When I started AudioBrevity (audiobrevity.com) over two years ago, it was a side thing I wanted to turn into a big thing. People don't pay for podcasts, though, at least not the "middlemen" in the podcast chain. So I got 100+ users, people liked it, and people weren't willing to pay for it. But I'm a silly kid and a people pleaser, so I kept the free tier going, and more people kept using it.
Now it's over $80 a month in hosting, transcription and AI usage. The database keeps growing and the costs aren't dropping, so I saw two options:
- Shut it down.
- Find some way to fund it.
I use the app all the time and get a lot out of it, so option one is out. But $80 is about to be $90, and five kids are expensive on a mechanic's salary. So, enter community credits.
It's a new model, and I don't know of other apps doing anything quite like it:
- Everything already processed is free (you can view them all here: audiobrevity.com/podcasts). Any episode that's been summarized is free for anyone to read: summaries, search, all of it.
- New episodes draw from a community pool. When the pool is empty, no new episodes get processed. Anyone can refill it: $5 adds 50 episodes for everyone, and the wheels keep turning.
- Or skip the pool. If you don't want to depend on the community, Pro is $50/month for your own monthly credits.
Hopefully this stops the bleeding and I can get back to fancy coffee drinks.
I'm also really curious about the community side. Will people chip in? I honestly don't know. As I write this there are about 100 episodes left in the pool, which should last a few more days. Then we'll find out.