Hi Jason,
The main point i was making in my 1st email was not really about the cost of making full detail available but more to the point as follows;

A subscribed singer can view full details of subscribed and non subscribed hosts gigs. Maybe if a host is only wanting to use W2S for the sole purpose of advertising their gig they may be thinking why subscribe (i know this to be a fact from 2 hosts in our local area). My sugestion is only allow non subscribed hosts gigs to show the very basics to anyone. This may prompt them to cough up. If i was a singer looking and there were 2 venues in the same area one showed in full the details and the other showed next to nothing i know which venue i would be going to. This would also be a way of David showing more support towards his subscribed hosts. Below is a copy of my original post, the follow up can be viewed in the ask david forum.

Cheers Tricia

Submitted by (a host):
Hi David,

Hope everthing is great at your end.

Just been having an in depth look at the new format. Whilst I can see where you are going as a subscriber and host I can see an area that i think that hosts that subscribe are being let down. I will try and put my point accross on number form.

1. When a non subscribed singer wants to see whats on in our wonderful world of karaoke they only get the absolute bare details.

2. Non subcribed host can still put all their info in for subscribers to read in full.(maybe they should only be allowed to enter the bare details as shown to non subscribers)

3. As hosts that have paid subscriptions it would be an added advantage to us to allow all our information to be shown to everyone. I know that this may meen less singers subscribing but it may mean that the non subcribed hosts will subscribe so the are on an evel level with the subscribed hosts.

As hosts our main objective in using W2S is to get our info out there to build our clientelle. Limiting our info is detremental to this objective and we are now recieving less than we did with the new system than we did from
the old in the area of advertising our gigs.

Thanks for your time David.
Yours in Karaoke

REPLY from David
You are, of course, spot on in your assessment of the shortcomings of the site, and many thanks for taking the time to write it all so succinctly.

In about two weeks (as soon as the competition ends) there'll be a new feature for hosts, allowing them to make their gigs 'public' so that even non-subscribers can see them. Of course, this puts the burden on financially supporting the site back on hosts, and it was for this reason that I have delayed this feature of the new site.

Essentially, a non-subscribed host will pay more to make his gig 'public' than a host who has subscribed - so that hosts are better to subscribe if they are making a gig public for more than a short period of time. If a gig that has been made 'public' stops running, the unused money will go back into the host's W2S account for use on something else (or refund).

However, the need is still to spread the subscriptions over as many people as possible, so the next months will continue to build the incentives to subscribe - after all, it's only with subscriptions that W2S can do more to help both hosts and singers.

It is very interesting that you've independently detailed the forthcoming feature for hosts so accurately, and suggests that this is going to be something that hosts really do welcome - so many thanks for sending your thoughts...


Submitted by Tricia on 11-10-2005

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