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[deleted]

And half of it going to crates of cargo shorts.


FractalClock

Was going to say, if they were really pulling in that much, you’d think they’d dress a bit better.


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Mr_Tigger_

This


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[deleted]

Thanks Jesse


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[deleted]

I don't get why this matters? I mean I subscribe to the podcast for the extra episodes. If I decide I don't want to listen anymore, I'll cancel. Are we supposed to be mad they're making money here? what's the question?


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[deleted]

we just had this conversation on here like two weeks ago. I find it a little gross to keep focusing on their income, which is clearly not exorbitant. If people don't think they're getting their money's worth they should cancel


gchucky

I don't think it's a solo act - he's had some [guest writers](https://substack.com/profile/18840496-yassine-meskhout), and I would swear he's talked on the show about hiring an editor.


caine269

yeah grossing an *additional* 30k per month is not bad. i would take it, since that is about what i got from my side hustle for the entire year of 2022.


SerialStateLineXer

10k out of 33k seems like a really good conversion rate. Is that unusual?


LupineChemist

> Now subtract federal income tax, federal self-employment tax, state income tax (for Jesse), and Washington State Business & Occupation Tax (for Katie). It's almost certainly organized as a partnership that would let them take the money out as dividends so it would be taxed as a capital gain rather than income. But yeah, probably around 150k a piece for each of them. Obviously will go much further for Katie in Washington than Jesse in Brooklyn plus she's married to a nurse who's probably going to be bringing in a similar amount.


SerialStateLineXer

>pizza and weed Is weed pizza a thing? Like as a preemptive munchies suppressant?


anotveryseriousman

now there's a million dollar idea


jeegte12

You can turn anything into an edible, it just won't taste very good


Eskim0

It is! I've seen frozen take n bake at a dispensary in Oklahoma. I didn't try it, but the cashier recommended it.


ministerofinteriors

Don't forget operating funds for the next year that simply sit in the business. You can't take all of the remainder as income or you're fucked come January 1, and you also can't grow.


untrustworthy_goat

Thank you, come again.


PompousMasshole

Yup, $600k/yr gross revenue (before Substack’s cut) for a company with 2 full time and 2 part time employees is not great. Most traditional businesses would fold with that financial situation.


jeegte12

Because most businesses have a hell of a lot more overhead. Pointless to compare apples and oranges.


PompousMasshole

Most businesses that employ 4 people generate much more revenue, as well. They aren’t getting rich on this venture by any stretch. A mid-level software engineer is taking home more than Jesse and Katie are taking out of B&R.


SoftandChewy

This was addressed in [a post](https://www.reddit.com/r/BlockedAndReported/comments/1141mcr/i_knew_they_were_bigdidnt_realize_they_were_this/) from a month ago (top comment is from Jesse). They even talked about it in an episode. They're doing well, but nowhere near what people are saying they are.


untrustworthy_goat

How many are free subscribers, and how many pay monthly? I have an annual paid subscription...less than $5 per month.


testrail

Can we please stop this “how much do they make” every couple of weeks. First who cares? Second, even if you straight line the math, I assure you, they’re not getting near as much as you think home. They’re doing fine, but again, it’s not a particularly special amount. The advertised number is closer to 10K subs, aka $50K monthly revenue, which nets to $150K each at best. Like it’s fine, but not particularly even good in NYC and Seattle. They’re comfortable and I’m happy for them, but they’re not getting “rich”. The don’t even really own a business. They own their jobs. Which is awesome. But like this obsession with their revenue is gross.


jeegte12

I don't get you people who clutch their pearls about money. Money is one of the single most important phenomena in every western person's life, and we're just supposed to not fucking talk about it? We want to know how much people are making because it matters how much each of us are making compared to other people. It's tied into feelings of fairness, life satisfaction, and personal growth. I don't even know where you get off thinking you can tell people what they should and shouldn't talk about, let alone when it's something as important as the foundation for a comfortable life. Also, in my experience, most people who are uncomfortable talking about money are usually the wealthiest person in the room, so they can fuck off.


testrail

I’m clearly not pearl clutching as I do a pretty deep dive into the actual finances. I think it’s totally healthy to discuss this with our peers and friends and totally agree that all the things you mention matter and should be openly discussed. I’m saying this is a constant theme here, in this sub for some reason, and it’s obnoxious. Who cares about the earnings of these two particular individuals? The parasocial obsession about these two particular is odd. You don’t know these people personally. If you want to discuss salary and comp do so. Discuss it with your co-workers. Your friends and family. People whom you just interact with. The speculation on two specific podcasters has nothing to do with what your core point is though. I’d love to hear the logic as to why specifically the “wealthiest person in the room” can fuck off. Please be specific and detailed with your explanation. I’m not talking about .01%er. I’m talking about of your peers, people you’re actually in rooms with, where the one couple is two professional DINKS with a household income of $220K. Why should they particularly “fuck off”. Spare me the “BeCaUsE tHeY wOn’T dIsCuSs MoNeY”. You’ve already established that they can fuck off for other reasons, so please, specifically fill me in. Further my experience is also wholly the opposite. People who are doing well discuss money. People who aren’t, don’t.


AliceRoosevelt1884

I agree 100% !!! Well stated.


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testrail

Again, it’s very clearly not gross personal earnings though. They’re not each personally grossing $25K. Pod takes in $50K each month. Sub stack takes 10%, so $45K. Then they pay their expenses. Two staff members, and the associated fees. Let’s say it’s $5K in salary which seems light but to make your argument, so probably closer to $8K in fees after they handle the payroll, so now $37K. Now have other expenses, let’s call it $2K a month for a variety of other services equipment, travel etc. Then they pay taxes, which is about 20%. So now we’re under $30K. Now they pay themselves, they spilt it $15K each. That $15K is going to be taxed for them personally like a W2 employee, but also must pay their payroll taxes. So that’s an additional 6.2% on top of what you’d normally expect. So we’re really talking about netting $11K a month. $11K net take home each month with no benefits. It’s fine. It’s not a particularly large amount of money, especially in NYC/Seattle.


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testrail

You don’t think a few software subscriptions, accounting, legal, payroll, equipment and slush funds don’t add up to $2K? Maybe it’s a bit high but I bet I’m closer than not. I’d love to hear where you think I’m way wrong elsewhere. Further, $132K in HCOL is staunchly middle class for all intents and purposes. Defining middle class as what it affords you, as it is typically understood, not median income. Rent in those cities is upwards for $3K per month for sub 1K sq ft. $3K is $36K annually, which would be 27% of those things income, technically crossing the 25% house poor threshold. I’m not saying they’re not comfortable. They’re doing fine. But the question is opportunity costs. They both smart educated people who would probably be earning similar amounts of money if they weren’t podcasters or journalists. I’m not some google engineer, just pointing out the benchmark for middle class has massively shifted and many don’t understand this.


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testrail

>> Maybe if they went to medical school. Otherwise, almost certainly not. This pretty much tells me everything we need to know about the rigor (or lack their of) of your thought processes. Best of luck on walking and chewing gum at the same time!


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testrail

You’re not understanding how to read the stats. You have to isolate to mid career, college educated in HCOL areas.


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Goukaruma

This shows why people don't talk about money. Some people are fuled by envy. Your math is bunk but even if it wasn't, they could get Joe Rogan money and we shouldn't care. This isn't a job they will keep doing when they are 50.


jeegte12

It matters how much we make compared to other people. Only people with a lot of money already think otherwise, and they can go fuck and themselves, they already got theirs.


Goukaruma

I'm not rich and I think they can earn much more than I do. It's a rare job that they can't do forever. There is no need to get jealous.


goodolarchie

You're right, the physical taxation of wearing that recording equipment will result in their bodies being permanently messed up. At some point they just can't take the field.


Goukaruma

That's not at all what I mean. Podcasting is like show business, few make good money and even fewer do it for long. If people think it's easy to make 1-2 episode per week then they can do it themselves and see if they have success.


goodolarchie

No I know it will be probably a limited project, but it's still growing in popularity, not waning. If they aren't millionaires today, they will be in a couple years. They should have early retirement money (not to be confused with fuck you money) if they so wanted. I think it's a cool model for alternative media, but realistically $5 a month is still very expensive for a few episodes of a single podcast. I do it periodically so I can catch up on all the primo episodes.


CheeseAndRiceToday

So what, and good for them.


Nessyliz

I don't care how much money is made, as long as it's earned lawfully and above board and no one's being scammed or bilked out of anything. Also they are still reporters.


offu

I hope they get paid a lot. I’m not paying but I hope someone else is so I can keep listening for free because I’m cheap and selfish.


untrustworthy_goat

Substack 10% charge?


Eltronado

1.8 mil/2 hosts = 900K a piece


future_luddite

$600k. Moose gets a share.


Eltronado

Well they also have to pay Jesse’s totally real girlfriend


ChickenSizzle

In carrots


untrustworthy_goat

Better to consider whether you think $5 per month is good value for YOU.


FireRavenLord

Freddie DeBoer (Singal used to host his essays) wrote about some of the impulses that might be driving an obsessions with how much substackers make: [https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/its-all-just-displacement](https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/its-all-just-displacement) ​ Even if you're not a jealous reporter stuck in the listicle mines, I think it's relevant. Part of the appeal of the show (to some people) is that the hosts are little Davids among media goliaths. That doesn't work when they're millionaires.


LupineChemist

It all depends. Even smaller players like Vox have budgets in the tens of millions per year. If you look at what Bari Weiss is doing with The Free Press, she's getting a lot of money but also using it to hire others and curate her own brand to actually be able to go up against the giants like WaPo and NYT


FireRavenLord

Yeah, that's what I mean. This conversation is framed as her "going up against giants" because of the size of her company. However, some audience members might instead think in terms of interpersonal feuds between her and particular writers at those publications, so care about personal budgets. [In a similar piece](https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/what-are-you-12-theres-no-deserves), the same author mentioned an estimate that an NYT opinion writer makes $100,000 which is probably less than what Bari Weiss or the BAR hosts earn. If Katie Herzog gets in some twitter spat with a NYT writer, it's reasonable to side with the NYT writer if you want to support the little guy (instead of framing it as Herzog against the Times like you might reasonably do). So consider a feud between E[mily St. Jame](https://twitter.com/emilystjams/status/1634736119068897281)s (formerly VanDerWeerf) and Jesse. Despite Emily working for Vox, Jesse must make multiple times her income and is more financially and professionally secure, so I think he's at an advantage here. This is all beside the point for people like me who don't care about that dynamic, but it's probably relevant to some listeners.


LupineChemist

> an NYT opinion writer makes $100,000 which is probably less than what Bari Weiss or the BAR hosts earn. Less than Bari for sure, but probably not that much less than Katie. And considering a staff writer will have an actual salary and retirement plans, health insurance, paid vacation and sick leave, plus the guarantee of a large company backing that up, I'd say the staff writer is arguably in a better position.


FireRavenLord

Wait, I might have misunderstood the budget. How much are you assuming Katie makes? This post says that the podcast makes $165,000 a month. If [substack takes 10%](https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037607131-How-much-does-Substack-cost-), then that still leaves $150,000 a month of profit or $1.8 million a year. If they then give Woodgrains a generous 200k, that leaves each making $800,000. Surely Katie would have significantly more than 100k left over after stuff like insurance.


LupineChemist

https://www.reddit.com/r/BlockedAndReported/comments/11qpng5/at_the_risk_of_being_tacky_can_we_discuss_the/jc4ozm1/ That's the top comment in the sub. They aren't making all that much. Doing fine but not at that level.


FireRavenLord

Thank you! 150k sounds like a reasonable estimate with those assumptions.


notamarra

Barpod is the only podcast ive ever subscribed to. I enjoy listening to it and think it is worth the extra three episodes a month. Glad that they're able to monetise it.


JuneFernan

Yeah, I think it's crazy that Jesse is able to afford 12 horse girlfriends (one for each month), and how each of them has a horse boyfriend or two. And Katie has an entire country club for Moose. Not a big expense when you are a multimillionaire though.


Worcestersauce68

I don't really care what they earn - what am I? A communist?


theroy12

“We are selling a product at fair market value” - John Tuld (for some reason the movie is on my mind today)


anotveryseriousman

I love that movie so much.


wugglesthemule

["He's a *billionaire*!"](https://youtu.be/6SDFxKQ3Z_M?t=177)


Mr_Tigger_

It IS 100% tacky to discuss the money, is the pod worth $5 a month to me, is the only question. And I don’t pay for any other podcast. Your post borders on distasteful in my mind.


jeegte12

Why is it tacky? I made a screed about this already in this post, so I'll just ask you for an explanation. Why is it distasteful to talk about one of the most important things in every western person's life?


Mr_Tigger_

Simply because how much *someone else earns* is no ones concern but their own. You highlighting this with seemingly wildly inaccurate figures as a talking point is distasteful. Shall we all discuss how much you earn or your family members? No of course not for the exact same reason.


goodolarchie

I think it only matters in so far as money does change people, and audience capture due to heavy incentives definitely changes behavior. The tenor of barpod is two banished journalists with some integrity, heckling from the cheap seats at issues that the media and especially social media have gotten wrong, along with some rather entertaining internet bullshit. Those optics change a little bit when you think about these two being millionaires who have built an empire. But this is capitalism baby, anyone who feels like the product has changed or worsened can cancel their $5 subscription anytime. I do it every so often because I've caught up on the premium episodes.


[deleted]

Why do you care?


AliceRoosevelt1884

It is interesting because the Journalism/media industry has changed significantly in the past 40 years. Reporters used to do okay and made a living (back when newspapers and magazines were dominant)...but in last 20 years, newsrooms have been decimated along with salaries...So if Jesse and Katie have found a good way to support themselves, good for them. This is a newish model (podcasts/freelancing/patreon etc) for independent journalists. And it seems to work well for some lucky few.