Finding The "Right" Balance

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about paywalls—specifically, how to integrate them into my creative process without turning my work into something that’s just transactional.

It’s a delicate balancing act between offering up the creative content I love making and needing to put a price on it to sustain that creativity. So I’m experimenting and have decided to paywall half of my NSFW videos.

While I don't love the idea of paywalls, I also understand their necessity.

As a wise man recently reminded me, "If you have to pay for something, then it automatically has value, whereas things offered freely usually do not."

(Shoutout to Mr. Shoemaker for that nugget of wisdom.)

So, here’s the deal: If you can subscribe, great! If you can’t, that’s okay too.
Send me a DM or email, and I’ll gladly comp you a free month. No questions asked.

The plan for now? I’ll be aiming to produce at least one video available to everyone each week and at least one for paid subscribers. Hopefully more, but I’d rather under-promise and over-deliver.

As a creative type, I’ve learned that making promises I can’t keep tends to derail my creativity and adds pressure where it’s not needed. My aim is to foster a safe, LGBTQ-friendly space where community and creativity flow without anyone feeling boxed in.

Which brings me to another experiment I’ve been running lately: Finding the “right” AI voice for my videos. For those who don’t know, I’ve never been particularly fond of hearing my own voice. I’ve tested dozens of text-to-speech generators, and some premium voices really stood out—but I ultimately settled on using the “Good Guy” voice in CapCut.

I thought “Good Guy” was good enough…until I heard “Derek.”

If you’re listening to this newsletter’s recording, you hopefully agree “Derek” sounds pretty damn realistic. Definitely better than most AI voices I’ve heard. “Derek” also, to me, sounds like “me”…in my imagination at least.

While I’m still find myself torn between authenticity and automation, the AI voice gives me the ability to focus on the visual and creative aspects of my work. And, frankly, if I have to use my real voice…all my videos will be silent.

Deciding whether to use an AI voice (or not) is similar to the balancing act I face with paywalls—finding that sweet spot between offering something of value without creating barriers.

AI voices save time, but can lack the emotional nuance of human connection.
Paywalls support my work financially, but risk alienating those who can’t pay.

For now, I’m open to feedback. Whether it’s about AI voices, paywalls, or anything else, I’m here to experiment, learn, and grow. This process is about figuring out what works, and that only happens through community and discussion.

So, if you’ve got thoughts, I’m listening.

If you’re curious about AI voices, I’ll share more of my journey with that too.

And if you want to support the creative work I’m putting out there—whether financially or through engagement—I appreciate you either way. We’re in this together.

Thanks for reading…and subscribing!
Clint

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FOUND PHOTOS OF THE DAY

CHARLES BLONDIN + HARRY COLCORD

CHARLES BLONDIN CROSSING THE NIAGARA RIVER

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ON THIS DAY = SEPTEMBER 26

BIRTHDAYS

• 1898 = George Gershwin = American pianist and composer

• 1948 = Olivia Newton-John = English-Australian singer-songwriter and actor

• 1956 = Linda Hamilton = American actor

• 1984 = Nev Schulman = American photographer, television host, and producer

EVENTS

• 1580 = Francis Drake finishes his circumnavigation of the Earth in Plymouth, England.

• 1957 = West Side Story opens on Broadway. With music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents, the musical is a modern remake of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

• 1962 = The Beverly Hillbillies premieres on CBS.

• 1964 = Gilligan’s Island premieres on CBS.

• 1969 = Apple Records releases The Beatles' 11th studio album Abbey Road, their final recordings as a quartet, tops the charts in 11 countries.

• 1970 = In Los Angeles, Gay Liberation Front demonstrators persuade bar owners to allow gay patrons to hold hands.

• 1969 = The Brady Bunch premieres on ABC.

• 1975 = The Rocky Horror Picture Show is released in the US.

• 1977 = Dolly Parton releases Here You Come Again as a single.

• 1982 = Knight Rider premieres on NBC.

• 1984 = Prince releases Purple Rain as a single.

• 2000 = South Korean actor and tv personality Hong Seok-cheon comes out as gay and he was fired from his network television programs and advertisements amidst public uproar. In 2008 he hosted a television program called Coming Out about the lives of lesbians and gay men.

• 2010 = Downton Abbey premieres on ITV in the UK.

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ON SUBSTACK = NEW

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ON YOUTUBE = NEW

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