As you know, dear readers, I'm always looking for new or interesting business models that publications (and entrepreneurial journalists) can learn from as we try to ensure that journalism not just survives, but thrives.

So last week I reached out to a musician.  

Why? Well, I reached out to singer-songwriter Mike Doughty because he's done some interesting things on Patreon the past four years to build his own audience  -- a paying audience -- to help fund his career. And, as it turns out, he has some thoughts on the future of journalism, too.

Here's a quick look at the pricing structure of Doughty's Patreon page:

Mike Doughty's Patreon Page
 

Doughty's "Patrons" will receive a new song from him every week for a low price of $5 a month. Four songs for $5. Not a bad deal if you dig Doughty's style of music. And people do. He currently has more than 1,000 Patrons on board and has posted hundreds of songs.

"It is fabulously successful," Doughty told me. "It has replaced income from record deals entirely. It pays the mortgage and pays for food."

For those who followed Doughty's career from his early Soul Coughing days, or for those who happened to catch one of his songs on an NPR station or online and liked what they heard, becoming a Patron is like Christmas four times a month. 

But, of course, there are the less-than-hardcore fans who also support Doughty on a monthly basis. 

"A lot of people are just voting for me to exist," Doughty said. "Certainly that's true for how I pay for journalism. I read the New York Times every day, and the Post some days and Economist and the Wall Street Journal fewer than that. They're all things I give money to. Well, the Journal through Apple News, but that's another story.

"I want them to exist," Doughty continued. "I don’t take advantage of (reading) them, other than the Times, every day.  But I want you to be there."

Doughty sees the same sort of thinking with his Patreon fanbase. Even if they're not taking advantage of listening to each and every song, they still find it worthwhile to subscribe.

That song-a-week offer is key, Doughty said. Without that incentive, he doesn't think people would be willing to give him $5 a month, if anything at all.

"It wouldn’t work if there wasn’t a quid pro quo," he said.

But at the same time, Doughty also learned that there is a sweet spot for content with his Patreon audience. For a while, he was posting new songs as soon as he created them, so the audience sometimes received more than one a week. But it turns out that was overwhelming.

"It drove subscribers away," he said. "The more I put out, the more cancellations I got."

Doughty learned to stick to the script.

"One a week is the contract, and you send out one a week," he said.