Steve 'Flash' JuonIf you were thinking about becoming a RapReviews patron, now is a good time. The unfortunate fact of having 10,000+ reviews and articles hosted on one server is simple — each time we upload a new review it reduces the amount of storage we have left. The words themselves don’t take up a ton of space, but every album cover or image creates a cascading series of “here’s how WordPress will display on mobile or desktop” resized images that are also stored on the server. Eventually you just run out of space. We did this week and I had to contract another 50 GB of storage at about $20 a month when converted into US dollars.
We will soldier on regardless, but this increased cost means the current pledges of our wonderful patrons (thank you all) don’t quite cover the basic hosting any more. I can run RapReviews at a loss, perhaps even for a while, but I think the value of what we offer is worth supporting. We are a completely independent website. There is no giant media overlord that manages us as part of their portfolio of properties, offering us to advertisers as a “vertical slice” of urban content, then subtly telling us what we can or can’t write about.
Our current funding goal is $150 a month. That would give us the flex necessary to add more storage or upgrade any of the server components the next time we run into these issues. It seems like a pretty small amount when you consider the nearly quarter century of history we have built here with reviews, interviews, editorials and more. It’s also not “big baller” money. Nobody is going to be driving a Lamborghini or chartering a private yacht on $150 a month. Whether you support at $5, $10 or $20 a month you know it’s going right back into keeping RR up and running. Please consider joining our Patreon to help us cover our expenses.
Sincerely,
Steve ‘Flash’ Juon, RR EIC