Modernizing the Supporter System

Jason Tate

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about noticing some suspicious activity on our Stripe account. It turns out that some nefarious actors were using the system to test stolen credit card numbers. I detailed the potential cost implications of this in the newsletter (in time and real money,) and I am now happy to announce that I’ve made a series of changes to hopefully mitigate this activity.

I have rebuilt the website’s supporter platform to better use Stripe’s tools for processing payments and managing subscriptions. I also took this opportunity to add a variety of features and better streamline the entire flow.

For anyone that is currently a supporter, nothing has changed. You don’t need to do anything to take advantage of the new system; your account will automatically work with it.

The Changes

  • I redesigned the support page. All three plans now offer even more ways to signup, including Apple Pay and Google Pay. Just pick which tier you’re interested in, and you can easily signup and choose between the monthly or yearly options.
  • There’s also a new manage page for supporters to manage their subscriptions. This page lets you change your payment method, switch from a monthly to a yearly plan, change membership tiers, and cancel your plan (plz no).

Unfortunately, I had to turn off membership signups for the past two weeks while I was making this change, and the end of the year is usually one of the biggest signup periods we have (end-of-the-year lists, holidays, etc.). So, if you were unable to signup before, or you’re a long-time reader ready to now, please do!

I’ll monitor the new system over the next few days to see how it’s all working while I finish putting together our end-of-the-year feature. If all goes well, I should have some time this week to work on a few other new features for the website I’ve had on my list for a while as well.

As always, thank you to everyone that reads this website and helps fund its continued existence. If you ever have any questions or issues with your subscription, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Jason Tate

I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and happy holidays. We will be on a more relaxed posting schedule over the next few days, as the music industry is in hibernation. All of us are working on finalizing our best of the year lists and we’ll have those to share with you in early January.1

  1. The community thread of member lists can be found here.↩

Liner Notes (December 24th, 2022)

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Jason Tate

Hello,

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas eve. I’ll be spending the weekend with family, so this week’s newsletter is very brief. I really just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful holiday and thank you all for subscribing and reading each week.

Next week I will be working fixing the Stripe issue I detailed here, and finalizing our end of the year feature for publication on January 2nd. I had hoped to work on a few other features I’ve had on my list for a while, but this Stripe issue really needs to take priority. I got a good start on it yesterday and hopefully there won’t be too many setbacks and I can get this rolled out within the next week.

Some things I saw around the internet this week that are worth your time:

Read More “Liner Notes (December 24th, 2022)”

Out Of Service Reissue ‘Burden’ On Vinyl

Out of Service
Adam Grundy

Starting today, Burden, Out of Service’s second full-length album, is being reissued on a limited vinyl pressing remaster via Enjoy the Ride Records. This remastered version will only be available on this physical release of the album. Emmy-winning composer/producer Dave Marino’s remaster breathes new perspective into each track. A remastered version of “Shelter,” a bonus single, is also included for the first time in this pressing. Burden is a concept album that draws on themes of anxiety, depression, mental health treatment, and living your daily life in the midst of these things. It is a synthesis of the band’s raw emotional energy and indie sensibilities. The first single, “Stories”, features Madeline Finn (Envoi) who blends her soaring vocals to amplify the emotive energy of the song. The album was produced and mixed by Nathan Hussey (All Get Out). The artwork was painted by Mike Capuano, the band’s lead singer. If you would like to purchase the vinyl, please visit the Enjoy The Ride Records store here.