Hello there!

In this email I’m gonna ask you to do a three-question survey (there’s the link to it!) that’ll help create the Train Songz Charts, to be printed in the next issue. Read as much or as little of the rest of the email as you want, but please do the survey if it’s the only thing you do. Due next Tuesday. Thank you for contributing to the zine.

Every vote counts! Seriously! There’s really not that many of us!

Been a minute. Hope you’re doing well.

I’ve been all over the place since May: laid off, interviewing, part-timing. I’ve landed on freelancing full-time, with more than enough work to keep me busy. Grateful for that.

Even more grateful that whole song and dance of selling myself to companies and clients is over, so I can focus on the next issue of the zine, which should come out towards the end of July. (Just in time to get miniature versions of the issue at GD60, which I will not be at, but I’ll be asking for volunteers…)

TRAIN SONGZ CHARTS SURVEY SUMMER 2025 !!!

PLEASE TAKE 5 MINUTES TO ANSWER THREE QUESTIONS TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE NEXT ISSUE VIA THIS FORM:

• Your favorite Billy soundboard from 2025 Spring Tour?

• Your favorite song right now?

• Your favorite album right now?

Please do this, it’ll take you less than 5 minutes.

As a token of my appreciation, one random respondent will get a free merchandise item from the next zine store. Ooh! Aah! Stuff…

While I have you, some other things on my mind…

Live events

We’re working with a few bands we like to plan actual shows in Austin and Asheville. They might happen, they might not. I sure hope they do, but I’m wary of over-promising at this point in the game. If you know any venues that would be friendly to Train Songz, reach out.

Train Songz group chat

An overwhelming amount of you responded as interested in a private online chat of sorts, only for Train Songz subscribers. I’m looking into it! I’m in an invite-only chat for other people who have the same job as me, and it’s a very helpful resource. Once I figure out how to do it right, we’ll launch it.

BMFSDB

Remember, we use zine revenue to pay BMFSDB’s web fees of like $80 per month. The kind folks at BMFSDB were integral to my starting the zine, sharing their setlist data with me in an age when I was copying and pasting setlists into a Google Sheet. Make an account and track your Billy shows! Also shout out to MGU Archive, as they’re getting going for those fine fellas.

Housekeeping

• Did your address change?

• Are you missing a zine?

• Any other grievances for The Conductor?

Please reach out.

Next year’s subscription pricing

I think a fair recommended price for the annual zine subscription is going to be $60 next year, based on the increased cost (and hopefully subsequent increased quality) of the zine in 2025. We’re spending slightly above $11 per issue, which means our current recommended pricing of $11 per issue (or $8.33, if you’re on the $33 tier) is cutting it a little to close to the bone.

Thanks to our sponsors and those who buy merchandise for keeping us afloat! We might technically “lose money” in 2025, but we’ve got runway through the end of the year thanks to leftover profits from 2024. Had to pay taxes on those. Yee-haw.

Let me be clear: This optional pricing change wouldn’t come into effect until 2026. Everyone paying $33 or $44 will have the option to be grandfathered into that pricing next year. I’m not gonna spike you to $60 without your consent — only if you want to increase your support of the Train Songz operation.

I hope we’ve earned your trust that we’re going to do cool stuff with it, like make each issue better than the last and pay artists and bands and do cool stuff online and offline.

My goal is still not to pocket any money myself. I am not some great altruist by doing this, and I believe that fan artists and bootleggers should be able to profit from their art without shade or judgement.

My intention is forgoing short-term payment in favor of investing my share back into Train Songz and seeing what this thing can become.

Again, nothing will change until 2026. This affects none of you right now. In the spirit of transparency, I’m sharing what is likely to be officially communicated in November/December.

Also, we’ll still have cheaper and free subscriptions, given out for every 10 or so full-price ones sold. (We’ve never turned away a free subscription request, thanks to your generous support!)

If you made it down here past another one of my too-long rants about finances, please do the damn survey!

Thank you, as always! Couldn’t do this sh*t without you.

–The Conductor