You demanded it, we did it! But how does this crowdfunding work exactly?
The short version: The Laser Time Patreon is open! Go there now and PLEDGE!
The longer version: Henry Gilbert here, but I’m not writing to plug Cape Crisis. You see, 8 years ago, in a remote office that’s technically in South San Francisco, I met some of the best friends I’ve ever had. Ostensibly, we worked together writing fun features for a website, but really it was all an excuse to try and entertain one another. Eventually we turned our silly exchanges into a podcast called TalkRadar, where we all had some amazing times joking about the stupidest crap ever. There may have been alcohol involved as well, but I’ll leave that to HR to worry about… That was where we first found the fanbase we still love and depend on, as these classic pieces of fan art can attest.
By 2011, our love of podcasting couldn’t be contained by one modest show on a gaming site. We needed more, more, MORE! So, Chris Antista, the lovable scamp who led the charge on virtually every podcast to that point, took it upon himself to buy the equipment and transform his kitchen into a podcasting studio. That September, the first ever Laser Time podcast was released, giving us a new avenue to share our useless trivia and uninformed opinions with the world. With each year the site evolved, adding VGMpire, Cape Crisis, Cheap Popcast, and Vidjagame Apocalypse. And we couldn’t have done it without support from all the listeners.
Now it’s 2015. Chris Antista has turned this into a full-time job, many of our good friends have appeared on every show, and Dave Rudden and myself are currently unemployed. After hearing all of you ask, even demand, for some form of crowd-funding platform, Dave and I decided to go all in and work on LT as we ramped up towards a Patreon, the monthly form of public crowd-funding. However, if all of us want to make this site into fulltime jobs, we’ve gotta pay the bills, so we’ve set up the Laser Time Patreon and hope you can pledge whatever you can per month to help with that.
I’m sure lots of questions will come up, and we’ll answer them as they come. First off, all the current shows will remain free and will keep being recorded as usual. And, if you currently have a recurring PayPal donation, we’d appreciate it if you transferred that over to Patreon. For now, we’ve got each level of the Patreon filled with different rewards and incentives, along with an outline of some of the new projects we’d love to start via your donations. We’ve got new shows, new streams, and a few secret things all planned out, but we won’t get there without all of you.
So, we’re reaching out to ask if you can help take LT to bigger and better places. To turn this after-work experiment into a real career for everyone involved. To give us the safety net to make this site bigger and better than ever! We’ll have some more details coming soon, including a couple previews of our coolest milestone goals, and along some other tastes of things to come.
This is zero hour, folks. It’s not or never, so please, pledge what you can now that we’ve made this official. Tell a friend, tweet about it, make a Facebook post. However you do it, help us let the world know that Laser Time is ready to be as big as we’ve always dreamed of it being. And, just like every other time we’ve taken a step forward, we’ll be doing it together.
– Henry
It’s an absolute pleasure to support you, gentlemen.
Cool. I just pledged. Hope it works out for you guys. You may want to pin this article to the top so it does not get buried.
seconded! I nearly missed this because its already moving down the front page.
Made my pledge, thanks for all the years of entertainment back to the TDar days. Hope you guys make it!
Hey, can’t wait to see where this Patreon takes you all! Long Live Laser Time.
Yo dudes, get on this. We’re 10 percent of the way to that new show! And if we raise $10,000, Chris will personally deliver leopard geckos to everybody.
YES! Provided they’re willing to meet me at Disneyland
wahoo definitely wanna do the suggestions for monday movies, so many bad movies! X3, Green lantern, Elektra and catwoman 1st of all.
i need to hear henry and brett groan through these. NEED IT!
Done and done
how will backer content be delivered? Ie the new Simpsons show if funded how will I get this within my podcast app Downcast? No Downcast no money. sorry but I’m not going to pay for something I will literally never listen too if it does not have an RSS feed. downcast support RSS feeds with username password
I’m curious about this too… I download all my podcasts directly to my phone with BeyondPod, I hope there will be a way to have an RSS feed for the backer only podcasts.
They probably will set up a RSS feed for the Patreon content like Giantbomb does for their premium podcast. I have the Downcast App as well and thats what they do with their stuff.
I just need them to confirm it. Then I will part with my money
Just pledged $5 but didn’t ask for the rewards. Mostly because I feel that you’ve awarded me with so much inspiration and enjoyment that I feel that I don’t need anything in return from you for doing the right, intelligent thing and supporting the greatest friends I’ve never met.
Pledged but will increase once i get another job, the total is climbing fast
Ditto
Now that I’m employed I have no issue giving y’all the monthly donation you guys deserve. I got some checks to cash and then I’m going to be a patron! LASERTIME FOREVER
So glad to have another way to show my support for you guys. Can’t possibly thank you enough for all the joy over the years. For the record, LaserTime is worth more than Netflix because the quantity of quality entertainment doesn’t even compare.
I’m in for $15 a month! I really hope we can hit $4,000.
Just supported you guys! Thanks again, you deserve it.
Just chipped in myself. Wish I’d gotten in earlier for some of the bigger tiers!
I need that Simpsons show NOW
Pledged five per month and I’m planning on increasing it soon! It’s really exciting to see how many of us are pledging to this.
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Let’s keep it going, people! We are Jet Kirby!!
So excited for you guys! I hope this goes gangbusters. Also, Hank, you have a typo in the first sentence of the last paragraph (“it’s not or never”). I’m assuming you meant to say “It’s now or never.”
My first official foray into crowd funding, pledged $10 to you fine gentleman, such a small amount for what you guys deliver every week 🙂
Those $20 pledges went fast. Happy to give $10 a month to the LT Crew!
I am quitting smoking, so i figured out about how much i spend on cigs monthly, rounded up, and made that my pledge. CUT OUT A BAD EXPENSE, AND GIVE IT TO A GOOD INFLUENCE YALL!
That’s fucking great
I am happy to support an amazing group of people that have given me so many years worth of entertainment!
Oh man, it’s great to see this finally happen. If I wasn’t in the hysterical position of not having a place to live and not having any kind of income, I’d be backing this in a heartbeat. Goodest of luck to this.
Alright! Saw this earlier but am now at a device I feel fine pledging from, hope this goes better than you guys imagined y’all deserve it!
Extended warranty, I mean Simpsons Podcast? How can I lose?
Honestly every single listener should be giving something based on all the free, quality content these guys have given us over the years, let alone the milestones. Weekly simpsons commentaries? I need those in my life…
I always try to donate monthly as is, but now i can add “Lasertime Network Executive Producer” to my linkedin! I will have all the jobs!
First time I have ever crowd funded anything and I’m proud to give you guys and galls my support! I only wish I could afford more the $5, but as soon as I can you’ll be getting the MAX donation from me every month.
BTW are you guys still accepting fan articles?
We are! Feel free to email me at lasertimesubmissions@gmail.com with pitches!
Hey guys, I’m supporting you. You have made my many hours of commuting to work fun and I feel like I’m learning so much…. and I’m a teacher! Cheers again guys, love your work!
Hope Shemue 3 gets made….wait? This is not for….my bad, disregard! Just kidding yo, love the age of digital lemonade stands where we can all help out a thing we all believe in. This must be what the apple guys felt like while working on their first computer, knowing it was going to be huge one day.
Lets turn this pack of jokers with packs of minute-maid into straight up ballin celeb status mofos
HALFWAY TO $5000!
Normally, I would say the phrase is “Shut up and take my money”. However, I want you to keep talking even moreso. Make me pay more money!
You guys have given me probably THOUSANDS of hours of entertainment over the 5 years that I’ve been listening. I always love to chip in when I can, and I’ll be more than happy to support you guys on a monthly basis if that means LT can keep going, and I can get even more of the thing I love.
I will pledge as soon as I can get an above minimum wage full time job. Been looking for a year now so HOPEFULLY that ends soon and I can pledge to support you guys. I don’t want to imagine a world without lasertime.
my gf is in Australia getting her masters, so times are tough, and I can only afford the $5 tier. thanks for making that tier so appealing. will the movie streams be archived anywhere? I work afternoons and I’m sure I’ll miss most of them
We’re looking into that. At the very least, there will be an MP3 option given to all Patreon donors after the Monday Night Movie broadcast.
cool, thanks. I work afternoons and miss a lot of streams. catch em live whenever I can
FFFFIIIIINALLY! JEEZUZ! I’m happy to support! You guys helped me get through my last year and a half of art school from the Tdar days. I’ve followed you fellows down into the depths of hell and now it’s time to take over and start a lemonade stand. TELL ME YOU NEED AN ARTIST TO MAKE YOUR STICKERS?! DUDES, that’s what I DO! stickerpunch.com I would be more than happy to make the stickers for this community of fine folks!
I’m so ready for this. I love you guys let’s do it!
I’m more than happy to contribute. Sucks it has taken me this long to start commenting (it has been years at this point…sorry guys, I was hidden away in my comfortable hole of none-interaction). Still, really glad you’re finally doing this. I’ll definitely do my best to support each month. After all the great content over the years I feel I really owe it to you all.
I’m in for $15/month. Would go higher if there were more tiers available.
Some Ideas:
– Record commentary over the WWE PPVs each month so they can be (re)watched alongside the LT crew. Who wouldn’t avoid dirtsheets and RAW for a few days to be able to hear Brett do baby Ryback live? – Add to the $15 tier
– Daily lets plays, 15-20 mins long uploaded to YouTube. The games don’t have to be relevant with what’s current in pop culture at the moment or anything, just good games. Most people play AAA games on their own, so it would probably get more views to do more niche games (tyler seems good with those based on what i’ve heard in VGA). Shorter videos = higher view counts. Take some funding from the first month and use it to get a better PC for editing and recording. – use this to build up the YT channel, from there, do exclusive patreon content in the future
– Skit advertisements in the middle of podcast segments need to come back. I feel like those were a huge reason I stuck with you guys for so long. I smell a $40 tier where The Duke will review your favorite video game
– Ask Henry what the least amount of money he’d take to change his twitter handle would be, and make a tier for it.
– More commentaries that are available on Netflix. Many times someone may see that it’s not easily streamable, and lose interest.
Overall my one piece of advice having listened to you guys for years, remember the demographic of your audience. Look at what works and try to stick with it. I feel like a lot of LT is geared towards 80s kids, but most of the audience was most likely born in the 90s or 00s.
Can’t wait to see what’s in store
Just pledged 5/mo.I’ve been listening since Talkradar and I was really excited to see this happen. I was wondering about one thing. Will we just be sent an mp3 file or will there be a url to subscribe to if you don’t use the iTunes podcast app?
Hit 4k, awesome! Bring back the King of Names 🙂
Laser Time forever! I’ll gladly pledge, to keep you guys stocked with cheap beer, comics, and vape liquid while you keep me entertained at my soul-crushing job.
Lasertime, because i need that warm buzzing pop culture in my ears to push back the depression
Lasertime, because i need that warm buzzing pop culture in my ears to push back the depression.
Edit: Ten dollars delivered, wish i could grab a $30 spot
Fuck. Yes.
All hail Lasertime! Getting to listen to all of you awesome people every week has kept me sane throughout the past four years. I have no idea what I’d do if this show ended. I gladly give you my money!
I’m down for $10 a month.
I’m looking forward to the weekly classic nintendo streams.
Not really a fan of simpson, however.
Monday night movies should be good.
Proudly pledged to the patreon! Hoping for some more skits and erotica fan fiction! Love you guys! Can’t wait for the new podcast! Happy for any new content, can’t wait to hear what the new podcast could be!
If Patreon ever loads for me (seriously, what the hell is happening right now?) I feel more than obligated to help. You’ve been delivering on great podcasts for me waaaaaay back in the TalkRadar days and now more than ever with the diversity and sheer volume of content on the Laser Time Network.
There we go, proudly pledged!
I was on the fence about being a Patron, but after seeing the amazing support from other fans, I just had to pitch in out of guilt. $10 a month is a small price to pay to keep you guys and ladies around for another year. With love and respect, I say that Chris Antista is the true mascot of the Laser Time Network! Surely you’ll reach that $5000 goal soon? I look forward to seeing what new podcast idea you have in mind.
Wahoo, 5k milestone reached 🙂 Can’t wait to see what the new show is.
Been listening since the Talk Radar days. you guys have made many a drive into and from work, a little bit better. So hell yeah I’ll donate.
If only for the off chance that Chris will stream at hours that I’m not stuck in rush hour traffic.
You’ve kept me sane during stressful times at work and life so I am only too happy to give back.
WOOO EVERY MILESTONE BUT DOING TWO CHICKS AT ONCE UNLOCKED LETS KEEP GOING DARS
Congrats on reaching the milestone guys
You guys changed the milestone goal of “two girls at the same time”. Is that officially off the table?
I’m in ($5 a month). Congratulations on your success with the Patreon.
Looking forward to more Laser Time, Cape Crisis, VidjaGames Apocalypse, new podcasts, new videos and articles, etc. And I’m looking forward to the new Simpsons podcast with “Wow! Bob Mackey!”.