# Where My Pinball Money Goes

**Source:** Kineticist  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2025-12-08  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.kineticist.com/news/where-my-pinball-money-goes

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## Analysis

Colin at Kineticist explains the operational costs and technical infrastructure behind running an independent pinball media outlet, revealing the expenses and tools needed to sustain quality journalism without advertising. He makes a transparent pitch for paid subscriptions, emphasizing that indie media requires direct community support to remain independent and focused on reader value rather than sponsor interests.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Kineticist's operational model requires at least one pinball machine's worth of annual budget — _Colin directly states 'I'm contributing at least a pinball machine a year' as the cost of running the operation_
- [HIGH] Kineticist uses no-code/low-code platforms and tools rather than custom development — _Colin explicitly: 'I'm not a coder! I rely on a variety of platforms and tools that enable me to build without dealing with too much code'_
- [HIGH] Indie media projects cannot survive on quality and word-of-mouth alone — _Colin states directly: 'indie media projects like this one don't survive on positive vibes alone' and 'I used to think that if the work's good enough, it will speak for itself... But that's just not how things work'_
- [HIGH] Kineticist operates without advertising or sponsorship revenue — _Colin describes the model as helping 'continue working for you, instead of chasing advertisers and sponsors'_
- [HIGH] Kineticist maintains a private Discord server for paid subscribers — _Colin lists 'access to our private Discord server' as a paid subscriber benefit_

### Notable Quotes

> "I'm not a coder! I rely on a variety of platforms and tools that enable me to build without dealing with too much code."
> — **Colin**
> _Reveals Kineticist's operational strategy of using no-code/low-code solutions rather than custom development_

> "indie media projects like this one don't survive on positive vibes alone. It survives because people believe in it enough to chip in and support it."
> — **Colin**
> _Core pitch for why community support is essential to independent pinball media_

> "I used to think that if the work's good enough, it will speak for itself and people will subscribe on principle. But that's just not how things work."
> — **Colin**
> _Candid reflection on the failure of merit-based sustainability models for indie media_

> "your support helps us continue working for you, instead of chasing advertisers and sponsors."
> — **Colin**
> _Core value proposition: independence from sponsor influence is contingent on subscriber support_

> "He's a lifetime gamer who became enamored with pinball after taking in a family copy of the 1979 classic Joker Poker (the EM version)."
> — **Unknown**
> _Establishes Colin's personal pinball background and credibility within the community_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Colin | person | Chief pixel pusher at Kineticist; indie media operator; pinball community member and tournament competitor |
| Kineticist | company | Independent pinball media outlet founded/operated by Colin; provides pinball news, analysis, and deep dives via newsletter and subscription model |
| This Week in Pinball | organization | Pinball media outlet that Colin contributes to; referenced as a major industry news source |
| Pinball Map | organization | Open-source pinball location mapping project; Kineticist's infrastructure model is inspired by their transparency |
| New England Pinball League | organization | Tournament league that Colin participates in and contributes to |
| Pin-Masters of New England | organization | Pinball tournament/league organization that Colin contributes to |
| Joker Poker | game | 1979 EM (electromechanical) pinball machine; the game that sparked Colin's lifelong interest in pinball |
| Back Indie Media Drive | event | Campaign/initiative that Kineticist is participating in to encourage support for independent media |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Indie media business model and sustainability, Pinball media and journalism, Subscription and paid content strategy, Community support and crowdfunding, Independence from advertising and sponsorship
- **Secondary:** No-code/low-code operational tools, Colin's personal pinball history

### Sentiment

**Neutral** (0)

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Kineticist reveals annual operating costs equivalent to one pinball machine and emphasizes the necessity of paid subscriber revenue to remain independent and advertising-free (confidence: high) — Colin states 'I'm contributing at least a pinball machine a year' and positions subscriptions as essential to avoid 'chasing advertisers and sponsors'
- **[content_signal]** Kineticist is implementing a paid subscription model with tiered benefits including private Discord access and exclusive 'Moving Units' series content (confidence: high) — Colin lists 'access to our private Discord server, and exclusive content like our Moving Units series' as paid subscriber benefits
- **[operational_signal]** Kineticist operates using no-code/low-code platforms rather than custom development, with Colin acknowledging the efficiency trade-off versus what a dedicated developer could build (confidence: high) — Colin: 'I rely on a variety of platforms and tools that enable me to build without dealing with too much code' and describes this as his 'not a coder tax'
- **[community_signal]** Kineticist is participating in the Back Indie Media Drive, signaling broader industry recognition of the precarity of independent pinball journalism (confidence: high) — Colin states 'That's why I'm doing things like participating in the Back Indie Media Drive'
- **[industry_signal]** Colin's candid reflection reveals that indie media sustainability cannot rely on merit alone; market forces require direct community investment to compete with ad-supported alternatives (confidence: high) — Colin: 'I used to think that if the work's good enough, it will speak for itself and people will subscribe on principle. But that's just not how things work'

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## Transcript

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Colin is the chief pixel pusher at Kineticist. He's a lifetime gamer who became enamored with pinball after taking in a family copy of the 1979 classic Joker Poker (the EM version). Since then he's bought, sold and repaired many machines, competed in all kinds of tournaments, and contributes to This Week in Pinball, the New Robert Englunds Pinball League, and Pin-Masters of New Robert Englunds. Previously, Colin spent over a decade working in marketing for agencies and tech startups. He also started and ran a music blog, happy hour website, and wrote a regular craft beer review column for Central Track in Dallas. Once aspired to be an artsy film director.
I’ve wanted to write something like this for a long time. It’s heavily inspired by the detailed list that our friends at Pinball Map have on their website, but since we’re not an open-source project, it always seemed a bit too transparent.
Keep in mind, I’m not a coder! I rely on a variety of platforms and tools that enable me to build without dealing with too much code.
Are there ways to do this more effectively and cost-efficiently? Of course. Could a full-stack developer build something like this in their sleep? No doubt in my mind. But, this is how I, as a marketer-cum-journalist was able to build something that works on my own.
Here’s what I like to think of as my “not a coder” tax. They provide important connections between tools or other time-saving automations that help me maximize my time and spend more of it creating content.
Why tell you all this? Because indie media projects like this one don’t survive on positive vibes alone. It survives because people believe in it enough to chip in and support it.
I used to think that if the work’s good enough, it will speak for itself and people will subscribe on principle. But that’s just not how things work. That’s why I’m doing things like participating in the Back Indie Media Drive and why I’m being so blunt and transparent here.
I’m contributing at least a pinball machine a year. Can you contribute, too, with a new paid subscription?
Paid subscribers get the satisfaction of keeping us independent, access to our private Discord server, and exclusive content like our Moving Units series.
But, more importantly, your support helps us continue working for you, instead of chasing advertisers and sponsors.

_(Acquisition: web_scrape, Enrichment: v4)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 183ff8ab-9199-4c08-aec3-392499de397e*