I didn't have a bank account for 20 years. Between 1999 and 2019, I lived entirely hand-to-mouth, taking my tip-jar donations to the gas station, thrift store, or dollar menu as immediately as necessary for survival. On the occasion I was being punched by a clock, I went to currency exchanges for immediate cash, or to buy a money order for the landlord. I lived in cars and vans for 15 of those years, so mostly it was cash.
In that 20-year interim, the "fast-food bank" was created. PayPal, Stripe, and other "convenient" app-based payment platforms became ubiquitous. It was inevitable and it does have its place. People who believe in the further cheapening of art and artists by using and applying to themselves the broad, all-encompassing term "creatives" (which can be used to describe accounting practices as well as would-be artistic endeavors), who create "subscribable content" as opposed to art, certainly have a convenient avenue by which they can support themselves. YouTube pundits of any political variety, ASMR people, MGTOW guys, SHTF and prepper types, doomsday preachers, and other "content creators" can now monetize their content to the point that they can sit in front of a camera, talk for an hour, and receive "Superchats" in real time. All of which are filtered through the fast-food banks, directly from one dollar-menu bank account to another.
Good for them. But as you may or may not be aware, music isn't generally "subscribable content." I'll leave the visual artists to speak for themselves, but with very rare exceptions, most musicians can't rely on Patreon subscriptions to survive. They can take one-off donations to finish a project, but usually, it isn't possible for a thousand people to donate a dollar a month ad infinitum to support a musician. Songs can exist as singular entities, but even today they are usually compiled into albums, which are usually comprised of a dozen or so songs, and which come around annually, if the artist is extremely prolific and has constant access to recording equipment, or every few years, or whatever. Albums and/or songs aren't something that can be produced DAILY, like YouTube videos about Israel, Jesus, Joe Biden, or the zombie apocalypse. I can think of one exception, a guy I used to know who started a project of "365 songs in 365 days." An impressive and monumental feat. But even him, I'm sure you've never heard of, compared to any given political YouTube pundit or ASMR person, most of whom take more than a year to build their following to the point that they become well-known.
Anyway, this is my "Fast-Food Bank p.s." to the Karens & The Man promotion, for the information of anyone who may want to donate to the cause. I have signed up with Stripe twice. I forget what happened the first time. The second time, they wouldn't accept any photos of my ID. Supposedly, the picture quality wasn't good enough to read. That's what they said. In spite of this, the girl said that the information on my ID didn't match the information on my account (my ID is old, as in, I move around a lot and don't change it every time I cross state lines, which is constantly). I told her that I thought she couldn't read it? Then, they took donations from people for a fundraiser I started, but wouldn't put the money in my actual bank account. They can take the money, then charge a "service fee" for a non-existent service, but can't actually credit my real bank without further "verification?" In spite of the fact that they had at least as much information as my actual bank. Giving my patrons a refund was a nightmare. By the grace of God, finally I was able to do it. But these fast-food banks aren't legit, in my opinion. They are cheap, ersatz, wannabe banks for people who spend more than $30 on a phone, and who collect "apps" instead of living life. But I don't want to tell you what I really think about that. It's your life. Live it, or don't, at your own discretion. But I don't believe in begging people for affirmation on a police-station bulletin board, personally. Which is what all social media is, without exception. A bulletin board in a police station. Even the "free speech" police stations like Gab and Minds. They breed mediocrity and conformity of thought. But I'll save those details for another time.
I'm old school. I do have SubscribeStar, which I honestly have no idea how to use. There is certainly nothing to subscribe to, in terms of "content creation." I make albums. You can find me on Spotify and other thrift-store platforms which provide shelves for my product to sit on consignment, and from which even big names make a ridiculous pittance (but we all are supposed to revere and actually be grateful for the shelf-space providers. You have traded your bands in for bandwidth, but that's your problem. You have gotten the culture you have paid for. Whether you like it, believe it, intended it, or not).
But if you want to donate via a fast-food bank, you can do so here:
https://www.subscribestar.com/nathanpayne
If the old school doesn't scare you, and you agree with me that eating the fee is CHEAPER than selling your personal information to a fast-food payment platform with contradictory, amateurish customer service, which can decide to deplatform you for arbitrary reasons (such as disagreeing with the politics of its usually-self-righteous founder), and which use terms like "community" as a weapon against individual integrity, thought, and rights (which is any platform that uses the word "community"), my bank info is pasted below.
Thanks again for listening,
Nathan Payne
p.s. Maybe I'll look at Payoneer again. I'm not trying to be difficult; I genuinely don't trust the fast-food banks with chewing gum names and "community happiness teams," like Patreon. Indeed, they give me every reason to distrust them. But looking up some info for this article, I am reminded that I think I tried Payoneer once. I'm going to look at it again, and if it seems even remotely legit, I'll do it. Will see....
Charles Schwab checking acct. number 440029741962
Routing number... 121202211
