Humbly asking for some help

[progdirjim(Admin)]

Hello to all faithful Moonsters.

For those who may not have heard, my job has been eliminated due to the slowdown in business caused by the covid-19 related shutdown. I am quite concerned about my ability to find a new job, due to my age, and the challenge in onboarding a new hire in these times.

There is not an emergency currently, but I am preparing, and trying to cut expenses. As important as Aural Moon is to me, I cannot subsidize it forever without a job. Coincidentally, before the extent of the virus was known, I reached out to former patrons who hadn't donated in over a year, and there was a surge in donations. So for January through April, I have spent only a small amount on keeping the station alive. I do expect donations to taper off, so I am asking anyone who is so inclined to make a donation - I hate to remind long time supporters, or people I consider friends, but if you're due, and can manage it (I do NOT think I am the only one affected), please consider contributing. If you hang out here a lot, and don't donate for whatever reason (I will never ask), please consider a small donation if you can.

I am not about to go hungry, nor even fall behind on my mortgage. But I did just have a couple of significant and unexpected expenses, and I am feeling more angst about my finances than I have since it became apparent my wine importing business wasn't going to pay the bills almost 10 years ago.

Thank you for your consideration. I would take further steps (publicly) before I just ceased paying the streaming bill, so there is not meant to be any pressure here - just an appeal.

And thank you so much for being here - when I first replied to Avian's post looking for a Program Director, on the (very different) web page in 2000, I had no idea how many special people I would cross paths with as a result. Aural Moon means and has meant more to me than most people, even some of my closest friends, can possibly imagine.

Jim

[mossy]

Jim, I didn't know! Have sent something....of course. Glad you reached out, now is the time to put our money where our ears are.

[masque]

Donation Sent

[progscotty]

Hit me up again after the 1st of the month. I'm a pensioner now :-)

[TheFish]

That bites Jim. Sorry to hear that. I'll chip in.

[nicola]

WHITE IS BEAUTIFUL





GREEN IS BETTER

CHANGE COLOUR







LONG LIFE TO AURAL MOON



Jim, I wish you to solve your personal problem
age should be a value for experience and competence
it happened to me 2 times and with Covid I am 3
and I have solved or better now I am stopped but
soon I will start working again ...


think positive Jim

[nicola]

GREEN IS BETTER

CHANGE COLOUR

[mailotron]

I AGREE

[emperorken]

Hi Jim. I haven't been around lately, but I saw your post and couldn't help but to donate. I wish you all the best, both professionally and for the continuation of Aural Moon. Regards.

[podakayne]

saw this post earlier...sent ya something...will try a do that again each month. cannot WAIT til this is a memory...may we all land firmly on the other side of this outbreak and economic dive.

[progdirjim(Admin)]

Thank you so much to everyone who has stepped up! Things are looking good at the moment. Since I posted originally, I had two phone interviews for two separate positions that went well. One of those they fear I'm over qualified (I am, but I believe there is huge growth potential at the company), so that may be dead; the other I've spoken with both HR and the hiring manager, and now they want me to talk to the Regional Sales Director, so I think I am the preferred candidate there. I also have found two other positions, one I had applied for and heard nothing, but this morning discovered my roommate has a friend who works at the company, so I may have a better "in" there. Finally, a former employee of mine is working at a place that is hiring, and today submitted my resume for a position along with a recommendation. I am feeling much more hopeful now, I was truly afraid it would be much harder to find opportunities.

[snicolette]

All good news, Jim! Hope the right job opens up for you, you never know, you may like what comes your way a lot more than where you were.

[dnsrees]

Hey Jim.

What is the monthly outlay to keep Aural Moon afloat?

[progdirjim(Admin)]

Originally Posted by dnsrees

Hey Jim.

What is the monthly outlay to keep Aural Moon afloat?

$350 for the streaming bandwidth. Thanks to Vaxman's generosity, there is no bill for me for maintaining the website. Much of the music added are promos from bands/labels but I do buy downloads (legal only of course) when necessary - maybe another $50, I've always been a music collector so don't track that. At some point in the future, we are likely going to have to do a capital outlay for a new virtual machine - but that would be a one time expense. Likewise, there are various software tools (mp3 tagging, VNC to remotely access the station, etc) that are mostly free/shareware, but I've always tried to make appropriate donations to the creators dependent on how much value it adds.

I willingly spend my time (a LOT) on Aural Moon, said time is, of course, not compensated.

Jim

[nicola]

hi Jim
since Dnsrees introduced the most important topic
I delicately had brakes to do it ....
but Dnsrees is right and if you answered jim it means
that you can talk about it ..
if the biggest expense is streaming and we are talking
about 350 x 12, that is 4,200 dollars .. 3,800 euros approximately
to understand how many Greens are currently contributing to helping AM ?
and how long is it to cover the $ 4,200 ?
this is to understand if it is possible to cover the missing
difference with an additional contribution
and then I continue in my appeal to those who have not yet
changed their color from white to green and I turn especially
to those who attend AM continuously ...

[dnsrees]

Have you considered an option for a monthly donation? If the annual amount of the monthly donation commitment exceeds a listening level then the donor automatically qualifies for that level. If you can get 35 listeners to subscribe at $10/month your cost is covered.

[RogorMortis]

I've been absent for a while and didn't realise the situation. I am behind in my subscription, so I have made a payment today as compensation for my laziness. I was rather ill earlier this year and due to the virus danger I've been quiet. Things are under control here and the country is slowly opening up, so I'm now going to work every day. At the end of the year that will be over as i become an OAP.

[nicola]

.... This time I don't agree with Dnsrees,
I consider the current formula of Aural Moon the best ...
in the sense that I really appreciate the community spirit
of people who have the same musical passion and want to share it
by contributing to the management of the site with quotas
from the minimum to higher quotas according to one's own possibilities,
always remaining in the freedom to contribute ...
Aural Moon has also made a very important choice
which is to give up advertising which is a choice difficult
and at the same time winning because it allows you to have
full freedom of management and in these times where everything
is conditioned it becomes a value not to be missed.
therefore the fact of creating a sort of subscription as if it
were netfix or sky does not fascinate me at all ...
in the forum I had read in a post a few years ago
always on this topic of a proposal by Vaxman to charge requests
with quotas of cents and if the request for the same song
was repeated the quota increased ...
even here it did not seem to me a valid form of financing
in the sense that the requests would decrease
and Aural Moon would simply become a radio as there are many
and then the requests are already few today and
made by very few listeners and I never understood why.
so the conclusion is that those who regularly attend Aural Moon
should understand that if they want this happy island
to continue to exist they must also contribute
with at least minimum quotas and those who already contribute
if they can increase the quota
and then Jim should help us understand in what percentage
the full amount of the management of Aural Moon is covered.

[dnsrees]

Hi Nicola.

I'm not sure what about my proposal you object to. If a monthly contribution plan were available, it just means monthly cash flow. If you commit to a $50 annual contribution payable with a monthly payment of $4.17 you qualify for the 128k mp3 stream upfront. That might be more palatable for those who don't want to plunk down $50 at once. And it's an easy way for folks to bump up their contribution if they would like to.

I agree with you that Jim might want to share an expense versus revenue table to help patrons appreciate where things stand at any given moment. Most probably don't think much about it.

By thew way, would a donated car or boat be an OK donation. Just kidding...

[dnsrees]

Glad to see you back Rogor.