I think LTT makes up a majority of Vessel views...

[givingtnt]

Just now, KuJoe said:

You can't plan our clients. If you could running a business would be so much easier than it is.

yes you can ! hell my dad built a huge exel calender around this

its basically 20% of his job now.  (he's basically an IT team leader, though its a bit different)

[givingtnt]

Just now, SurfingNinjas said:

@LinusTech, In the beginning of the Nerd Sports trailer it says "A LINUS MEDIA Group Production"... If all you meant in the previous video is that all LMG content would be free, how is this different? 

like he said this is basically Vessel paying LMG to create content for them. instead of LMG making it on their own, for their channels

in this case, Vessel is a client.

[LinusTech]

14 hours ago, aselwyn1 said:

i guess vessel has noticed that the ONLY reason ANYONE goes to there site is LTT and once our free subscriptions are gone and from what i have read MOST will not resub expressively because of this so well done Vessel on digging your own grave. 

 

also those boost videos done for intel are not behind any paywall. its just exclusively on the intel site witch is fine

I can't really comment on Vessel's traffic since they don't even share those numbers with me.. But in response to the distinction between us producing something for Intel (which they have a license to do whatever they want with) and us producing something for Vessel (which they have a license to do what they want with).. It seems kind of arbitrary. 

 

Just because someone has contracted us to make something ENTERTAINING does not mean the business relationship is fundamentally different.

 

With that said, I've already acknowledged and apologized for the crappy communication about this.. Sorry man

[KuJoe]

3 minutes ago, givingtnt said:

yes you can ! hell my dad built a huge exel calender around this

its basically 20% of his job now.  (he's basically an IT team leader, though its a bit different)

I wish I had that kind of crystal ball, for my industry it's impossible to even guess how many new clients I will get per month let alone a year from now. For a company like LMG it's probably even harder considering their primary business is not client based.

[Hazy125]

31 minutes ago, LinusTech said:

I can't really comment on Vessel's traffic since they don't even share those numbers with me.. But in response to the distinction between us producing something for Intel (which they have a license to do whatever they want with) and us producing something for Vessel (which they have a license to do what they want with).. It seems kind of arbitrary. 

 

Just because someone has contracted us to make something ENTERTAINING does not mean the business relationship is fundamentally different.

 

With that said, I've already acknowledged and apologized for the crappy communication about this.. Sorry man

 

You're still stuck in this thread... I'm sorry man. Good answers though

[NamelessTed]

Just want to jump in and give a big shout out to LinusTech for taking all the extra time to come in here and respond to everybody that he has and to try to clarify what is going on as much as he can. I should also remind him that he probably needs to get some sleep because I understand that they are filming the new Scrapyard Wars all week this week and he needs to get his rest so he doesn't forget to factor in the cost of the whole machine, and not just the GPU when determining price to performance :).

 

But seriously, when i saw the the new Vessel pay thing yesterday I was only slightly "upset" because I wanted to know if there was a better way to give LMG my $20 instead of giving it to Vessel. But if their partnership with Vessel means that they are able to create something that they otherwise wouldn't have been able to fund then I saw that is great news. Anybody that is acting entitled about not getting shit for free need to grow up, stop acting like a spoiled 12 year old. Seriously.

 

If you don't think Linus and all the people at LMG don't work their ass off to create content then you are out of your mind. Do they make mistakes? Sure. Could they make more stuff? Maybe. Could they make better videos? Probably. But this is the real world, its not perfect. They haven't even been in their new office for a year and they have had a lot of growing pains. It wasn't that long ago that the whole show was Linus and Slick in a garage wearing multiple sweatshirts and a jacket talking about computer stuff. They have come a long way.

 

Just want to add that I hope you guys keep up the good work. I have really enjoyed watching a lot of the content that you guys put out. Scrapyard Wars are an absolute joy to watch. Holy Shit and the Workshop are both great newer formats that I have enjoyed. That Fallout build was crazy, not to mention the Christmas build with glitter. Just keep doing what excites you and I am sure that excitement will shine through.

[LinusTech]

4 minutes ago, NamelessTed said:

Just want to jump in and give a big shout out to @LinusTech for taking all the extra time to come in here and respond to everybody that he has and to try to clarify what is going on as much as he can. I should also remind him that he probably needs to get some sleep because I understand that they are filming the new Scrapyard Wars all week this week and he needs to get his rest so he doesn't forget to factor in the cost of the whole machine, and not just the GPU when determining price to performance :).

 

But seriously, when i saw the the new Vessel pay thing yesterday I was only slightly "upset" because I wanted to know if there was a better way to give LMG my $20 instead of giving it to Vessel. But if their partnership with Vessel means that they are able to create something that they otherwise wouldn't have been able to fund then I saw that is great news. Anybody that is acting entitled about not getting shit for free need to grow up, stop acting like a spoiled 12 year old. Seriously.

 

If you don't think Linus and all the people at LMG don't work their ass off to create content then you are out of your mind. Do they make mistakes? Sure. Could they make more stuff? Maybe. Could they make better videos? Probably. But this is the real world, its not perfect. They haven't even been in their new office for a year and they have had a lot of growing pains. It wasn't that long ago that the whole show was Linus and Slick in a garage wearing multiple sweatshirts and a jacket talking about computer stuff. They have come a long way.

 

Just want to add that I hope you guys keep up the good work. I have really enjoyed watching a lot of the content that you guys put out. Scrapyard Wars are an absolute joy to watch. Holy Shit and the Workshop are both great newer formats that I have enjoyed. That Fallout build was crazy, not to mention the Christmas build with glitter. Just keep doing what excites you and I am sure that excitement will shine through.

Thanks. Always nice to read messages like this

[CGurrell]

2 hours ago, LinusTech said:

1. Yes. The exclusivity window is very long, however. Years.

 

2. It is already a series. We've shot 5 episodes.

 

3. We've hired additional staff (both contract and regular) and shifted job duties around to fill the gaps. It's certainly "impacted" other content, but I don't believe it's made it worse. Having Taran edit some Channel Super Fun videos, for example, hasn't bothered anyone, and in fact no one seemed to noticed based on the comments on the Odious Censor video.

 

4. No updates. The original internal name for Nerd Sports was "Channel Super Fun Sports" when we were considering doing it ourselves, and when we originally pitched it as an idea to Vessel, but throughout the negotiation process the concept changed to the point where it was so different from Channel Super Fun and all of our other properties that we decided it needed to be its own brand with only "A Linus Media Group production" tying it to everything else we do.

 

5. Yeah I've seen those complaints about the room water cooling video. My response to anyone saying that video is unnecessary is this: "Go read the comments under that video and tell me again that it was unnecessary. Half the people down there STILL don't understand."

 

6. Unlikely. We make what we're excited and passionate about. Sometimes it's a review, sometimes it's a Holy Shit episode. It's an idea we've been kicking around literally for years, but it's never stuck. I love the variety and I think (by and large) our audience does too.

 

7. Soon. We've taken this entire week of producing regular content to focus on shooting Scrapyard Wars Season 4.

 

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer Linus. I understand it's hard to answer everybody's questions, but you certainly took your time answering mine and I thank you for it (again for some reason... but thanks :P). Seriously though, I love what you guys are doing and intend to support you in any way I can, a view I'm sure the majority of the community shares. We're always looking forward to new content from you guys, whether it's a brand new series like Nerd Sports, a sequel like Scrapyard Wars, a Channel Super Fun games night video (For the record, I didn't noticed that the Odious Censor video wasn't edited by the CSF editor),

 

We know you guys work really hard, and the majority of us appreciate it and understand how much work goes into a video. And it's also evident that you guys absolutely love your jobs. I'm not gonna say don't ever change, because change is good, and you should know that most of us will stand by you no matter what (unless you transfer completely from YouTube to an American TV Network. Then I'll never get to watch you at all... I'd probably move to the US at that point just to be able to watch). 

 

Just so you know as well, like everybody else, I'm pretty damn hyped for Scrapyard Wars. It's funny, I see the configurations of the systems in SYW and I always get the best performer wrong, the result always surprise me, and that's a pretty damn entertaining thing. You guys really found a goldmine of ideas in SYW, I'm pretty sure I'd still be watching until series 2000 or something

 

Keep up the good work. We're rooting for you

[amintha1992]

@LinusTech and the rest of LMG are in full ON PR mode right now.

 

I feel bad for you guys. so many misinformed and entitled people to reply to.

[Misanthrope]

5 hours ago, LinusTech said:

As always the criticism of me and Linus Media Group is a mixture of both valid points and false conclusions that were drawn by making assumptions.

I'll start with the assumption that we didn't bring on new staff proactively. We have hired both employees and contract workers to help bridge the gap while we've been dealing with Nerd Sports. My wife was brought on in January to help with planning and pre-production, we've added a new guy who isn't past his probation yet, and therefore hasn't appeared on camera or on our site who has been helping with general organization and pre-production (as well as helping us get the warehouse organization under control), we brought back this guy:

 

 

who, as you can see, has worked for us on a contract basis before, we've brought on a new contract writer for Fast As Possible, we have a very promising in person interview on Friday for a video editor position, and we're hiring a part-timer to help with LTT episode planning who should be starting any time now. In addition to these hires, we brought anywhere from 2-6 contract workers with us to each of the Nerd Sports shoots to handle extra camera operation, sound, and even episode talent.

 

So yes, our organization could be better, and we're scrambling a little bit, but it's as much to do with rapid growth as anything else. Believe it or not (and anyone who's ever run a business will know this) it's NEVER as simple as "why not just hire more people". You have to FIND the right people, negotiate a deal with the right people, work around the schedules and existing commitments of the right people, and finally TRAIN the right people. It often ends up in the short term being several times more work than just doing it yourself. 

 

I don't expect any sympathy for this. I'm just explaining it so that people will hopefully better understand what's going on behind the scenes.

 

The proof for this is fairly easy. In the one part of the email newsletter Vessel sent out that was actually MADE by Linus Media Group Inc (the 15 second trailer) the series is referred to as Nerd Sports. There is no mention of Channel Super Fun, Linus Tech Tips, or Tech Quickie. This was 100% intentional because Nerd Sports is a new property that was produced by Linus Media Group for Vessel as part of an exclusive licensing deal.

 

 

Well first, I do appreciate the reply and clarification in the midst of it.

 

About your expansion plan that's fair enough, I can concede that I failed to consider NDAs or other reasons you didn't revealed that.

 

And the email thing yes I have my reservations but I have maintained that Vessel well, probably fucked you over with it.

 

I guess the only other point was the issue of this being LMG content or not (regardless of who finances it seems very clearly produced by you including creative direction) but you can address that (or not at all) at a later time.

[LAwLz]

5 hours ago, LinusTech said:

-snip-

 

5 hours ago, LinusTech said:

-snip-

I totally understand that, and that's what I have been arguing this entire time. You did not expect anyone to pay you for exclusive content so at the time you actually meant all content. Since then things has changed. I don't understand how you can say it was poorly worded when at the time you actually meant exactly what you said, but since then things has changed. Was it "poorly worded" because it did not cover your butt for changes in the future that you did not expect to happen anyway?

At the time people were upset because they thought you would leave YouTube and make exclusive content for Vessel. Saying over and over again that it would not happen, and using broad terms like "all LMG content will be on YouTube" calmed people down. If you had "worded it better" by saying things like "all of our current shows will continue to be on YouTube but there is the possibility for future series to be exclusive" then I am sure you would just have been adding fuel to the fire, and your goal was to kill it.

 

Anyway, I am not as mad/upset at you as my posts in this thread might make it seem and I do appreciate the apology. I still think you are going back on your word though, and that it is a dick move but whatever. It's a Linus sized dick move so it won't do any harm.

Right now I am more annoyed by your fans who are calling me childish, stupid, entitled and would want a down vote button implemented so that they could show how much they disapprove of me. But that's what I have come to expect.

[PPA]

I could see where making a new series for Vessel could make sense, but to take one we all enjoyed and putting it behind a paywall feels kind of "bait and switch"ish..

[cragger89]

Just now, PPA said:

I could see where making a new series for Vessel could make sense, but to take one we all enjoyed and putting it behind a paywall feels kind of "bait and switch"ish..

"one we all enjoy"?

 

They're playing sports and they aren't going to stop doing usual Channel Super Fun stuff, unless you're confusing the new scrap yard wars with it?

[PPA]

Just now, cragger89 said:

"one we all enjoy"?

 

They're playing sports and they aren't going to stop doing usual Channel Super Fun stuff, unless you're confusing the new scrap yard wars with it?

I may be wrong but wasn't it stated that Scrapyard wars 4 was funded by Vessel, thus it being Vessel content now?

[cragger89]

Just now, PPA said:

I may be wrong but wasn't it stated that Scrapyard wars 4 was funded by Vessel, thus it being Vessel content now?

Scrap Yard Wars is not going to be put behind a pay wall and then not be released on Youtube for free. You've misinterpreted something.

[PPA]

7 minutes ago, cragger89 said:

Scrap Yard Wars is not going to be put behind a pay wall and then not be released on Youtube for free. You've misinterpreted something.

So to recalibrate my post, i did however misread Linus first post with combining "Bank roll the whole thing" (Vessel) and a new Scrapyard wars coming out, which i was understanding to coming out on Vessel.. Either way, My main point is that for anyone to think that anything done for Vessel will be original is crap, Nerd Sports is a rebrand of CSF and will include content that WOULD have been on CSF. This goes for how i feel about the other stuff. I just believe it to be a bad move with putting your original content behind a paywall and then saying its two separate entities.

[cragger89]

Just now, PPA said:

So to recalibrate my post, i did however misread Linus first post with combining "Bank roll the whole thing" (Vessel) and a new Scrapyard wars coming out, which i was understanding to coming out on Vessel.. Either way, My main point is that for anyone to think that anything done for Vessel will be original is crap, Nerd Sports is a rebrand of CSF and will include content that WOULD have been on CSF. This goes for how i feel about the other stuff. I just believe it to be a bad move with putting your original content behind a paywall and then saying its two separate entities.

 

But it isn't, Vessel approached LMG and have commissioned them to make some original content for them which LMG would not have been able to afford for a general CSF release.

 

But, whatever.

[PPA]

1 minute ago, cragger89 said:

 

But it isn't, Vessel approached LMG and have commissioned them to make some original content for them which LMG would not have been able to afford for a general CSF release.

 

But, whatever.

I'm not arguing with anything stated, more or less giving my two cents. I just feel like its when some one buys a built car (souped up if you wish), puts a sticker on it, and says they built it, is basically what they're doing here. Sounds like a rebrand of original content just to be pay to play, and saying its something we've never done before.

 

end

//End of line

[cragger89]

Cool bro.

[Thony]

On 08/03/2016 at 0:56 AM, Starelementpoke said:

Most likely cause he´s probably the only one who pushed hard for it, with the 1 week early videos and all. Other´s (Like seananners) would have videos uploaded at the same time, or only a day early at best.

True but then people who pay for vessel and only get to see it a day earlier dont really get any value for theor money. 

 

Seeing it a week earlier makes it sonewhat acceptable.

[-BirdiE-]

On 3/8/2016 at 5:16 AM, Paragon_X said:

Well the people that are complaining do not know how the world works yet. You expect, high quality material for free and ON time.
You can only choose 2 of the above

I mean free is nice but don't bitch out when Linus tries to expand his business (like the Ads they shoot for other companies). I am behind the move to have content (the exclusive series included) on Vessel because this achieves the one thing that matters: Increased Revenue, this equals more quality material at a fixed intervals. Now if the content becomes bad that's another story but since the quality is good and the content is interesting I see 0 problems. So if you cant wait 1 week for YouTube releases pay up or shut up.  

I can't speak for others... But my big issue is the quality of the videos. I would much rather them produce 3 quality videos per week than 7 rushed videos.

But... It's not my business, so they can do as they please. It's just something I feel would serve them better in the long run.

[-BirdiE-]

On 3/8/2016 at 2:32 AM, LinusTech said:

IT's late and I'm both hungry and tired from shooting Scrapyard Wars (which by the way is an LTT series and will be airing ad-supported on YouTube very soon for your viewing pleasure).

 

But there are a few points to address and you've already been patient enough.

 

I said LMG content would always be free. This was poor wording on my part. There has always been content produced by me and my team that was not necessarily available on a free platform like YouTube.

 

These "The Boost" videos that we make on contract as a sales training resource for Intel, for example:

 

 

 

In much the same way, Vessel has contracted LMG the production company to create an original series for their platform. They bankrolled the whole thing, giving us an opportunity to make something that otherwise would have been too costly, and per the licensing agreement they own the right to exploit this content. It's their show until such time as they decide it's not anymore.

 

We played more of a "production company" role in this than we're accustomed to.

 

This could, and SHOULD have been communicated better, and for that I'm sorry. The community should have heard about this from us FIRST, and not from a random email newsletter, but I've been (and so has the whole team) absolutely busting ass to not only get Nerd Sports produced, but also make sure that we're keeping up with everything else that we've got going on including not having missed a single day of LTT uploads for something like 5 years..

 

With that said, quantity isn't everything, and I've noticed that not everyone has appreciated the LTT content as much as usual lately, but it's hard for me to tell if that's because they don't like our new direction (fewer reviews, and more exploratory or experimental videos) or if they just saw a video or two they didn't like and raised hell in the comment section - it wouldn't be the first time.. And I will say, too, that honestly if a couple of the videos felt rushed then it's probably because they were.. HOWEVER, the primary reason for the rushed videos was  the entire week we're taking off this week to film Scrapyard Wars Season 4, which will be premiering on Vessel sometime in the next few weeks or so, followed by a release on YouTube 1 week later, which is the standard agreement for OUR content that is paid for by LMG or our sponsors.

 

Nerd Sports was shot 40% during evenings and weekends with employees taking time in lieu later on when we hire some more staff or when things slow down a little. We were careful to avoid disrupting any of our other commitments because imo you guys deserve the best we can deliver.

 

Which is another point that was brought up in this thread - "How will LMG keep its commitment to maintain the pace and quality of the other content if they're making Nerd Sports or other contractual content?"

 

We couldn't. We're hiring.

 

I've never shied away from investing in more staff or better equipment or a better facility to make sure that we're doing our best for ourselves, each other, our sponsors and our viewers. If we play our cards right, absolutely everyone wins.

 

Nerd Sports has been a fantastic learning experience for us, and whether we continue the series with Vessel, create other completely different web series in the future, or just say "fudge it" and flip burgers from now on, we'll be able to do those things better than we could have without having done this.

 

So bottom line is this. I screwed up the way I communicated "LMG content", which was meant to be content funded BY Linus Media Group rather than content funded entirely by and licensed to a 3rd party, and I screwed up in a MUCH bigger way the LACK of communication about this project. Sorry guys.

@LinusTech - I understand that it is very difficult to get a video out every single day... But I think what people are saying is that they would rather have fewer, better quality videos, than have rushed videos every day for the sake of having a video every day. If doing it that way wouldn't generate as much revenue as you'd like then, it's your company, so that's up to you.. But I think it would serve you better in the long run taking more time to make your videos, and making them better.

[IAcKI]

Vessel Has both a paid and unpaid service I believe?
If this is so will it only be available to paying Vessel Customers or can though who have an account but don't pay the subscription access. I believe the $3 paid is just for content that is marked as early access? Just a point so it may still be free just not through the service of YouTube.

Correct me if I'm wrong guys.

[Lynx]

So Vessel sponsored videos hah, Well, i'm not gonna extend my free vessel for sure.

there are already too many things that begging for subscriptions, and vessel quality is not worth yet.

[ln2_cooled_heart]

LMG has made it very clear that they don't just want to unbox video cards and monitors every day of the year for the rest of eternity. Don't really blame the folks at LMG for wanting to try something potentially groundbreaking without risking financial ruin if the idea proved unsuccessful. LMG is still a start up, albeit a successful one at that, and they have to make business decisions that make sense for them and their fan base, and if that means working as production studio for a bigger, more financial solvent entities like Vessel, then so be it. If the content proves successful, we'll see something similar on YouTube Red in the future, I'm sure of it. This very well could be a stepping stone for an actual TV series (the WE LOST EVERYTHING video reminded me of a docudrama) or something along those lines, either web-based or if tech based cable television ever makes a come back (huehue).