Meet the Man Spending $28k on Substack Subscriptions!

Plus! Bagel declarations!! Jake Rich is Moving On!!!

Hello everyone,

Welcome to Issue #190 of CAFÉ ANNE!

So last week’s issue, in which I tracked down and ate NYC’s worst bagel (or was in the best?) provoked a lot of responses. Never mind abortion and gun control—what really gets people going is a good bagel controversy.

Among the provocative opinions submitted was Justin D’s bold declaration, “I truly believe pizza and bagels are done better in Jersey!” And then there was T-Pop’s wild assertion, “NYC bagels are better toasted, Montreal’s bagels are perfect as is. I SAID WHAT I SAID.”

I’m sticking with my original thinking: the best bagel is the bagel from the shop around the corner, wherever you may be. And if you don’t have a shop around the corner, you’re in the wrong place.

In other news, several readers directed my attention to a New York Times story last week about how Jimmy’s Corner, the legendary Times Square dive bar, is facing eviction by its landlord, one of the city’s largest developers. Of course, this had me wondering about Jake Rich, the musician living over the bar who I profiled last month in the very popular story, “What it’s Like to Live in Times Square.”

I contacted Jake and he confirmed that yes, he will soon be relocating. But true to form, it sounds like he’s already up for his next adventure. “I knew this wasn’t going last forever!” he said.

Finally huge best bagel shoutouts to newest paid subscriber Ralph G. That’s enough $$$ to buy ten bagels (toasted sesame with cream cheese, please) from the shop around the corner, Montague Bagels.

I am very excited for this week’s issue, of course. We’ve got a Q&A with David Roberts, an Upper East Side man who spends $28,000 a year on 390+ Substack subscriptions. Please enjoy.

Regards!

Anne

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DEPT. OF BONKERS NUMBERS

Meet the Man Spending $28k on Substack Subscriptions!

Substack power user David Roberts with his reading companion Sophia

Last year, I ran a Q&A with Upper East Side resident David Roberts, “What it’s Like to Be (Very) Rich in NYC.” The 63-year-old, who retired from a career in finance and writes his own fascinating newsletter, Sparks From Culture, was very open about his typical day, the silliest thing he’s ever splurged on and his tipping habits. It was one of my most popular stories ever. Readers seemed to enjoy learning that when David summers in East Hampton, his main chore is making sure there are enough paper towels on the paper towel holder.

I recently learned another fun fact about David: he maintains paid subscriptions to literally hundreds of Substacks!

When I found out, I did a little Anne math. That’s not just a lot of money, that’s a lot of reading! We’re talking at least 10 million words a year. What was up with my favorite Fifth Avenue multidecamillionaire? Earlier this week, David and I had a little Zoom chat about his Substack habit.

Please note: the following interview has been edited and condensed from a 90-minute convo.

According to a recent video interview of you produced by Substack, you have paid subscriptions to hundreds of Substack newsletters. How did that happen?

As I began to read Substacks, anytime I read something I really liked, I felt like I wanted to support them. It felt like a very inexpensive way to be a patron. And if I’m not going to do it at scale, who is? I’ve become more picky now, because I don’t want to have 1000 paids. Beyond a certain point, it might be ridiculous.

How do you decide what newsletters to support?

It’s a matrix of the value I think I’m getting from the author, whether my support is meaningful, and whether they have a paywall or not. If I really want to read what they’re writing and they have a pay wall, then I’m going to go paid. And then to the extent that I want to comment—some people have a paywall where you can only comment if you’re a paid subscriber.

If it’s up for renewal and I feel like I’m not getting a lot of value, I might not renew. I’d rather make room for a newer voice. And for some of the larger ones where I’ve been paid, I might let those lapse—they don’t necessarily need me, and I may not be reading them all the time.

But let’s say they’re a big-name author and they’re responding to my comments—that definitely influences me wanting to continue, because it’s cool to get a response. I always wonder, “Am I getting the response from the author, or do they have someone who’s helping them?” But I’ll suspend my disbelief and assume it’s them responding.

Who are some better-known authors you get responses from?

I’ve gotten some responses from Tina Brown. She’s a big name, and I think it’s her, because they’re very short. The poet Sherman Alexie, he’ll respond, and I I love his poems. Nate Silver responded to me once when I caught him in a statistical error—he tried to defend himself.

I emailed you yesterday to let you know that I’d be asking for exactly how many Substacks you have, and how much you’re paying a year. And you replied, “I try not to know exactly how many, and what it might cost, but I will dig it out.” Why didn’t you want to know?

I felt like it could be like a big number. But now that I’m talking about it, if you compare it to other patronage I do for the arts, it’s probably not a lot for what I’m receiving.

So did you find the actual number?

I don’t know any way of getting the specific number, except to ask Substack. But I think they have it.

I did little estimate. I said, “If he’s got at least 200 Substacks, and let’s say minimum, they’re $50 a year, that’s $10,000 a year.”

Many are more expensive than $50. I would say the average is certainly not $100, but it’s not $50. So if you take the middle, that would be $15,000, because it’s definitely over 200.

Maybe we can get the actual numbers from Substack. I also sent them a note yesterday to see if you’re the person on the platform who spends the most on subscriptions. Would you guess that you are?

I might be, because—if you think about it like a Venn diagram— there aren’t that many people who could spend $15,000 where it’s totally discretionary. There also aren’t that many people who would have the time to actually benefit from getting all these Substacks. So, yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if I was number one. They should have a competition! This could be a great marketing thing for them.

I track my own numbers very carefully. I support ten Substacks which will cost me $539 this year. I wish I could support more, and I bet a lot of people might say that.

Yes, I think it’s a luxury to be able to do this, because when you support a writer, you feel really good about it, and it’s an interesting form of being a patron of the arts—where $50 is meaningful to that artist and they know that it’s you, right? When you buy a book, they don’t necessarily know it’s you.

Are there Substacks you read for free?

Oh, absolutely. There are more free Substacks I subscribe to than paid Substacks.

How many subscriptions total?

I think around 800. I looked it up but didn’t write it down because I was embarrassed.

I’m being a little disingenuous because I actually have the number—this is a stat that’s publicly available on anyone’s profile. You’re subscribed to 877 Substacks! What do you have to say for yourself?

I don’t think I’m receiving anywhere near 877 because I think a lot of those Substacks are no longer active.

I was looking at some statistics about this the other day and yes, something like half the newsletters on the platform are zombies. So you’re probably getting around 450 newsletters.

And then the question is, what’s the average publishing rhythm of those? There are a few that do three to five times a week, and a few that may do once a month, or every two weeks. I might be getting 60 a day.

I’m currently subscribed to 137 Substacks, but only read every single issue of the newsletters I pay for. I’m curious about your situation.

I don’t read every one that I pay for, and certainly not every issue. The exception might be Feed Me, because I can go through it so quickly. If I become friends with someone, that’s also an influence. It’s like I’m getting a letter from my friend. So like, Eleanor Anstruther, when she’s writing about what’s going on with her life, I’ll always read that because I’m curious.

What’s your Substack reading routine?

I usually start my morning going through my emails, and a big part of that is seeing what I want to read that’s come in. It could be business emails, personal emails, or whatever—but a big percentage are Substacks, so it’s the author and the topic, and whether I find that interesting.

So maybe I’m opening 20 to 25 of them. Some I’ll skim a bit, and then decide if I really want to read this as a careful reader. Total time spent reading? I’d say maybe 90 minutes.

David at home, reading one of the several hundred Substack newsletters he supports

It sounds like your Substack newsletters are coming into the same inbox as everything else.

Yes, they are. And you say that quizzically, because most normal people probably would have a separate place for all the Substacks coming in.

I filter all the newsletters into a special email folder and then only read them in the app.

I’ll sometimes go on the app and find I missed one, or the email never came through, so then I’ll read it there.

Have you changed your Substack reading strategy over time?

I’ve refined it. I really try to look for quality of expression and thought, and I try to find writers who have different views than I have, who are outside my bubble.

It’s like the opening up of my mind, now that I have this time to think and write and read a lot of other opinions. I feel I now have a much wider view of the world, and much more of an appreciation for how my prior views were very much off-the-shelf, if you will. I’m reading about people who have very different circumstances than I do, and that’s fascinating.

I often roll my eyes at people who have clearly not really taken the time to form their own ideas. They’ve just taken some views off the shelf, as you said, and presented them as their own. But maybe most people just haven’t had the time and opportunity that you’ve had—to do their own reading and thinking and reflection.

Yeah, it’s a lot easier to just read a few editorials from your favorite newspaper and adopt those. There’s this line in Anna Karenina—not a major character, but he’s part of minor nobility—and Tolstoy talks about how he picks up his views like he’d pick a hat to wear that day. That hat has to be appropriate for someone in his station, and so do the views.

So yes, that was me. To legitimately form your own views does take a lot of time. And if your work doesn’t involve thinking and writing about these wider cultural issues, and you’re busy with other things, it’s hard to make that a priority.

I got a funny email recently from a reader who said, “Hello, please remove me from your mailing list. I am overwhelmed with emails and cannot keep up!”

Because the best thing for you is to get an email from her that you now have to respond to.

But she sounded so desperate, right? I think a lot of people feel completely overwhelmed these days with newsletter subscriptions.

I think that’s the case. The idea of getting a newsletter—that novelty has clearly worn off, and now the question is, “Who do I want to read, and what’s going to supply me with value?”

Yes. Suddenly everyone has a Substack. It’s the new podcast. And everyone has ten friends who just launched a newsletter. There’s too much to read! But most probably won’t last more than a few months. We might actually be at the peak right now.

That may be! It’s past the early adopter stage. It may winnow out.

So what’s worse—an unread backlog of Substacks, or a pile of unread New Yorkers lurking on your coffee table?

I would say unread Substacks. I used to save Substacks I wanted to come back to. I stopped for that very reason—I didn’t want to have a backlog. If I miss a Substack, so be it. I don’t like feeling the pressure.

Last question: any concern that when this interview comes out, you’re going to be bombarded with people asking you to support their newsletter?

It certainly could happen, but I think that’s fair game. I agreed to this interview!

A few days after we spoke, Substack’s senior communications manager replied to David with the data we’d requested regarding his specific numbers, and she cc’d me.

When I read the email, my eyeballs nearly popped out of my head:

“David, on our side, it looks like you pay for more than 390+ Substack publications, totaling more than $28k per year. We can confirm that you hold one of the highest spots on the platform for active paid Substack subscriptions.”

Haha! It was nearly twice what David estimated! l gave him a ring later that morning…

So what was your reaction?

I was surprised! I wasn’t upset so much as, “Wow, when I got started, I must have gone on a tear.” I did feel somewhat embarrassed, and I’m not sure if it was because I was so off the mark in my estimation, or the size of it. I think it’s smart of Substack not to give you a report because a lot of people might think, “I don’t really want to spend that much.”

Are you going to prune your subscriptions now?

No. There are certain Substacks that even if I don’t read, I feel a certain loyalty, and I don’t want them to get the “unsubscribe” email. That’s not a nice email to get. If you’re relying on this income in any way, shape or form, I don’t want to be the deliverer of that bad news.

From what Substack wrote, it sounds like someone might be ahead of you when it comes to the number of paid subscriptions. Are you going to find that person and take them down?

I think Substack was very smart to say I hold “one of the highest spots” on the platform. Because if I’m the highest, I look like I’m out there. What if the next highest is $18,000—or much lower than that? There’s something at an auction called the “winners curse”. You won, but you also paid the highest price, so I don’t think it’s necessarily an honor. I don’t think Substack would say I was the highest, even if I was.

Alright, but I’m going to think of you as the highest.

You can! But I’m going to continue in my blissful ignorance.

Reader, how many Substacks do you subscribe to? How many do you actually read? How many do you pay for? If you had an extra $28,000 lying around, would you support more newsletters? Explain yourself in the comments!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“There was a NYC before the US, there will absolutely be a NYC after the US.”

—Marvin Gonzalez

CAFÉ ANNE, a free weekly newsletter about NYC, is created by Brooklyn journalist Anne Kadet. Subscribe to get the latest issue every Monday.