It's that time of year again: MaxFunDrive! Jesse Thorn and his gaggle of podcast hosts, producers, and editors are asking for listener donations to keep their whole thing going. I listen to at least three or so of their products a week (Jordan, Jesse, Go!, Bullseye, Judge John Hodgeman, and might stick with with new arrival International Waters) and will swear on the lives of Abed and Troy that each of them does, indeed, bring maximum fun. I haven't decided yet at what level, but I will definite be joining the increasingly massive maxfun funding family.
The first time a podcaster asked me to straight up transfer funds to keep it going, I found it jarring. It seemed crass and too transactional. I did end up donating and am glad that I did, as the project, Marc Maron's WTF, kept on keeping on and has become something of a source of stability in my life. Moreover, I'm really warming to the idea of paying producers for "content" directly. It's a wonderfully pure exchange, eschewing middle men and late-capitalist overhead - "you make something that I consume and enjoy, let me directly send you some money to keep it going" - and, to be honest, there's something of a warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from connecting directly and concretely to usually disembodied voices that consistently make me laugh.
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