When I decided to leave my full-time job with Vox Media and take Sounder at Heart independent in 2023, I really wasn’t sure what I was getting into. I had lots of experience in the journalism world — I worked for about a decade in newspapers and an additional 15 years in digital media — but had never run my own business. I knew Sounder at Heart had a dedicated audience, but it had always been supported by ads and was free for all to read.
It was also, effectively, a turn-key operation where the only thing I needed to do was make sure the content-creating machine continued to spit out stuff for people to consume.
More than two years into this project, you’ve probably heard me say that the degree to which this has been a success has blown me away. But, like telling my wife how much I love her, I never want to stop telling you all that. More importantly, I never intend to take our continued growth for granted.
With the books now closed on 2025, we have well over 3,000 active paid subscribers and nearly 9,000 members — yes, even after the recent events. At the same time, Sounder at Heart’s team of writers, editors, podcasters, producers, photographers, graphic designers and creators has ballooned to nearly 50 people. About a dozen of those people produce something at least once a week I can’t even count the number of individual pieces of content, but we had hundreds of stories that would have never been told if not for the very real work all of these folks have been putting in.
That’s what I’m most proud of: Sounder at Heart has become a hub for producing insightful, interesting and entertaining content about our favorite teams. I wake up every day proud to be helping to make that happen.
Of course, that was the easy part. I never doubted that we could create better and more interesting content if given the chance. What I was less sure of was if I could run a business.
That’s also gone even better than I could have imagined. As distasteful as it is to make this about money, I think we’ve seen that the only way this works is if people are being compensated.
Not only have I been able to fully replace my income and focus on running Sounder at Heart full-time, we’ve also been able to pay for virtually every piece of content we’ve run since going independent. Those content creators, I’m proud to say, are paid much closer to something I’d call a fair wage for their work. That’s not just good for everyone’s pocketbooks, it also makes this a sustainable project. It’s important that everyone likes the work they’re doing on the site, and fairly compensating them ensures that they’ll be able to keep doing it.
This has allowed us to create a podcast network that now produces considerably more audio content about both the Sounders and Reign; put boots on the ground at virtually every Sounders training session; write longer and more researched stories; discover new and interesting voices; and generally expand our breadth and quality of coverage.
We’ve also launched a members-only Discord that has given commenters someplace they can engage with each other in real time and now boasts more than 800 members, about half of whom visit at least weekly.
But one of the axioms journalists live by is “you’re only as good as your next story” and our goal is to keep improving. We have big plans in 2026, perhaps the most ambitious of which is our intention to launch a new print publication.
The name of this new venture is “IV” — pronounced “four” — as it will effectively be Sounder at Heart 4.0 (and we are addicted to pretentious stuff like Roman numerals). In it, you’ll find beautiful photographs and artwork; magazine-exclusive content that is intended to have a longer shelf-life than our website; and useful data that you’ll be able to refer to throughout the year.
The first issue will be a season preview with content aimed at getting Sounders and Reign fans ready for 2026. We have a second issue planned that will be themed on the upcoming World Cup, with a particular focus on the Pacific Northwest. If those two issues go well, it’s our intention to make this a quarterly magazine.
If you like this idea, we’re now taking pre-orders with the hope of getting the first edition into readers hands by mid-February. That same week, we’ll be hosting an in-person launch event where readers can pick up physical copies (if you don’t think you’ll be able make that event, please choose the shipping option).
We’re also looking for advertisers. If you’re interested, fill out this form.
But that’s not all! We are also in the process of developing a new podcast show that will live on the Nos Audietis feed and explore more long-form subjects; will soon be releasing a full-text RSS feed; are expanding our coverage of the Tacoma Defiance and Sounders Academy; are working with producers to create more video content; and have recruited more analytically focused writers. In other words, expect more of what makes Sounder at Heart great.
Once again, thank you to everyone who has made this possible. While Sounder at Heart isn’t perfect, I firmly believe it’s become the best community to talk about MLS and the NWSL anywhere in the world and you are why.
With that in mind, we’d also like to invite you to fill out a survey specifically about Sounder at Heart and what we can do to improve.
