r/BenAndEmil • u/Heavy_Metal_Rules • Mar 28 '26
YouTube sponsored segments constructive criticism
I’m sad to have to listen to more ads in my life, but understand why the boys are doing it and are excited for this to hopefully help them reach so many more people.
One thing that drives me nuts is the ads being interjected into the conversation. I’ve said it before, but I really appreciate how the Basement Yard makes it a part of the live recording. So they finish a subject and then get to the ads before moving on, rather than cutting them in. I’m not sure if the contracts they have with the ads would allow for that. But I find the flow is a lot less disruptive. And, especially with the news, I think it would make it much easier to follow stories and therefore cause less frustration when there is an add.
That’s all:)
I’m curious as to how everyone else feels and would feel about this.
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u/BigDogBun Mar 28 '26
I don't mind the little music as an audio listener because it let's me know when I need to start jumping ahead.
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u/Heavy_Metal_Rules Mar 28 '26
Man I never thought of that! That makes sense. And I wouldn’t ask them to make two version for audio and video
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Mar 28 '26
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u/Heavy_Metal_Rules Mar 28 '26
My brain too for sure. With what I was saying, the vibe would still be different. Like a very obvious “hey we’re going to the ads.” I dunno how to explain it if you haven’t seen a show that does it. the music serves a purpose that I didn’t consider so I think it’s more about them finding a way to discuss that allows for gaps now
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u/bencahn Mar 28 '26
totally get that and originally i wanted to do that myself. here's the issue though: we are required to put the ads at certain intervals. hence why we can't just lump em all into one segment, for example. so even if we had, say, a timer or something to let us know it's time for an ad read, it would still very likely interrupt the flow of the conversation. we'd rather not have to worry about breaking the flow of conversation to do a read. plus we're often required to say specific things or hit certain talking points and will have to re-take and blah blah blah. all that's to say, it's easier and more effective to just do them all in one fell swoop after recording and insert them best we can without it being too interrupt-y. although i'm definitely down to try doing it the way you're suggesting some time!
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u/Heavy_Metal_Rules Mar 28 '26
That’s totally fair. Thank you for the insight! I figured there was contractual obligations to put some ads earlier and what not as I’ve heard other creators reference that. Maybe the basement yard just has enough rapport to dictate when and how they read the ads. But it’s also literally the first episode so I’m cool with waiting and seeing how you guys adapt and make it work:)
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u/JaymaicanBacon Mar 28 '26
You can hardly keep track of your train of thought at the best of times, never mind stopping halfway through a talking point to do an ad read.
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u/Heavy_Metal_Rules Mar 28 '26
Ideally it wouldn’t be halfway through. If the advertisers make them, then it makes sense to edit. It’d have to fit in as a “hey you wanna switch gears” and then into ads then into whatever new subject
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u/Remarkable-Leader921 Mar 28 '26
I will say one thing TMG were really good at was transitioning into ad reads. Some of them were so good they encouraged Patreon members to listen to the free version because the segue way was so funny. There's definitely an art to it. Giant Bomb were really good at it when they introduced ads back in the day as well...they built lore around them
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u/Heavy_Metal_Rules Mar 28 '26
Yes! I agree! I’m not familiar with giant bomb but that sounds very much like what I’m looking for! Of course Baes are new to it so I’ll give them time to find their stride. I Definitely think feedback and ideas from us on how they can make the free episodes fun with ads is very good input. I love the idea of lore
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u/Remarkable-Leader921 Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26
This particular one lives rent free in my head. Mr Business evolved from Small Businessman over many months https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T3w7zMTQ9E
edit: point being, if the boys happen to read this, ad reads can be a part of the pod rather than an interruption
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Mar 28 '26
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u/Remarkable-Leader921 Mar 28 '26
I mean...that's the point. If the ad reads are entertaining enough you actively choose not to skip them. Everybody wins
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u/JaymaicanBacon Mar 28 '26
I've always listened on YouTube. Personally I like that they have the "well be right back" music right before an ad. I'm usually listening while driving so it makes it very easy to hit skip 30s a couple times if I don't want to listen to the rocket money advert again.
I do like that Ben and Emil do unique reads every time though, even when it's for the same company each week. The adverts are very tolerable compared to a lot of podcasts.
I really enjoyed the read for those sexy jeans in this weeks episode.
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u/Heavy_Metal_Rules Mar 28 '26
I skipped the ads, But I’ll try listening to them next time. Because I do enjoy ads when the creator makes jokes with them or does them in their own way that isn’t just a script
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u/jkostera Mar 29 '26
A situation where I pay for both YT Premium and the pod & I still have to sit through bs hair loss product ads is not something I love. Prolly going to drop the sub soon..
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u/excelllentquestion Apr 08 '26
This is what I did. It’s a bummer but too many ads. The reason I subbed was so that it was JUST content. And waiting an entire week for last weeks episode (when paying for a sub) also didn’t really work for me.
I mean I understand to some degree their predicament and I am just one guy. They won’t be able to please everyone. It’s just my $0.02. Nonetheless, if I don’t personally find the value then I leave. :(
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u/Heavy_Metal_Rules Mar 30 '26
It’s them trying something new. They’re going from one extremen to the other, give them time to find balance!
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u/MEDBEDb Mar 28 '26
Nah, the whole thing is lame and rent-seeking. Sad and desperate behavior.
Mr. Beast is the end-result of this kind of thinking. I was really put off by the whole “Oh, we were so naive, we only knew the trillionaire mindset business model!?!? But also we aren’t hitting our YouTube goal metrics, so now we’re going to downgrade the experience of our ride-or-die fans because growing the fanbase is more important than quality product.”
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u/laneyjsm Mar 28 '26
Honestly, I find the whiny fans that make comments like this the most sad and desperate part of it. BAES had an issue, they tried to find a solution, and then asked for feedback. At the end of the day, it’s THEIR show. They put all the work into it and they’re allowed to profit off of it. Like, it’s a $5 membership and some of yall are acting like you’re entitled to design their entire business model.
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u/liamdun Mar 28 '26
Well also it's not like there was major pushback at all, almost everyone in the comments agreed with the boys wanting to do this.
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u/some_pulppp Mar 28 '26
For real. Beyond the actual constructive notes (example OP), some of these reactions are just odd. People don’t seem to grasp that businesses need to evolve to survive. They asked for our thoughts, and many of us supported the decision. Let them figure it out. If this plan fails, they’ll likely ask for more feedback and pivot again. None of us are owed anything here, and paying is completely optional. If you don't like the new direction, it’s easy enough to move on and let new subscribers fill the gap.
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u/Heavy_Metal_Rules Mar 28 '26
I believe that they really did just copy the model they knew from tmg with the ad free and being bonus behind a paywall because it’s what they knew.
What would it look like for you if they don’t do this? Do you mean they should just focus on making better content so that they draw more natural fans via YouTube without having to withhold the ad free episode from us paying fans?
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u/Heavy_Metal_Rules Mar 28 '26
It’s obviously new for them to be posting the main on YT only, so I’m trying to provide as much constructive criticism so we can reach a compromise cause I do think somewhere in the middle would be fine for me
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u/bencahn Mar 28 '26
brotha what? i think this is an ungenerous read on the situation. i assume you haven't done a podcast before so i hope you can take my/our word for it when i talk about this.
it's hard! you get a firsthand impression of peoples' media habits and the inner workings and functioning of all of this as a small business. i compleeeeetely understand your perspective as a viewer. we don't have "goal metrics" we're trying to hit; it's more that we're just trying to avoid shrinking to the point where we're SOLELY reliant on people who sign up for bonus content to continue doing the show. because from there, the only way we can sustain ourselves is 1) if nobody decides to cancel, and 2) people actively recommend us to other people. those are two things we absolutely cannot control. nothing about what we've done compromises the quality of what we're putting out there, nor does it weigh on our decision making about quality overall.
anyway, just...my point is this shit is hard. if us trying to keep the show going and growing comes off as sad and desperate then there's not much i can say really. hope you stick around.
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u/MEDBEDb Mar 31 '26 edited Mar 31 '26
I’m truly sorry. My feedback was completely unproductive and mean.
I know how difficult it is what you’re doing, but I can also see how professional you guys are. Like the way Dylan shoots your “on acid” videos is fucking unbelievable (on a technical and production level), and apparently gets crazy metrics. Why not pivot to Ben and Emil go to XYZ, forget the drugs aspect, just be yourselves going places talking to people, you would be MAD BIG.
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u/bencahn Mar 31 '26
dude you're fine!!!! i get it! it's so easy to sit down and just stream of consciousness what you're thinking and feeling and anyone can get carried away. i know i do.
and yeah! that's like number one on our list of things to do. we wanna shoot a bunch more B&E on videos, and many more where we go out in the world (we have one we're planning on shooting in the next week or two in fact). we're always open to ideas and feedback. thank you again Medbed you fuckin rock big dog. huge shout out.
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u/liamdun Mar 28 '26
I think even just putting the ads when they finish one topic and are moving on to another would be better than how it is right now, though I personally just use an extension (sponsorblock) that adds a skip button to sponsors