The Story Of A Distro Release

Every FOSS project has to find ways to make money that offer value to their users as well as respecting their freedoms. This means that some of the methods proprietary products use are out. I've thought of an idea which may be novel enough to work for some.

Why not create a special release magazine during the release cycle of a distro, to be launched at the same time the distro is released? You could do a prepay deal with users wanting to support your distro, whereby they pay for their copy of the magazine in advance, the money raised helps fund the project. In return they get a few things:

• An email with a download links (direct and torrent) for the new distro release a day before it's made public
• A copy of the special edition magazine in various formats, epub, mobi, pdf etc as attachments
• A special edition CD and jewel case labels that won't ever be shown on the site itself

You could make the special edition magazines available on the projects site for everyone perhaps a week later. This way it gives people a way to give money to fund their favorite distro in return for some exclusive stuff before everyone else gets it. You could even offer a recurring $10 per year deal, where they automatically get it as long as the subscription is still active.

Depending on the costs, you could maybe offer a printed and mailed magazine, although that may end up being far too costly to be practical. It may be possible to solicit relevant and appropriate paying advertisers for these special edition magazines, as long as it's subtle.

The magazine itself would be the story of that release, with interviews with various people involved in bringing it out as well as some of the thought processes behind decisions they took, insights into IRC channels, mailing lists etc. It could also be a way to lay out plans for where they want to go with the next release. A distro could have someone they use as a "reporter" whose role it is, to watch the progress and build the magazine over the six months or so of the cycle, to seek out community members who are willing to spend a little time answering ten or so questions via email, PM, Skype or whatever method they prefer.

This would give something a bit unusual as an incentive to donate. As much as it is a sale, it's more of a donation with benefits. It wouldn't work as a sole income stream but as something extra, in addition to the projects existing income streams.

It would also work as incentive to volunteer help on a project. It'd act kinda like a year book, where people get credited for their contributions, some of them even interviewed. It'd help put personality to faces people talk to all day on IRC or in forums.