Beer Forum

I wanted to avoid posting this because I felt it wouldn't affect 99% of the listeners out there, but now that a few of you have come forward with problems I thought I should explain it.

So here's the deal. There are caps on downloads per day for each person. The limits are fluid depending on server load, but it is possible to retrieve more than 40 hours of content per day, every day without hitting a limit. Since there are only 24 hours in a day, this shouldn't affect anyone.

And yet it has. In EVERY case, those reporting a "503 Service Unavailable" have hit download limits for that day.

This isn't a big deal, folks, just download and listen, download and listen. There is plenty of content to go around, just don't click "download all" and expect it to work. You'll get cut off for the remainder of that day (east coast time).

I'm sorry, we're looking at alternative solutions that don't bust the budget, but this seemed to make the most sense as an interim measure. If you listen to the content as you download it, you'll never have a problem.

Flames can be directed at me.

Thanks for the info....I did get this for the first time a few days ago.
I was loading up the player for a long road trip and seems I hit the limit.
I'll kick in a few extra $$ soon.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks for posting this. I think your policy is more than reasonable.

Jason

How about forcing people that want old content to either live with a throttle/cap or get the files via bit torrent? I suppose for advertising reasons you might want to keep track of the number of downloads but I am willing to bet that they care more about new content. I guess some people would not want to use something other than iTunes to pull stuff down...

How about this, what if you packaged the shows (everything older than a year) in archive files and made those available as torrents? That way people that want 'everything' can get 90% of the episodes some other way (using other people's bandwidth)? I am probably missing something though, were it simple you would have though of it already and we wouldn't be having this conversation, lol.

So why not throttle instead of cap? Getting reduced throughput (say, 64kb/s/user) is way more friendly than a 503 error.

This issue was brought up on the last Sunday Session and J requested that a thread be started (thanks Code ... you are always on the ball! Perhaps I'll meet you at NHC and everyone else in SD). Due to the bandwidth issues, J is considering a subscription fee to download the old content which I personally think is a fine idea ... for anyone that has been around for a while. I started listening ~1.5 years ago and started monthly donations just because I believe in the BN and everything the crew is doing. If I had to pay up front before I developed a love of everyone from listening to the podcasts, I may not have given the BN content a chance. I actually listened to all the content from start to current before listening live, so I that am now not lost on the "inside" commentary that has been developed over the last 6 years. Even though I am a relatively new member, I "feel" like I have lived through that growth (even if no one else knows who the hell I am). Listening to the past shows brought me through the growth of the BN from beginner type content to the more advance brewer content currently provided. As it stands now, new "recruits" have the opportunity to experience the entirety of the BN's history and then along the "journey" decide if they want to "voluntarily" contribute. I fear that being required to pay for past content may seriously hinder future growth.

With that said, it is apparent that the dedicated are not donating enough to allow for this future growth, so there needs to be a happy medium found. I would suggest that if the current 40 hour daily download limit doesn't work (which I think is a great solution), the early content is kept available for free up to a subjective point (when Daniela left? Earlier? latter?), the middle content is reserved for monthly "subscribers" (I don't know how hard that would be to set up), and then the most current 1-2 months is also free (expecting a monthly donor to download within a week is too short). There is a HUGE amount of valuable information contained within the BN archives and everyone "hooked" should be contributing is some way. I just want to see the BN around for a long time and don't want the most powerful "hook" be lost ... the content that the BN provides ... and the community that eventually someone feels a part of. Whatever is decided, I am here. Just don't forget about the future listeners. Depending on how this all plays out, my ability to recruit could be significantly reduced.

Remove content from iTunes from 2005 to 2010 and sell it on a DVD set in the BN Army PX (store). You can buy one year volumes or the entire 5 year set.

After January 30th, pull the previous year's shows from iTunes and make that a DVD for sale in the BN Army PX.

Only the current year's shows will be available for free download until January 30 of the next year. Example would be 2011 show season would be available until January 30, 2012. Then you can only get it via DVD in the BN Army PX.

This would minimize iTunes downloads, maximize revenue for the BN, and benefit all. Justin has stated the iTunes are to be free, but everything is a compromise. I think during the broadcast year (calendar year) plus a 30 day period (ending January 30th) that is the case: free for download in the iTunes store. From February 1 onward, to get last year's shows, pay up. This plan not only reduces your overhead, but it also increases your revenue and profit.

As I've said in the chat on Sunday during the past Sunday Session show, the BN is a business, not a soup kitchen. The concept is there, the branding is there, the passion is there. The idea needs to be capitalized. The time is now. Sponsors are only so helpful. Don't get me wrong-everyone needs sponsors. Sponsors aren't enough. That isn't greed, it's reality.

Merchandise your business. I want to see shirts, hoodies, hats, golf caps, golf club covers, coffee mugs, pint glasses, tumblers, steins, stickers, wall clocks, bandanas, visors, belt buckles, necklace charms, hop grenade earrings, license plate frames, wallets, bottle and can coolers (coozies), watches. That's how you make your money. Sell your merchandise. Merchandise is very profitable and one of the most effective ways of guerilla marketing ever devised. I wear my company shirt to the local public events (county fair, etc). That $6 for a polo shirt with my company logo on the back has brought me tens of thousands of dollars in revenue by people noticing the shirt, asking about it, then buying from me. Merchandise is one of the best investments for your business.

Your business has gone viral. No, not herpes kind of viral, word of mouth viral. It's spreading, it's growing, it's gaining. If you sell merchandise your followers will buy, they will wear it thus promoting your business for you and bringing in more followers. You will make money on the initial sale as well as the referrals from current listeners. The referred listeners buy, wear, and promote your brand for you. What do you have to do? Keep putting on educating and entertaining shows and selling merchandise.

Adam wrote:Your business has gone viral. No, not herpes kind of viral, word of mouth viral.

Space herpes.

Wait, I had a point. Oh yeah- I'm slowly working on downloading back-issues of most stuff. While I really love CYBI and BS and the older Jamil Show stuff for improving my own brewing, I've also started downloading the sessions mostly to listen to the guests and topics- they're all fascinating, and I need to have something to listen to while I stare at my fermenter. Beats watching American Idol, although the archived DOTW competitions are less compelling, I have to admit.

I was so happy with all this content that I bumped up my subscription rate. I'd feel marginally distressed if the back episodes disappeared behind another paywall. I'd be happy to use a torrent solution to this problem- I'd even host said torrent, it's not as if I'm a stranger to these interwebs, after all.

Of course, if certain subscription rates came with increased access to downloads, I'd use that model too.

I came in part way through the conversation on the Sunday show, where JP was saying paying $60 a year to access the BN, and was a bit concerned, but wanted to listen to the archive of that show before I threw in my two cents. It sounds like it is mostly the massive download attempts (after all, there is over 1000 hours of BN content) that are screwing stuff up, and I know Code has been dealing with issues coming out of China recently too. I'm glad that J plans on current shows still being free, but my concern is that if they do start charging for old shows, that we won't see as many new listeners coming to the BN. I'm sure that J, Code and the rest have some ideas of their own on how to stay on top of this, but here are a few thoughts I have for what they are worth:

1. Have a handful of shows free for download (perhaps the ones in the proposed BN syllabus http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=24121 ) that people feel like they have a good chunk of knowledge and will hook people on the BN. From there some sort of pay scale can be established.

2. They were talking about a year membership with access to archive downloads, with new shows only being up for a week before they are removed. If I'm a listener that already has all the shows, but miss downloading an episode because I'm out of town for a week, paying $60 to download that show isn't going to happen. Perhaps week + older shows have a single fee for a short time before they go back into the Disney Vault. Also, most people aren't going to be interested in a year membership that just gives access to the archives if they could buy just a month and massively download everything at once.

3. If people are subscribing for access, how will this impact their patronage of the BN sponsors? If the sponsors see a large drop in return from the BN, there is always the possibility that they will decrease their support.

4. Perhaps a rotating schedule for downloads could be established. For example, the last 5 episodes are available, as well as a chunk of shows from earlier on. Each month the archive shows available would change, so that at any one time, there is only so much content available.