Please join us in the next, exciting phase of Film Yap
We've stepped up our game -- now we're asking for your support!
Hi everyone, I hope you’ve been enjoying the fantastic reviews, podcasts, commentaries and more from our team of talented film critics. We especially want to thank those of you who signed up for our newsletter via Substack as we spent the last few months experimenting with this new platform to deliver our opinions about movies to you.
The Film Yap has existed for more than 12 years now, making us one of the oldest movie websites, if you can believe it. As theaters have gradually reopened and high-profile movies returned, we’ve made a concerted effort to offer the best coverage we can with reviews of almost every new theatrical release, such as “F9” and “Black Widow,” as well as the big streaming titles like “The Tomorrow War” and Disney’s “Luca.”
It’s been a great run — and it’s just going to get better!
After much thought and consultation, I have decided it’s time to make our jump to the next evolutionary stage of the Yap. That involves turning Substack into our primary platform and asking you, our amazing readers and fellow film lovers, for your support.
We have now opened up paid subscriptions, and starting next week some of the reviews and other content will only be available to those at this tier. Much of it will remain free for now, but over the next few months we will gradually transition to most of what we do going behind a paywall.
We’ll still offer free content every week. And the entire 12-year archive of the Film Yap will remain available for you to enjoy. But yes, we are asking that you pay a little something for what we do. We work hard to produce it, and think it has value — and are hoping you do, too.
How much? Well, Substack won’t let us charge a regular subscription rate lower than $5 a month or $30 annually. Most Substackers are asking $60 a year. That’s not a ton, but frankly I still think it’s a bit high. As more and more writers are turning to the direct subscription model, people are suddenly having to weigh tough choices about how to spread their dollars around to the creative people they want to support.
That’s why, to entice you to try us out and as a treat for you early birds, we’re offering a 30% discount through the end of 2021 that applies to both the monthly and yearly options. So that translates to $3.50 a month or just $21 a year.
Please note: this is NOT a one-time discount. If you sign up now, you will lock in this much lower rate every time you renew, from here to eternity.
What do you get for just twenty-one smackers a year? I’m glad you asked!
You’ll have access to all the reviews, news, commentary and more the Film Yap crew produces — generally a dozen or more pieces per week, delivered straight to your email inbox the moment they’re published. You can also see everything on https://filmyap.substack.com/ anytime you want. And we’re exploring exclusive ways to have our paid subscribers engage directly with our critics, such as joining us on a video podcast.
“Why should I pay when I can read this stuff for free on www.TheFilmYap.com?” you may be asking yourself. And the answer is: you won’t be able to, at least much longer. We’re going to keep the domain open and make posts for new articles, but just a sample with a link to the whole article on Substack. In the same way, free subscribers will only receive a teaser of our premium content in their email.
Think of it as the free samples at Costco: a little taste, in hopes you’ll plunk down for the whole box.
I hope you will consider joining us on this exciting next phase of Film Yap. Myself and the other critics have striven to produce an engaging, professional website with unique views and thoughts you won’t find anywhere else.
Please support our work — and tell your friends to, too!