The Town of Odyssey

I am sure a lot of people Are upset because of 12 episodes that have always aired on the radio for free will now belong to an exclusive club that you have to pay $ 15 a month to listen to. Yes, the club offers a lot more. But 12 episodes always free are now charging for.

AIOCREFan, fantastic post! The more time I've spent thinking about it, the more I'm coming to your side of things. While I still think it's a little high for those parents who can't afford it, if they would allow us to split accounts, that would be AWESOME. I have several adult friends who LOVE AIO, but are not in the financial place to afford $15 a month, or to buy all the new albums. I'd love to be able to buy a subscription and give them access to my 5 free accounts, and I hope they allow this! To me, that would make it worth it. Yes, it's pricey, but if I can use that to help others get to hear all of AIO, I think that is totally worth it! I don't need 5 accounts, and neither do they, but if I can buy and share that way, it would be great!

If I had to money I would do this. Because I only own about 3 albums, and I wasn't around when it first aired so I could hear all the episodes that I hear about all the time but don't have access to. But I don't have the money so it just annoys me. Today I was listening the the Official Podcast and the were discussing the OAC and they said the didn't know where they were going to go with it they might release the episodes they might not. They really just want to have a springboard for new fans. If i was a new fan and I didn't own any albums then I would want to do this because I can listen to all of the episodes whenever I am near a computer. Then I can decide what episodes I actually want then go buy them on Itunes. That is my opinion on this.

I think the 5 accounts are for people within your household...

Um, I highly, highly doubt that AIO would let you have one admin account and then let 5 other people just piggy-bank on that account >.>

First of all, a new Official AIO Podcast is out with a Q&A w/ Dave Arnold & Paul McCusker.

It covers a bit about future albums and collections and of course, everyone's favorite topic, the OAC. I encourage everyone to listen to it, especially to Dallas R., as they address your concerns. They talk quite a bit about it, about 5 minutes.

jennifertwt wrote:AIOCREFan makes many good points, but we have offered alternative solutions that would include everyone.

I have read through both threads on this topic, and I don't recall any alternate solutions (besides releasing the exclusive episodes in an album later on, but Reddo and I already addressed that). If you don't mind, could you list and explain them?

American Eagle & Marvin D. - Yes, they are supposed to be, but there is no way to control this. If families legitimately cannot afford $15 a month by themselves, I would have no problem with 2 families doing that and I doubt the AIO team would either. People do that with Netflix all the time. But 3 - 5 families on one billing account is too much and people who are perfectly capable of paying $15 a month who share accounts isn't acceptable either. It all comes down to a morale issue. We should support FOTF as much as we can, not scheme to get best price through a loophole. After all, if people payed $5 dollars for an album instead of $15, AIO might not still be around.

Marvin D. wrote:Um, I highly, highly doubt that AIO would let you have one admin account and then let 5 other people just piggy-bank on that account >.>

but how would they know who is in your "household" or not? especially if all are using mobile devices?

-- 01 Nov 2013 09:33 am --

The legitimate options we have proposed are:

1) a tier system where you join for less money, say $5 and only have access to the exclusive club episodes but not all the other perks. The downside, you still do not "own" them and can only save 5 at a time. Also downside to having a contract.
2) my personal favorite: release the OAC eps on iTunes at the same time as the club (or a month later) so that anyone can buy them. The advantage to the club is that you can listen first, then decide. I would say the same price as a regular episode, but if they really want money, I would be willing to pay SLIGHTLY more. Upside, access to eps and no contract.
3) Release them at the end of the current year, after episode 12 has been aired in the club, either on iTunes as a download album or better yet, in a physical copy (but I realize that is probably not going to happen). This is a win win for all as they would get money from the club for the privilege of hearing them once a month and can then decide if they want to purchase the whole set. And a win for regular fans as they are not left too far behind.

Just to clarify - I said people who canNOT afford it on their own - not people who can. I'm not trying to be unethical or immoral, just trying to figure out how the current system can work best for those who are unable to afford it.

What about doing the current family plan, but then sell single accounts for like $7/month? That way it is still a deal to get 5 accounts, but those who only need one can not feel like it's being wasted?

Well, we have suggested single accounts for $5. But if I had a permanent job, I could go for $7. I wonder how billing will be for overseas customers........with foreign bank accounts.............or if they will allow payment by paypal.

After listening to the podcast it sounds like they are going forward with this regardless what the fans think. It also sounds like these exclusive shows will not be released outside the club any time soon. They also mentioned that fans who already have all the albums should join anyway just to show support for AIO. I thought I was already doing that by buying their albums and books and what not. It's still not worth it to me so I guess I'm out.

WindowWasher wrote:After listening to the podcast it sounds like they are going forward with this regardless what the fans think. It also sounds like these exclusive shows will not be released outside the club any time soon. They also mentioned that fans who already have all the albums should join anyway just to show support for AIO. I thought I was already doing that by buying their albums and books and what not. It's still not worth it to me so I guess I'm out.

I am extremely disappointed that the episodes won't be released outside the club. IMHO I already support AIO by buying the albums. I'm out too.

that makes me very sad...I would say angry, but that is not very Christian. I hope they change their minds at the end of the year or I cannot say I will be very excited about the next mainstream album if it has holes in the storyline only covered in the exclusive eps. Of course they want everyone to join........

if they only release the Harley eps to the Club, they will have really lost me for good.

They also mentioned that fans who already have all the albums should join anyway just to show support for AIO.

Sounds like a typical corporation. "Sure, this is a bad deal for you but you should do it anyway because we're just awesome!" Please.

jennifertwt wrote:I would say angry, but that is not very Christian.

Hardly. This is a situation in which righteous anger--or at least righteous frustration--is definitely justified. I'm not going to accuse Focus of trying to cheat us out of our money or being an unethical corporation (although they did write one arc that made it clear that they knew all about that...hmmm... ), but I will say that the "spend boatloads of money because we make your favorite program" suggestion is a bit manipulative in the sense that it makes our choice of whether to join or not look like a test of loyalty to the show. That's certainly not the way we're planning to see it--I enjoy the show whether an inordinately expensive club exists for it or not--but that's the way they're making it sound. It sounds like the Complainer is Always Wrong trope. And I know that they're trying to make a living doing what they're doing--I get it. But that doesn't preclude listening to what we have to say and perhaps revising their plans.

The admission on the podcast that "the club is not for everybody" was a little too clear. The club may not be for everybody, but episodes should be........bonus material, streaming, devotions, Clubhouse magazine, etc are all incentives for the club. If they want to keep their main fan base, however, exclusive episodes that only club members will ever be allowed to hear, is not the way to go.

FOFT if basically alienating their original fan base. The relaunch did a good job of that by irrevocably changing Odyssey and targetting the younger age groups. Now, the OAC is something of an insult to long-time fans who have spent a great deal of money on it. And by ignoring a great deal of what's being said, that's also not helping the situation >.>

Marvin D. wrote:FOFT if basically alienating their original fan base. The relaunch did a good job of that by irrevocably changing Odyssey and targetting the younger age groups. Now, the OAC is something of an insult to long-time fans who have spent a great deal of money on it. And by ignoring a great deal of what's being said, that's also not helping the situation >.>

I agree.

Marvin D. wrote:And by ignoring a great deal of what's being said, that's also not helping the situation >.>

They're not:

Nathan Hoobler wrote:We do try to hear from our audience and listen to their concerns. The questions that people have raised don’t fall on deaf ears. Many aspects of the Club—including the price, features, and exclusive episodes—might be tweaked and changed in the days ahead. The Club certainly will change in some ways as we discover what listeners like and what they don’t. While we can’t promise that we’ll please everyone, we will continue to do everything that we can to keep our listeners engaged and happy. We also hope that everyone continues to remember us in prayer as we make our decisions.

AIOCREFan wrote:

Marvin D. wrote:And by ignoring a great deal of what's being said, that's also not helping the situation >.>

They're not:

Nathan Hoobler wrote:We do try to hear from our audience and listen to their concerns. The questions that people have raised don’t fall on deaf ears. Many aspects of the Club—including the price, features, and exclusive episodes—might be tweaked and changed in the days ahead. The Club certainly will change in some ways as we discover what listeners like and what they don’t. While we can’t promise that we’ll please everyone, we will continue to do everything that we can to keep our listeners engaged and happy. We also hope that everyone continues to remember us in prayer as we make our decisions.

Eh. I'll believe it when I see it. Anyone can talk, and a lot of people do; it just keeps everyone happy. .for a while.

I do not believe they set out to anger people. But, I do believe that some bad decisions are being made and I hope they are corrected before it is too late. I realize a bad financial year could end a 25+ year run and that would make me very sad. In many ways, I think they should have signed off at Album 50, but have found some good things since the relaunch. Older fans cannot complain too much if they refocus on their target audience, but when decisions are being made that deliberately exclude that fan base which is where the second and third generation of listeners are coming from, then that is a bad thing. I say again, so that one day someone "In power" may hear me, the two best alternatives are 1) a tier system, and 2) putting the "exclusive eps" on iTunes for fans not interested in the Club or are a)on liminted budgets and b)overseas. Note my LOCATION!