Witchpolice Radio improvement fund

After almost seven years and close to 400 episodes, Witchpolice Radio  has – I hope – established itself as a valuable resource for the Winnipeg music community. 

The show's goal has always been to highlight local, independent artists– primarily through interviews, but also through live shows and other endeavours.

...and it's worked great so far. I've had nothing but positive feedback, the podcast has been named 'Favourite Local Podcast' for three consecutive years by readers of The Uniter, and it was even nominated for a 2019 Canadian Podcast Award.

Through all of this, I've been using equipment that could be considered rudimentary at best. I record all of the interviews 'on location' (in coffee shops, jamspaces, rooftops, etc.) using a little Zoom H1 recorder (the old version) and/or an Olympus of similar quality.

While most of the interviews sound OK, sometimes the audio quality is... not great. I think it could be greatly improved with some better equipment, which is why I'm starting this fundraiser (after reaching out on social media and determining that, yes, people would actually support it).

I'm looking at something like a Zoom H5 or H6, which would be maaaany steps up and would give me multitracking options, as well as the possibility of plugging in multiple mics (rather than just using the built-in mic, sometimes when interviewing 4-6 people... which sounds about as good as you would expect).

In general, it would be a huge sonic improvement, which, presumably, would increase listenership, and in turn would increase attention for the artists I cover.

"...but Sam," you ask, "don't you already have a Patreon?" The existing Patreon page  I have is great, in that the small handful of (very lovely, generous) people who contribute a buck or two each month help with some of the incidental costs for the show...

...but I'm thinking a one-time "this piece of equipment costs ___, anyone down for throwing a couple of bucks in so I can buy it for the show?" type of deal would work.

I've also heard from a few people that they're not too fond of the way Patreon works, or don't have credit cards, so can't sign up as patrons.

Of course, the show will ALWAYS be free to listen to and download. It'll also continue to be released twice a week and I fully expect to be still doing it many years from now.
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