Sounder at Heart was founded in 2008 by Dave Clark and joined SB Nation about a year later. Around the same time, Jeremiah Oshan joined the team and shared much of the editing responsibilities. In the decade-plus since, the site has become the standard bearer for MLS team coverage through in-person reporting, informed opinion-writing and thoughtful analysis while building an inclusive community. On Aug. 21, we embarked on a new journey as an independent news outlet and community that is primarily reader-supported. As part of this process, Sounder at Heart, Nos Audietis and Ride of the Valkyries now exist under the umbrella of PNW Soccer Media with this site as our central hub.
While we hope to keep most of our content in front of the paywall, there are benefits to becoming a paid member, the biggest of which is knowing that you are helping to support the most comprehensive independent coverage of the Sounders, Reign and other soccer teams in the Seattle area, while also keeping it free from programmatic ads that have greatly contributed to degrading the browsing experience.
Why we're doing this
It is our belief that ad-supported media is reaching a tipping point. While we definitely benefited from our time with SB Nation, the industry as a whole has long rewarded chasing scale at the cost of quality. Plus, ad overload is a thing that we hate as much as you do. Related to this is the idea that media is big business where valuations often reach into the billions. It is our intention to remove ourselves from this cycle.
We fully intend to remain the most-read independent site covering North American soccer, but by becoming reader-supported we believe we can focus on quality over scale. The content we write will be the content you want to read. This is also why we are resisting the urge to bring on investors who would be primarily focused on turning the site for a big profit. Our only investors will be readers and sponsors who share our vision and ideals. All revenue we generate will go directly toward supporting our editorial efforts and strengthening our coverage.
New ways to receive content
Building on what we started with our Nos Audietis newsletter, we will be delivering even more content to your inbox. You can opt in to however much content you want to receive, with a range options from updates every time we publish to much more limited cadences or even none at all. We also have a podcast channel that flies under the Nos Audietis banner that publishes 2-4 times a week and offers breakdowns of recent Sounders and Reign matches, answers listener questions, interviews the biggest names in the sport and gives insight into upcoming opponents.
Embrace your community
Everyone is encouraged to join our community of commenters but we'll also be offering access to an even more intimate and engaged community with our new Discord server that's available to "Supporters" and above. If you don't feel as though you can become a paid supporter, you can still help us by sharing our content far and wide, telling your friends and family about what we're doing, listening to our podcasts and checking out our merch table.
A beacon of hope
Not to be too dramatic, but in this time of ever-consolidating media offerings – especially for niche coverage like domestic soccer – it is our intention to be a model and a beacon of hope for others. If you're a fan of another team and feel like you have something to offer, we'd be happy to share our insight into what we've learned over the years and how we are making this happen.
Thank you and remember, You'll Never Yacht Alone.
Contact us
Editorial inquiries
Sponsorship inquiries
Technical assistance