Escape venture by Wade Wallace launches (~old CyclingTips)

[alexihnen]

Thought I'd get a new thread going on this. I'll reiterate what I said elsewhere: I completely understand those not wanting to pony up for another monthly/annual subscription fee. But if you care at all about cycling journalism, I think this is a no brainer. I counted 22 journalists and photographers on the list of contributors. For $99 a year, I'm giving each of them each $4.50 toward their year of work. I'm almost embarrassed it's so little!

Here's the list of contributors:
Dave Rome, Iain Treloar, Matt de Neef, Dane Cash, Kate Wagner, Cosmo Catalano, Abby Skujina Mickey, Caley Fretz, José Been, Ronan Mc Laughlin, Rob English, Wade Wallace, Emily Schaldach, Rupert Guinness, Ashley Gruber, Jered Gruber, Jonny Long, Kit Nicholson, Kristof Ramon, Andy McGrath, Jeff Bartlett, James Huang

https://escapecollective.cc

[jimoots]

I'm in.

Also if, like me, you freak out when you see a credit card form (I don't carry my wallet anywhere) you can pay via Apple pay on your phone.

[jimoots]

Originally Posted by alexihnen

Here's the list of contributors:
Dave Rome, Iain Treloar, Matt de Neef, Dane Cash, Kate Wagner, Cosmo Catalano, Abby Skujina Mickey, Caley Fretz, José Been, Ronan Mc Laughlin, Rob English, Wade Wallace, Emily Schaldach, Rupert Guinness, Ashley Gruber, Jered Gruber, Jonny Long, Kit Nicholson, Kristof Ramon, Andy McGrath, Jeff Bartlett, James Huang

Did you add James in? His name isn't on the site and he's on the record as saying he's not involved in the Placeholders project, and many assumed this too.

[AngryScientist]

So, will there be any free content or is all of it behind a paywall?

I feel like a lot of the success cycling tips had came from the number of eyeballs that goes along with a free site. If the new venture is subscription only, I wonder how many subs they will manage to attract?

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by jimmy-moots

Did you add James in? His name isn't on the site and he's on the record as saying he's not involved in the Placeholders project, and many assumed this too.

check his newest, newest insta post....

[Hilltopwalters]

Take my money. Idk where to even look for decent cycling journalism now a days.

[Upcountry]

I'm in for giving it a go. I don't love 100% of the cast, but they are worth supporting as a whole, and it seems inevitable that we have some niche little media networks, not built on the back of advertising.

[weiwentg]

Well, I was subscribed to CyclingTips, and I canceled that subscription rather than give Outside my money. So it's a wash. I blame Robin Thurston.

[alexihnen]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

So, will there be any free content or is all of it behind a paywall?

I feel like a lot of the success cycling tips had came from the number of eyeballs that goes along with a free site. If the new venture is subscription only, I wonder how many subs they will manage to attract?

From the Escape website:

Will you have a paywall?
Yep.

We’ll have what’s called a metered paywall. That means that everybody can access a handful of stories every month, after which the paywall hits. Members get access to everything, of course.

Podcasts will mostly remain free, though we are considering making some special episodes for members only.

The paywall is important. It makes you a consumer, not a commodity. It’s also key to making enough money to support all the work that goes into a quality media outlet.

[Jaybee]

The Gruber photos alone are worth the price of admission, ATMO.

[Turkle]

I'm going to probably subscribe for a bit to see what's what. I recently canceled subscriptions to a few publications that I wasn't reading any more so I have some funds free. Always good to support independent journalism.

I've worked at many media companies in my life, and I've been through the exact sort of PE-backed bust-out operations that killed all those great cycling journo sites many times. I have the strongest sympathies for the journalists that are striking out on their own. (Defector is another great example.)

Good luck to them - and Allez!

[jimoots]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

So, will there be any free content or is all of it behind a paywall?

I feel like a lot of the success cycling tips had came from the number of eyeballs that goes along with a free site. If the new venture is subscription only, I wonder how many subs they will manage to attract?

Wade's on the record as saying he's crunched the numbers and based on his experience with CT he thinks it doable. If they don't get a critical mass in this 'kickstarter period' they won't move ahead with the project. That's what the progress bar is about on the site.

I imagine there will be some free content in the short term, at least, in an effort to hook new readers in and keep up with subscriber churn.

These guys aren't idiots, I think we're in safe hands.

[weaponsgrade]

I'm in. CT was my go to. Glad to see James on board. I remember stumbling across his AngryAsian website years ago while trying to figure out how to service a RockShox. Best of luck to the crew.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

The Gruber photos alone are worth the price of admission, ATMO.

Absolutely. I’m in.

[pelicanrando]

I joined and hope it gets off the ground! I'm happy to see Kate, James and Cosmo on the team as they are three of my favorite cycling journalists.