In some respects, See Hear is structured like other crowdfunding platforms. With paid memberships, arts organizations and individual artists earn rewards. If you’re a member, over the course of a year/season, I’ll devote a certain number of stories (videos, podcast interviews, written features) to your programming.

Organizations can join at three different tiers, and there’s a lower-cost level for individual artists/collectives:

Here’s an exhaustive Q&A explaining everything about See Hear in pretty granular detail.

I’ve suggested membership tiers based on an organizations’ annual budgets. Through 2027, arts organizations can join at any level from $500+, regardless of budget. If you produce a lot of programming and struggle to get press for any of it, you’ll probably want to join at a higher level.

Now, if you’re an arts leader or decision-maker about the marketing/publicity of Western NC arts/culture organization, take a look at the chart above and absorb how much you’ll get for your membership. Now, think about what you currently spend on PR. Truth is, you spend more time and money producing and sending press releases in the desperate hope of landing a story somewhere than it costs to assure you get those stories told through See Hear. In short, you get so much bang for your membership!

I’ll interview and profile your artists, preview upcoming performances and tell engaging, little-known stories about your organization in the leadup to your fundraisers. I’ve built much of my career on this kind of journalism—for Blue Ridge Public Radio, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, WCPO-TV in Cincinnati. Times have changed, and funding models have to evolve along with them. That’s why I’ve launched See Hear.

I want to be clear about two things: 1) Members aren’t buying PR, they’re assuring that a seasoned local arts journalist (that’s me) covers your important work. 2) See Hear will also produce a lot of stories about local artists/arts happenings outside of membership.

It’s critical, to me and to you, that audiences view See Hear as a home for quality, credible arts/culture coverage. Good stories are good stories, and audiences will find them here.

Also, memberships are only the first layer of this funding model, but they’re also votes of confidence in my work. Your membership will help establish See Hear’s viability and place in the community, which will lead, down the road, to grants, ad sales and other earned revenue.

If you still have questions or just want to talk about any of this, please hit me up.