compelled to do for humanity?-) 

What annoys me the most is I feel like someone leading my readers to the lady handing out free cookies outside the cookie shop when I find a good free podcast, and then a month or two latter that podcaster is crying to their listeners how they will be going out of business if you don't pay for what you thought was once a good free show to listen to:-)

Thank goodness that good free podcasts are a dime a dozen and I don't need to pay $5 a month to keep another "starving artist" like me off the streets:-) 

That frees up another spot on my free podcast subscriber list.

Bon voyage Stuart.

The Truth is So Out There Dude?

UPDATE: April 24th, 2021

Would you pay $10 to listen to this bloke prattle on?-)

The Lewis is a device ...?-)

Right turn Clyde?-)

I'm currently writing a post about 2021 and the 'Year of the Metal Ox' and in my search for podcasts in an Apple Podcast search, this clown Clyde Lewis comes up with a free cookie sample of some podcast episode of his where he wants me to pay $10 to unlock his archives:-)

I think hanging on to my $10 would be a very wise decision on my part Clyde.

Here's a free cookie for you to sample, but it looks like you'll have to pay to hear part 2 -

Aliens & Artists Podcast: Leslie Kean - Part One [Hybrid?]?-)