The Future of SA Rocks

One of my favorite songs from the band Triumph has always been “Lay it on the Line.” And that’s what I’m gonna do. Lay it on the line.

When I first started this blog, it was to give myself something to do late at night when I couldn’t sleep. I figured, I love music, I like to write, this will be fun for me. And it is.

Whether or not people would find it interesting or informative was actually secondary. I kinda hoped a few people would, but it was more of a cathartic thing for me. I was unprepared for the feedback I received. Many e-mails to the effect that this sort of site was something that San Antonio needed and that it provided a valuable service, etc. MANY emails thanking me for what I do, which I still receive in abundance. I find it very gratifying that something I love to do is also something which people enjoy and find useful and needed.

After realizing that the SA Rocks Blog was quickly gaining in popularity, I decided to devote more time to it, and quit my paying job, which was doing web design for a ticket broker. I had been working at this job for many years and was getting burnt out on it. I decided to invest a little money in SA Rocks, not a lot, but enough to pay for some web space to host free classifieds, the “jukebox” where people could experience San Antonio music, a forum where musicians and music fans could get together and talk about local music, etc., all the things that are now on sarocks.com. I thought I could recoup my investment. I wanted the site to remain free in all areas, and I didn’t want to sell advertising, but I thought that if people really thought this site was a useful and needed thing here in SA, they would be willing to support it through sponsorship. Not trying to make a killing, but just hoping to make enough to at least cover what I spent, I made the sponsorship packages ridiculously cheap as far as advertising prices go.

And I did receive some support. But nowhere near enough to cover the expenses of maintaining a website, going out to review concerts and the time and effort that I have spent on this site. Up until now, I have sustained the loss because I love doing this.

However, some things have changed, and I wanted to let everyone know that the future of SA Rocks at this point is uncertain.

I try not to discuss my personal life much on here, but let’s just say that I have recently had a slew of extra expenses and have suddenly lost my only source of personal income. A few of you have met my boyfriend Scott. Not many know this, but he is really the invisible backer of SA Rocks. This man works his ass off and lets me do this because he knows I love doing it. Most of the financial burden falls on him and he never complains. We have 4 children and he figures that my being home to take care of our kids is the important thing, and understands that I need something else, something of my own, to do to keep me sane.

However, with the recent extra expenses and the loss of my “spending money,” I cannot reasonably expect him to shoulder the cost of SA Rocks that I was covering, with no return on the investment. I have not had a new sponsor in months. An attempt at trying to garner some corporate sponsorships has gone nowhere so far. It seems that, while many bands and bars are eager to advertise their events on SA Rocks, very few are willing to shell out a little cash to help keep it going. And my financial situation has hindered my ability to go out and review local concerts, which has meant a decrease in readership, which makes it harder for me to convince businesses to sponsor this effort.

This is not a plea for money. I just want everyone to understand that right now things might fall behind. I am not updating as often as usual and I haven’t been out to attend many events lately because I have had to cut back on the time and money I invest in this site for practical reasons. I am hoping to find a way to keep the site going because I enjoy doing it and because people enjoy the site and find it useful. So please bear with me while I try to figure out a way to keep SA Rocks alive.