Charging for transcripts

[Neil Jaynes]

Only a small thing ?!

great that you are producing transcripts for podcasts, however, charging for them, okay I appreciate that work has gone into translation etc.

But charging nearly £1.00 !! come on :mad:

I have cancelled my subscription (to podcasts) as i find the commercialisation of your web site :mad:

Good luck and may the money role in

regards
Neil Jaynes 8)

[Ben]

Neil,
I am sorry you feel like this. The podcasts started free and remain free. The transcripts cost us money to produce (an external company does the transcription for us as it would take me absolutely hours) and we then invest many hours checking their version for accuracy, highlighting the best vocab and grammar, and producing a couple of exercises to help people learn Spanish. This is an optional extra and I think it is fair enough to cover the costs we incur in providing it. If you don't want it then you still get the podcasts for free, 3 different podcasts in fact!

This isn´t about the 'commercialisation' of the website, it´s about getting a little back so that we don't loose out by putting this optional extra in.

[Neil Jaynes]

This isn´t about the ´commercialisation´ of the website, it´s about getting a little back so that we don't loose out by putting this optional extra in.

Ben,

This is about commercialisation, otherwise transcripts would not be charged at 0.96p.

It's about you generating income - which in my mind 'is' commercialisation, verdad?

Not that I object to anyone making an honest 'buck' and as i say good luck for the future.

Regards
Neil

[ValenciaSon]

Well you can't please everyone.

[gary]

Ben

Niel's rediculous reaction must be quite upsetting for you and Marina. I want you to know that I have downloaded your first transcript 1 and I think its great value for money.

I certainly understand that running a website incurrs overheads - hosting, bandwidth, authoring, etc. I presume that you do the web authoring yourself - it would be interesting to cost out how much of your time you put in to the site and cost it out at £35 per hour. All this we get for nothing which is an amazing deal for the effort and the quality!

In Neils posts he says he is a sport freak - no commercialisation in sport then? One wonders if Neil pays for downloaded music - Apple is blatantly a commercial operation. Maybe he gets it off a P2P network and lets everyone else buy the CD and upload the ripped mp3s then convinces himself that he does not support commercialisation. I presume that Neil never has a drink as to pay for a half of lager would be supporting the commercialisation of the breweries - and according to his posts they let him into university - standards are definitely falling

Profit is the reward to invention, effort and risk and without it we would all still be growing our own food and keeping chickens (so commercialisation has saved us all from bird flu)

Please continue the paid subscription and I will continue to pay - gladly. And I hope you make a million at it, because you deserve to - its a great idea. And when you do please remember who your supported the project at its outset and invite us all to stay on your yatch at Puerto Banus....

Oh Neil ... I can say what I like because youre never coming back on to the site.... der...downloading the transcript is not compulsory... if you dont like it dont buy it, but dont be so stupid as to turn your back on one of the finest Spanish resources on the web.

You do not say where your favourite place is - I presume that its Tossa....

[Cat]

Hey I'm with the guys on this one.............Ben & Marina, you're doing a cracking job.

I'm learning loads. I love the mix of topics, and it's the next best thing to actually being in Spain. I have absolutely no problem with paying the very small fee. Time, effort & commitment costs money....and long live enterprise and people like yourselves who are prepared to try something different.

As they say....."don't let the b%£$%£ get you down!"

[ValenciaSon]

Hi Ben y Marina,

I purchased the usted/tu /propina transcript.

You must be rolling in the dough now!!:rolleyes:

[outpostbabu]

Regardless of what Neil says, I think a great many of us are very grateful that you and Marina take the time required to make these podcasts. That in itself is a commendable effort and I thank you. I have only just bought the transcript for the latest podcast (in response to Neil's post) and looked it over. How could anyone begrudge you for charging a mere $1.60 for this? It will hardly break the bank, and as you say, it's optional! One of the things I like best about the podcast is that it is "real". In class or in textbooks so many of the situations, even the verbal dialogs, are manufactured to help students learn a given tense or vocabulary for a certain situation. The podcasts, on the other hand, are the real thing. You get all the "uh"'s and "pues nada"'s of real speech plus a more colloquial and impromptu dialogue. Of course, because of this, there are some things I simply can't pick out from the conversation. I've rewound many times and listened carefully and many times that helps but to have an actual transcript here for those harder to decipher sentences is a real godsend. So I hope the uncalled for negative opinions of other doesn't bring you down. There are many of us who are very appreciative of your time and look forward to listening to future podcasts and buying future transcripts.

Gracias,

Ben (not THAT one)

[Ben]

Thanks very much for all of your support on this.

The site does involve a lot of hard work to design and maintain and any profit we may one day derive from things like the transcripts, (or my book sales and the google ads - forms of 'commercialisation' that ironicly have been on the blog for months) will go straight back into making NFS better, and into helping Marina and I get out into the rest of Spain more often to increase the diversity of the podcasts.

And Gary, of course, when I make the million you are all invited out on that yacht... you may be waiting some time though I'm afraid! :)

[Alan]

Maybe it would be an idea to list exactly how much you pay for each transcription and how much you receive from Lulu? I presume Lulu takes a fee for distributing your PDFs too. But this is none of my business - just thought it might stop some of these flames.

Charging for this is very fair if you get someone else to transcribe. In fact, even if you didn't it'd be fair. Who said you had to do this for free? Ben, I hope you realise that the vast majority of people on this site appreciate what you do for free rather than criticise what you don't.

Even if Ben and Marina were paid €5 per hour for the time they spent on this, we would ALL have to pay for podcasts.

Thanks Ben and Marina.

[gary]

I am still livid at the tone and idiocy of Neils post. I know that had it been directed at me I would have been so furious that I would have been unable to sleep for thinking about it

It states clearly in your Profile that you are a journalist and web journalism is just as valid a way to earn a living as print. More power to your elbow and keep going with the transcripts - I guarantee youll sell at least one per podcast to me.

Anyone who is bothered can go to the Lulu site and work out roughly how much you get for a single copy of the transcript Under no circumstances should you feel any pressure to reveal how much you make from the downloaded transcriptions - its your income and its private.

If anyone has any issue with the price they are free to keep their credit cards in their wallets and purses. To mis-quote a Spanish saying if you think the cakes are expensive eat soup!!

Anyhow congrats on achieving 100 forum members (maybe we need 101 before we celebrate now that Neil has gone)

[Ben]

I am still livid at the tone and idiocy of Neils post. I know that had it been directed at me I would have been so furious that I would have been unable to sleep for thinking about it

I have had better nights sleep yes!

[mini_mojo]

I'm in agreement with the majority here...I think Neil is out of line with his comments! The podcast is free, the transcripts are an extra. There are other podcasts that are charging for extras (such as for past episodes) in an attempt to defray some of the costs of producing and distributing their podcast.

I think Ben and Marina are doing a great job, and I look forward to each of their podcasts!

Keep up the good work!

[Alan]

Anyone who is bothered can go to the Lulu site and work out roughly how much you get for a single copy of the transcript Under no circumstances should you feel any pressure to reveal how much you make from the downloaded transcriptions - its your income and its private.

I just wanted to say that I didn't intend to place any pressure on Ben either - that's why I said that it was none of my business. But I don't think I made that clear enough.

I'll echo your congratulations on 100 forum members though. ¡Excellente!

[Pepino]

Well, speaking from my lofty position as (I believe) the 100th forum member (joined just last night), and without wanting to labour a point, I really feel a strong urge to throw my weight behind the recent posts supporting the fine way this site is run. It's a valuable resource and I wouldn't begrude the owners 90p of my cash every once in a while for such a quality value-added extra service.

PS. Can I suggest a "100th member" prize? A year's free transcripts perhaps? ¡ESTOY BROMEANDO! jijiji

Keep up the good work and charge whatever the hell you like for it. ;D

[Ben]

Welcome Pepino and thanks! Sorry , that prize is reserved for member no. 1000 ;)

[gary]

Be careful Ben you wouldnt want people to think you aspire to building a (commercial) empire - this is how Steve Jobs started!!

Please note my tongues firmly in cheek too....

[lori]

As one of the people that had requested these transcripts, I just wanted to send a big thank you to Ben and Marina. I was going to post that on the original thread about the transcripts, but then I started reading this thread. I can't believe this guy!! Is he serious?!!??? It's $1.60!!!
I am using these transcripts to help me improve my spanish. I enjoy listening to the podcasts but simply can't follow everything (enter typical whine "they are speaking so fast"). I pay money to take spanish classes; I buy spanish audiobooks on-line; I rent or go see spanish movies. Why would I ever expect this service for free?
Thank you for setting up the OPTIONAL transcripts Ben and Marina.
I just bought the first two. I would have done it sooner, but I had to save up my money. In fact, I won't be eating tomorrow...:D ;D

[gary]

I just wanted to say that I didn't intend to place any pressure on Ben either - that's why I said that it was none of my business. But I don't think I made that clear enough.

Alan, my comment wasnt aimed at you, please accept my apologies if you were offended in any way - it was merely a remark intended for malcontents the likes of Neil.

I dont drink coffee in Starbucks cos its way over priced - I could have three transcripts for the price of a single cup - but they have the right to charge what they like.

I am still, 24 hours later aghast at Neils post - and we all know he's still reading the forums and sulking - probably using a new name and pass - should Ben block his IP number? Naah not worth the effort

[pablo]

I want to see this resource continue, and even if someone gave me the transcripts for free, I'd pay the $1.60 per episode just to support the cause. It's invaluable. I've paid big buck for books and audio instructions, why not pay for transcriptions? If someone is providing a resource I value and can make some money off of it at the same time, I prefer it that way, as that makes it more likely the resource will last. There isn't too much altruism out there. And I don't care how much you pay for transcription or distribution, you are investing and risking your own cash and effort -- you deserve to earn off of it.

[cubix]

I appreciate everything ben and Marina do. I was appalled when I read Neil's first message.

The transcript is optional.. It's not like Ben and Marina are reminding you to buy the transcript every 30 seconds. I haven't downloaded a transcript, but I can see myself in the future buying a transcript for episodes that I struggle with.

Thanks for all that you do

Greg