This is a continuation of some of my thinking on the evolving paradigm of patronage and support of YouTube sailing channels.. The crew of Eoti has been supporters of YouTube Sailing Channels for quite some time. Over the last decade we’ve bought merchandise, sent cash, and been patrons. Our support of the creators have these goals; 1) We wanted to support a level of artistic creativity in an area of our interest; 2) We wanted to support people who were taking the leap of faith and showing the ideas of what they were doing; 3) Sam, is an analytical, puzzle solving, and general reprobate who is very interested in the paradigm change of creatives outside of the mass media curated monoculture.
I’m no Jeff Bach, granddaddy patron to all the YouTube sailing channels, and rabid supporter living in Annapolis. Jeff is very nice guy by the way. I have at my peak supported EIGHTEEN channels and as of today I dropped the first channel I ever supported bringing me to a current number of THREE. Unlike Jeff Bach I am more of a curmudgeon. I’m old, fat, ugly, and bald and have ZERO interest in being famous. I’ve been on CNN more times than I would like to think and have had enough ink spilled about me to drown a horse. As such missives like this aren’t about notoriety. I figure if anything I have to say helps a creator then that is a good result. On the subject of notoriety. Eoti has been on something like six different creators videos and multiple times. Seeing your boat on a creators channel is kind of fun for the family.
My support isn’t just through Patreon
Let me say this up front and it is quotable, “A gift is not a gift if you expect something in return.”
As a Patron of creators there is an expectation of something in return. Access, consultation, creative advisement, or something else. Not all creators feel the same and that is fine. This is my thoughts on the topic.
I’ve freely given significant three/four digits levels of cash to YouTube creators (note the word given where found).
- I’ve given a creator team significant money to cover their Visa (wasn’t even a sailing channel)
- I’ve given a creator three-digit support when his boat broke unexpectedly (LOL)
- I’ve given a creator team several THOUSAND dollars in equipment including a complete dinghy with almost new motor
- I’ve given a creator team substantial cash when they had a child and expenses ran extreme
- I’ve given a creator team a brand-new complete water maker
- I’ve provided thousands of dollars in live stream events (because I know they only get like 60%) to numerous creators
- I’ve sent hundreds of dollars to a creator to help a project
- I’ve given almost a dozen bottles of bourbon to creators
The creators I support include a team that is loathe to use YouTube and were acquaintances before they started creating videos. They are two of the brightest, smartest, and genuine people I know. There is a team that created a community around their channel that is almost self-managing. They represent something special as they have refined their art form. There is the family unit with the creative genius, the beautiful and intellectual, and the daughter who is a mix of the best of her parents.
Authentic, honest, invested, and creative are hallmarks of these people.
Reasons I’ve dropped a channel or pulled my financial support are simple.
- Creators are not engaged or cagey about those engagements. I call this we’re celebrities keep the poor people away behaviors. If you only engage at planned events this may not be a good career for you. If you’re a creator and you’re concerned about celebrity then maybe you’re in the wrong business.
- Creators who mistake having any number of subscribers on YouTube towards success. Notoriety within a niche is not a license to think you’re an expert. No sailing channel has the subscriber base of even a handful of the clothing haul/try on or make up tutorial channels.
- “Mash the like button. Hit the subscribe. Push the notification bell. Thank you to all our Patrons who make this possible” is a script and has become a sign of disengagement.
- You go on a rant about another channel or say something untoward about other creators. We have enough mean people in the world. Creating hysteria and emotional reactions might work for some but I’m not paying for it. I don’t support jerks.
- I work with, help, or arrange something specific for a creator (as opposed to give) and they don’t even say thank you?
- You go to a foreign nation, an anchorage, or elsewhere as a cruiser and play loud music, insult the native culture, complain about how you’re treated or otherwise exhibit ugly American tendencies.
- I support SAILING channels. If you’re on a bus, in a van, in a camper, in a hotel, spend more time AirBnB, or land based I will pull my support. Any channel building a boat should have taken that into account (Two channels did realize this).
One aspect I don’t understand fully. There is a thing about crew. I’m not sure how to explain it. There is the “we’re all friends and these people are going on holiday with us.” Version of crew. We’ll see lots of the creator and crew interacting. There is the “We took on crew and they are actually running the boat not us.” Version. In the second version the authenticity of the creative effort is weak. To be sure I’m not against crew. I’ve offered up my twins a few times to different creatives as crew. They’re 50 ton licensed captains with sail endorsements, are dive masters, and have thousands of miles experience. Likely because I write stuff like this there have been no takers 🙂
I count several creators as actual friends. We’ve dined together, gone out together, I’ve been on their boat, they’ve been on my boat, and with one exception we’re friends on Facebook or WhatsApp or something like that. We’ve shared anchorages, sweated over broken motors, and cursed the Sport Fish Wake Armada. An interesting thing is some of my closer friends who are creators I’m not actually supporting via Patron. That doesn’t mean anything. It just is what it is. To be sure a key guide for my family is we support businesses that are run by friends. It’s part of our think global act local strategy. Much like we go to farmers markets and stay away from chain restaurants.
The key take away is that this paradigm is evolving. If find this whole patronage model of artistic expression fascinating. I think the YouTube algorithm is hurting some creators unless they do things that damage support from Patrons. There are some silly things that creators do that seems to be rewarded in subscriber count but I’m not sure those results are what the creators think it means.