Monday, November 30, 2009

Farewell Power Source Listeners

This is an open letter to all of those who have listened to me over the past two months on The Power Source. As of now, I will no longer be a part of the show. It was a fun ride, if a bit brief, and very rocky at the end.

In brief, the other night, I was informed that I had misunderstood my role on the show and that it would be continuing without me.
It began in late September when I was lurking on the D&D Community forums and saw a post by Jared Glenn seeking a cohost to help start up a new D&D podcast. Podcasting is something I have wanted to try my hand at for a long time, but I have always been something of a 'someday' podcaster. Someday, I'll do it. Well, someday was today.

We met, via Skype, a few days after I responded and instantly hit it off. Jared had clearly been planning this endeavor for a while, had purchased some sound equipment, and had rough outline already. But he was open and receptive, fun, and easy to talk to. I pushed for some things I wanted to hear, some things I wanted to be a part of the show. Some ideas were imitative of other podcasts, others were uniquely our own. We cobbled together ideas for the segments, building on his idea of outlining the show with various power source titles. I helped fill in some of the segments that were blank on his side. We went back and forth, talked about what would work and what wouldn't, what we belong where, and what would make us unique. In the end, together, we created the format that would become the core of the show.

Things came together very smoothly after that, for the most part. There were some creative differences, but nothing that we couldn't work out. We joked on the show once or twice about our bloody preshow meetings. We had a great on-air chemistry and a workable off-air chemistry, fueled by our differences as much as by our similarities. And by every measure, we were fairly successful right out of the gate. I was riding high and so was Jared. We would talk about our download numbers, check our reviews and average ratings obsessively, and refresh our e-mail boxes ten times an hour. I was finally convinced to join Twitter.

Last week, just before Thanksgiving, Jared and I had a bit of an argument. I really have no desire to go into it, but it amounted to a question of ownership of the show and acting as partners instead of as individuals. I was told, in no uncertain terms, that I had misunderstood the nature of the relationship and that I should not have thought of myself as an equal partner. That is why I had been referred to as "and joining me once more" rather than as a host or even as a cohost. We hashed even this out, proving that reason and compromise could win the day. Because, of course, we both had a stake, our names were side by side on the podcast. We had divided the work as evenly as possible given that I could not really help with the sound editing. We had divided the costs involved, except for the sound mixing equipment Jared had purchased, but we had agreed this would be all right given that he would keep it if the show failed.

On Sunday, November 29th, I was told that I was no longer a part of the show due to my misunderstanding of the terms of my participation; Jared had not been seeking a partner and felt he had been clear on this all along. I was told that the show would continue without my participation or approval. Jared had laid claim to everything I had brought onto the show as his own. And, as he has so bluntly put it, I have no recourse.

Sadly, this is true. There truly is nothing I can do except roll over and accept that something that I helped built had been taken from me over a senseless argument as to whether it was 'our' show or 'Jared's' show. In time, my name and my contributions to the show will be forgotten, though they will continue to be built into the very foundation of the show. I am not going to hash out which segments and ideas are mine because that turns me into Jared. Every idea of how the show was put together was something that evolved through our collaborative effort.

To all of those who have listened to me, I will truly miss you. I loved reading each and every e-mail, reading your tweets, reading your reviews, every bit. And that is why I wish Jared all of the best in continuing this project. Although the mean spirited, spiteful part of me wants revenge, the rest of me knows that the foundation that Jared and I laid down together will make for a great show, whether I am there or not. I would not deny any D&D fan out there the right to enjoy it. Unfortunately, slighted and betrayed as I might feel, knowing full well that I have been robbed of my time and creative energy unfairly; it is still all about the game and the fans.

And so I say: best of luck to all of you, happy gaming, and thank you for listening. Being a part of your lives is the only real loss here for me.

Feel free to drop me a comment here or follow me on twitter at twitter.com/DM_simonides.

And happy holidays.

16 comments:

  1. Your recourse is easy: you go on, do good work. He has shot his reputation which counts for a lot. He loses, you win, and we await your next project, while we write off yet another failed podcast (/blog/whatever) for taking themselves far too seriously.

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  2. I'm sorry to hear that it has gone the way it did. You guys really did seem to have good on-air chemistry. Thanks for all of your hard work. It was good while it lasted.

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  3. The day you start believing your own bullshit is the day you are done.

    We write and podcast about dwarves, elves and wizards. We aren't Politico, The Wall Street Journal, or The New York Times.

    Sometimes many people tend to foget this point, and it's the most important point of all.

    Good luck to you, some other outlet will come up for you to talk about your hobby. Don't sweat it.

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  4. I don't believe your contributions will be lost - cripe, look at Fear the Boot. People still talk about the original crew despite the fact that they're now splattered over two if not three other 'Casts. The first 9 episodes of the Power Source are in the can and they've got your stamp on them. Easier said then done here, I suppose, but I hope you can feel proud of the work you did and the listeners you drew in just a few short weeks. Other shows take months, even years to have anything approaching a legitimate listener base.

    Besides, you're freaking Simonides. You're supposed to be getting paid for this s***, right? :)

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  5. If I can't hear you rambling on The Power Source, you can well be sure I'll be reading you here!

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  6. Sorry to hear that things didn't work out. I just found the podcast and have listened to all the episodes to date. I thought you guys had a good thing going. Well, maybe this means better things are on the way for you.

    Beldar

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  7. Sorry, but podcasting about RPGs and other dork stuff isn't the hawtness in America. Sorry that things didn't work out for you, but it's not you got shafted out of a seven-figure book deal or a spot in a TV show. I don't see why you don't set up your podcast if you love to do it so much. You got some fans dude so get it going.

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  8. I'm really sad to hear this, I looked forward to the Podcast every week. Not sure if I'll go on listening to it now after this debacle - I'm waiting to see what Jared's side of the story is.

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  9. Hey Sorry to see you are gone. If you are still interested in doing some podcasting for D&D but a kick back to first edition, let me know. I think you'd be great to have on. Alucard in the D20 Radio forums.

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  10. Sorry to see you go. I hope Ryven Cedrylle ends up compiling Aberrant Rules into its own download, because without your participation all that's left is Ryven's segment and an hour or more of Jared pimping his custom classes. I really have no interest in listening to an extended infomercial.

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  11. Wow sad to hear. Hope you start your own the other guy was just to negative for me to listen to without someone bringing a little bit of balance. Power Source subscription now canceled.

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  12. Will miss you on that show. To say the least.

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  13. I agree with the other posts here (and the ones posted on the d20radio forums). I thought you and Jared had a good on-air chemistry and I do not think that I will be listening to any further podcasts with only Jared. I gave ep 10 a listen, and it just wasn't the same; not as interesting. I like Ryven, but do not care for Jared's brother. I am also turned off by Jared's incessant advertisements of his homebrew classes.

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  14. For the Recond this is not the first time this has occured, in fact on the first time on a Gaming Podcast. According to many I am not allow to go into detail, or even say the name of the podcast that did this to me, but your situation sounds exactly like what I went though, including the maner in which you were informed; that is the way it is, and you don't have recorse. Ofcouse I never got a reason, why I was removed. It sucks, but life goes on, I have continued podcasting on another show and have done very well since then.

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  15. It's a shame. I had *just* found Power Source, and then I spotted your comment on WotC's bboards about this. I've been listening to the older shows, slowly catching up. The show was a good one. It's funny to see folks here commenting on Jared constantly infommercial-ing his custom classes, because that's of the few things I've disliked about the show. I gave a listen to the first 10 minutes of the new episode, and it REALLY isn't the same chemistry at all. It's like having two Jareds. Oy.

    I agree with the first comment above, too. I think Jared has really shot himself in the foot. Already negative reviews have started to appear on iTunes. I hope you'll forge forward with something of your own, perhaps with your own co-host...only I hope you'll treat him/her a bit better.

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  16. Oogies. I loved your differences of opinion. In a way, I was able to triangulate what my opinion on a product might be by assessing how the two of you went in different directions on things. You guys quickly moved into my first or second "listen first" spot.

    I just listened to #11A or whatever that's going to be, and I think that there might be little chance that your contributions will be continuing on without your support because it may not last a long time. The show was pretty much Jared and a buddy trading stories and injokes (which never translate well out of contect) and pimping those %%$#%$%$%#$ classes he wrote. I would imagine most of us have Power Source on our endangered species list right now.

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