2025-12-31
22 分钟Hey listeners, I know it might feel like 20,000 Hertz is this big,
super-established show from some big, respectable podcast network.
And most of the time,
I'm happy to have people think that our show operates just like my podcasting heroes do,
like Radio Lab, or This American Life, or 99% Invisible.
But the reality is, we're a small, independent show with no network or parent company supporting us.
Our team is just a handful of people working hard to keep this show going.
In a normal year, we often barely break even.
It pays for its own costs, but for me, this is pretty much a passion project.
And when times are tough financially,
it can threaten to end our show, which actually almost happened last winter.
Now, fortunately, things evened out and we're still here.
But it was a harsh reminder of just how fragile this show is.
To pull back the curtain a little more, a few years ago, there was a bubble in the podcast industry.
And that's when our ad revenue was at its highest.
But ever since then,
the price that advertisers are willing to pay for a podcast ad has been going down each year.
As a result, we rely more and more on the money we make from our premium subscribers.
And that's where you come in.
If you value what we do, and you want to keep hearing new episodes,