Crowdfunding Future seasons...

MST3K Central
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This thought is not meant strictly for season 14, but rather for the continuation of MST in the whole.

I’m wondering what is a sustainable long term path that fans and Gizmonic Arts would be interested in?

I’m hearing a lot of uncertainty and complaints about this new campaign by people that didn’t know the Gizmoplex could not self fund new content.

If crowdfunding was always to be a component of each season’s production, moving forward, how would fans react to some type of corporate merger if it means a sacrifice of autonomy?

Let’s say Joel and the team got a contract locked up to show new seasons on Pluto, or Amazon, or Tubi, or even MeTv for a certain amount of time and for that, they would match the funding we raised.

I mean, we all would love to have full funding from the platform, but for this thought experiment, let’s say that wasn’t on the table.

Would fans be okay if it meant those platforms would split the bill?

We know the show is niche, and it’s hard to quantity viewership at this point, so to me, it’s an easier sell to a larger entity to suggest a splitting of production costs in some way.

So let’s say Gizmonic Arts approached one of those entities and they agreed they would match whatever we raised, how would the fans feel about that?

If we always had to do a crowdfunding or pledge drive campaign, but knew that whatever we raised would be matched by a corporate entity, would you be supportive of that even if it meant there might be guidelines the show would have to adopt?

I’m thinking of the way the SciFi channel told them they had to use SciFi films and have a narrative arc across the season.

Would fans (and I guess Gizmonic Arts themselves) consider trading some autonomy for funds?

Thoughts?

  • I prefer crowdfunding each season - this way the production stays completely independent.
  • I would like a split where in a platform matches whatever we raise- even if it means sacrificing some independence of production.
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Honestly, I’d even take a company funding the whole thing. Anything to get more MST3K.

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scavenger sales

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Hunger games

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Squid game.

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Well, if I pay to produce new MST, I want to see new MST, without having to also subscribe to something else. If MST works a deal that, say, Hulu subscribers can see (log in) to the Gizmoplex, fine, take their money, as long as I can continue to see the same for whatever crowd source money I pay. But I don’t have Hulu, and I don’t want Hulu. Or Disney. Or AppleTV. Or Pluto. Or…

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I mean if it gets more mst3k, sure but I love that it belongs to Gizmonic Arts and us. Season 13 proved that the show is best when it’s left to its own devices.

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Well that’s obviously the dream and or goal, so I agree. :slight_smile:

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I really like the show being independent, but only if the fundraisers get enough support.

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It seems like Shout Factory could sustain as a streaming service that includes MST3k. You already have fairly niche streamers like Britbox or Qello getting $6.99+ per month from people and Britbox at least makes originals on that money that I’d think cost as much or more than MST to produce. Not sure MST alone could do that but alongside Shout’s other stuff, it seems doable to me. I’d pay that much, even if it were a two-tier thing with an ad-supported side and an ad-free side. I don’t think crowdfunding is sustainable long-term, especially if you’re really only buying early access since they are showing the new stuff on Pluto for free a year later.

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I… guess I’m an agnostic. I want whatever will keep new seasons coming. :person_shrugging: But no more yoking to platforms like Netflix, please. Shout at least seems like they understand the point of the show. Since their whole signature thing is love of schlock.

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They have a streaming service that includes MST3K. I have the app on my AppleTV, but it also exists for Roku, FireTV, Android, iOS/iPadOS. And it’s a paid add-on for various other streamers like Amazon Prime ($2.99/month).

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This is something we can never know, but doesn’t the fact that the goals have gone up about 50% in cost, and this time we’re only funding episodes and not a whole streaming service, suggest that Season 13 and The Gizmoplex didn’t do as well as they’d hoped and they’re trying to make up for it with the Season 14 Kickstarter? We all know inflation, but even then the numbers seem high.

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I like the independence they have to do what they want but I also like seeing the show so it’s a balancing act for financial stability vs uncertainty with crowdfunding campaigns

My wish is for the independence to continue but my fear is that it’s unsustainable

I honestly think the massive success of the first Kickstarter was due to the fact that Space Mutiny had been a huge meme just before and kinda brought MST3K back from obscurity. That’s how I was introduced to it and I was tickled pink to have the opportunity to have more made after having watched the majority of the err circulated “tapes”

The memes have moved and the hype has subsided which is a huge shame because MST is in top form now IMO and avoids a lot mistakes made in previous seasons

Anyway more MST I don’t care how

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It’s not really the same as a Netflix deal though, because they’ve already been working with Shout for a long time.

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Honestly, independence is not always a good thing. This particular show has been hurt by executive meddling over the years, but sometimes going up against that meddling can produce things that were better than what you had originally planned, whereas with independence, there’s no one to ever tell you no, and that can end up with a really narcissistic production. So I think it’s a mixed bag.

Season 13 proved they could do it on their own and do it well, but I don’t think having a network or streaming service fund them is inherently a bad thing.

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You bring up a good point. Sometimes the reigns are helpful to make a tighter show

A balance needs to be struck

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Actually, I think this is 100% correct. I know people that love the SciFi eras and they definitely had to work inside confines during that period.

There has to be a mixing of “art” and “commerce” and when you thread that needle correctly it can be very, very successful.

This is the unpopular opinion, but as a fan of this show since season 1, what I can say is this- as many mistakes as he made and as alienating a figure as he might have been, I think Jim Mallon definitely contributed to the business longevity of the show.

Maybe he was awful to work with, maybe not, I wasn’t there and I don’t know the man. I’m not here to comment on that aspect.

But I do know that after years of working with creative and artistic people myself , often times someone HAS to be the voice of concrete numbers and finance.

Sometimes working in guidelines makes things stronger.

Again, just my thoughts.

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I think if we continue the route of fully funded by campaigns like this, it would be nice to have a monthly meeting for backers to tune into where the business side of things could be discussed.

I feel like there isn’t much transparency apart from the up front goals and estimations, but it would be nice to get a clear level of communication where Q&A type questions could be sent in and picked to be used in a discussion.

I think that could help potentially prevent frustrations and even pool some wisdom, ideas and talent from the fanbase.

But I think that’s a pipedream.

Edit: also, I know there are some talented Mysties who would literally volunteer time to help with aspects of the show. I actually think we aren’t independent enough, I’d love to see future goals be making the website, apps, etc open source where volunteers in the fanbase could volunteer time to fix bugs, add improvements, etc.

Heck, make rewards not just be digital or physical but actual work that would be used for the show. Like a reward category of writing a riff that gets on the show! Or voicing a robot. Or helping choose a movie that is riffed.

Bring back membership cards and make them look legit!! I’d pay $80+ for a laminated membership card.

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The problem with this idea is it relies a lot on setting terms with a corporate entity. A corporation is going to do what makes sense for them financially. You can’t just tell them to match your crowdfunding goal. They’ll budget for and pay what they think the property is worth to them.

The reason for MST3K going out on their own wasn’t just to keep execs from meddling, but to continue to make more MST3K as long as the fans wanted more. Under another business, they would get rid of MST3K when it no longer makes sense for them to keep it, regardless of fan support. Plenty of popular shows have gotten canned because they weren’t MEGApopular.

If fans can’t independently support the show enough to make more…then would the show get enough views on another service to justify the company funding new seasons?

I think a bit of remarketing could potentially help bring in some holdouts who are weary of a new crowdfunding campaign, or thought the Gizmoplex was intended to be self sustaining. Remember that some of the base support levels are just buying season 14 passes (or rather pre-purchasing, with a full refund if the season never gets made). If they made an attempt to market those pledge levels as buying a pass for next season, it MIGHT adjust some people’s perceptions that MST3K is just asking for a big pile of money.

The question to ask people is whether they would be willing to buy a 1, 3, or 12 month season 14 pass to the Gizmoplex (for $15, $35, $85, respectively). If the answer is “yes” then there’s no reason for them not to pledge at those levels for the campaign (knowing there’s a 100% refund if they don’t hit their base goal).

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