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  • Mighty Car Mods .....

    I've said it before, and I'll say it here. I could do car stuff for a living, but I made an honest choice a long time ago not to screw up my hobby.
    Moog articulates that idea here...
    We got an email this week from a YouTuber giving us a few hints and tips on how to do better on the platform and specifically how to maximise our income. (For the record we don’t consider ourselves YouTubers - never have been and never will. The term itself is pretty embarrassing right up there with ‘influencer’ but thats a story for another time)  Anyway he’d seen our latest film Turbos & Temples 2 and was surprised we had released it as a single 90 minute feature length film. (It actually goes for almost 3 hours and is going up in 2 parts) He explained that if we had broken it up into tiny parts and given each part it’s own thumbnail and description we could have “made heaps more cash”. He then gave us specific examples such as a thumbnail of the NSX with the title ‘DROVE A JDM NSX - (DREAM COME TRUE)’ and ‘GETTING MY CAR SERVICED IN JAPAN (ILLEGAL???!!!!!)’. He went on to explain that even the scene of us eating curry could be monetised and posted as its own video. Yeah… nah.  Here’s the thing: We knew from the beginning that this was not going to be a money making exercise. There’s no way that ad revenue alone is going to cover the costs of creating a three hour feature film in another country and all the associated costs, let alone the time in editing, making new music and mixing it, grading it and the 36 hours it takes to upload it from Australia. We never expected it to be a money maker and are totally fine with that. And this is the paradox of working so hard on something that on one hand has to have some kind of business platform to financially support making our film, but on the other hand being very comfortable knowing that we will “lose” money by doing it. It’s why we consider what we do mostly a “hobby” - even though there are obviously commercial aspects to running a business like rent, insurance and the like, we are just doing what we want to do and what excites us, and taking our viewers along for the ride. A lot of viewers have an insatiable appetite for content, and YouTube is a great platform for that. But it's also worth remembering a time where people really put extra effort into their craft and made something to be truly proud of. And that's what our motivating goal was here. Something that could float a little higher than the 10 minute click bait VLOGs that have proliferated the car section on the Youtube that are very obviously designed for the sole purpose of maximising income for the creator.  When you make or buy a product that costs more than what it will return, that’s not a viable business - it’s called a hobby. Nobody buys a dirt bike or modifies a car and realistically expects to make money from it once they sell it. And it’s why what we do straddles this strange world between having to earn some money to pay for things, but also not requiring every decision to be based around making as much money as possible.  We made the film as an experience for ourselves, and as gift to all the MCM fans who have supported us over the years, and particularly for those who are struggling around the Christmas period. A time where incidents of suicide increase and family tensions can lead to people suffering bouts of anxiety and depression. Christmas is  not always this amazing time that we see on TV and the movies - for a lot of people it’s an incredibly sad and lonely time. It’s why we worked really hard to get it ready for Christmas Day - eventually getting it finished around 1am on Christmas Morning. When we released our Roadkill film in 2016 on Christmas Day we were inundated with messages from people saying it made their day and some people going as far to say that it got to them at a time where they felt like they had no hope left at all for the future. It was so incredible and felt like such a valuable use of our effort.  We’re not here to save the world, or expecting that Turbos & Temples 2 will have any major meaningful effect on people who are really struggling, but we do know that something to look forward to and a couple of hours of escapism is a worthy use of our time and money. And it’s sure as hell worth more to us than making 10 click bait videos of us eating curry just to try and cash in our viewers. This is exactly the reason why so many YouTubers have such a terrible reputation because it’s clear that their entire focus is monetisation. And this is exactly why we do other work outside of Youtube, because we are happy to self fund something and have a great time doing it without needing to make every decision based around how much money we can make. And if our viewers enjoy it and are OK watching a few ads, or buy some merch to help cover some of the cost, then that’s most definitely enough for us!  So thanks for your handy YouTube advice. Maybe you’re right and we have failed as YouTubers. I'm sure we could make more money by making daily click bait VLOG videos that are cheap and trash, but seems you’ve got that area covered already so we’ll leave you to it.  TURBOS & TEMPLES PART 2 is COMING OUT SOON...  


    as a side note, that was the thing at SEMA, there car people and their were people whose living is car stuff..... there are a few who successfully blend the two; but precious few...

    Point of this, and this is this. Do what you're successful at but never screw up your first love by doing it for the money.
    Doing it all wrong since 1966

  • #2
    I have a thought, which is worth less than zero. It was this forum that got me back into a "car." It's Matt's fault. I did it when I was a kid but then marriage and life and all of those things got in the way. But it's back. Even when I was a kid I didn't "build" the car. So even now I know next to nothing. But I know I like it. And it's fun.
    Charter member of the Turd Nuggets

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    • #3
      Yeah , its mentioned in the movie Hope Floats . A friend of mine and I when we were teenagers planned on having a body shop when we got older . Glad that never happened . While I'm not exactly crazy on being a production machinist it pays the Bill's and at the end of the work day , I am done with it . That leaves car stuff for after I get home . And when I am tired of it I stop or don't get started .
      Previously HoosierL98GTA

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      • #4
        I often tell young, car-crazy guys not to ruin their hobby by turning it into their profession. I was wildly lucky in that I got a car-related job where I didn't have to make flat rate, please customers (outside of pleasing the boss, relatively easy) worry about making payroll, etc. So I pretty much got to play all day long at work then go home and play in my shop. But those jobs are not common and today they wouldn't hire me - no degree.

        Given that I fell into working in automotive labs I was OK. Otherwise (and this is the advice I give young people when they ask me) - look into the skilled trades or building trades. They pay well, while there may be ups and downs there will pretty much always be work, and you can go home and play cars. I really enjoyed my time as a plumber but we had to make payroll every week (it was just me and my oldest bro) and it was usually too darn tight financially. So I got the chance to get back in the Gov't and took it.

        Dan

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        • #5
          Originally posted by SuperBuickGuy View Post

          Point of this, and this is this. Do what you're successful at but never screw up your first love by doing it for the money.


          this would be why im not a pornstar...............

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          • #6
            Originally posted by fatguyzinc View Post



            this would be why im not a pornstar...............
            Ain't that the truth. When your mind writes a check your body can't cash. Good grief, the things I think of.....it's a great thing my mind is not online, there's not enough bandwidth on the internet available to handle that. So much stuff, just noise, most of it. But about 1% of it may actually happen.
            Charter member of the Turd Nuggets

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            • #7
              I've occasionally wondered where CarjunkieTV would be now if it was still going. It started before MCM, how would have it grown and changed over the years.
              At the time it was falling over I was ready to pay money as in a subscription to keep it afloat, but the decision was not to go that way. I still think I would paid to have it as I enjoyed it that much. I wonder would it still be going if it went to a viewer pays, we'll never know. I also wonder what Freiburger thinks of those days now and how he may have done things differently given where he is now. Was it, as said above, mixing job and hobby a flaw in the idea.


              Tim
              Melbourne Australia

              65 Hardtop Impala, 70 GTS Monaro, 93 "80" Landcruiser

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              • #8
                Originally posted by 65RHDEER View Post
                ...as said above, mixing job and hobby a flaw in the idea.
                Wow, who are those two young guys? They have way too much fun. How long ago was that?
                Charter member of the Turd Nuggets

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                • #9
                  The whole "job that you love" thing. It's too bad a lifetime is only long enough to completely F*** up a few career paths. I spent 10 years doing the union job I didn't give a crap about thing. Thing was no matter how well I did the hobby stuff all it did was eat up all the money and not give any back. I spent another 8 years on a "lovable" job that I understood because I had loved other hobbies, just not THAT particular one. Did well. Uh... well enough to make myself REALLY sick and not have time for pastimes. I'd like a do-over or 3 but I'm 64 now. It's just a conundrum between doing what you love or pooping where you eat.

                  Second people need to step back and figure out just WHAT this You Tube thing is and what it can do. It's staggeringly huge and untamed. Hot Rod Magazine and Roadkill are the big example. I honestly think Roadkill was getting a lot higher "circulation" on You Tube than the Hot Rod Magazine ever was. There are legions of youngsters who've never read the magazine watching Roadkill.

                  So.... what exactly IS a You Tube "phenomenon" and what do you DO with it. O.K. you get famous after a fashion, but how do you turn it into ANYTHING else? The answer is NOT coming from the comments sections so stop looking there!
                  My hobby is needing a hobby.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by 65RHDEER View Post
                    I've occasionally wondered where CarjunkieTV would be now if it was still going. It started before MCM, how would have it grown and changed over the years.
                    At the time it was falling over I was ready to pay money as in a subscription to keep it afloat, but the decision was not to go that way. I still think I would paid to have it as I enjoyed it that much. I wonder would it still be going if it went to a viewer pays, we'll never know. I also wonder what Freiburger thinks of those days now and how he may have done things differently given where he is now. Was it, as said above, mixing job and hobby a flaw in the idea.

                    I think it springs from a different set of values. Freiburger never made a secret that he wanted to monetize his involvement from the very beginning - which isn't a huge thing one way or the other. It seems the confusion is when someone proclaims you should monetize it.....
                    Doing it all wrong since 1966

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                    • #11
                      I'm so tempted to post an episode of the Weeville Garage right here, but I won't. I don't know why I stopped doing that, but I simply ran out of material. There's only so may ways you can document that you're a dumbass.
                      Charter member of the Turd Nuggets

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                      • #12
                        Youtube is a place where people can make money out of it if they wish but is also a place for to share hobbies/art, it's up to the content provider how they want to be rewarded for their efforts. The person that sent the message to Moog thinks it's only there for one reason!


                        Merch is where the money is at for those on Youtube, sell a $10 tshirt for $20.
                        Tim
                        Melbourne Australia

                        65 Hardtop Impala, 70 GTS Monaro, 93 "80" Landcruiser

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by 65RHDEER View Post
                          Youtube is a place where people can make money out of it if they wish but is also a place for to share hobbies/art, it's up to the content provider how they want to be rewarded for their efforts. The person that sent the message to Moog thinks it's only there for one reason!


                          Merch is where the money is at for those on Youtube, sell a $10 tshirt for $20.
                          whaaaa? you mean it doesn't cost them $7.00 plus shipping and handling for a chopped sticker?

                          Off the Ranch has taken that to a whole new level... the guy started with animal rescue/dog rescues.... now, it's an enterprise all itself.... and it's cool, but it's not cool to be throwing crap at MCM because their opinion of what life is about is different then MCM's.... and I think that was what Moog was saying (though in a more gentle manner)
                          Last edited by SuperBuickGuy; January 1, 2019, 10:23 PM.
                          Doing it all wrong since 1966

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by pdub View Post
                            I'm so tempted to post an episode of the Weeville Garage right here, but I won't. I don't know why I stopped doing that, but I simply ran out of material. There's only so may ways you can document that you're a dumbass.
                            You could be the world's most interesting man and the internet trolls would tear you apart..... dumb, on the other hand, sometimes they get quite clever in the ways they do dumb things....
                            Doing it all wrong since 1966

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by pdub View Post
                              There's only so may ways you can document that you're a dumbass.
                              If true, that's bad news for the Roadkillers, the Gas Monkeys, and the Street Outlaws . . . Just sayin' . . . .

                              Last edited by Gateclyve Photographic; January 2, 2019, 12:29 PM.

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