Tim Ferriss, host of The Tim Ferriss Show, and author of The 4-Hour Workweek (among other books), is moving to a new model with his podcast. He will remove ads and sponsors from his podcast for a six-month test. The podcast will continue to be free for everyone, and he is not putting it behind a paywall.

Fans who would like to contribute to his works can do so if they would like to. Subscription options range from $9.95/month to $1,000/month.

Tim Ferriss says, “Please only contribute what you feel great about contributing. This is zero pressure, and I’m not mailing out any beer koozies or other crap you don’t want. I’ll just do and share more good stuff.”

Since the podcast has become the engine that fuels everything else, if this experiment doesn’t work out after six months, we’ll go back to sponsors. If it works, we’ll stay with fan-supported. Easy peasy.

Tim Ferriss gave three reasons why he decided to do this:

• “I’d really love a more direct relationship with my most dedicated listeners, readers, and fans.”
• “Sponsors and ads chew up a TON of time that I’d rather spend finding and doing cool things I can share with you.”
• “Over the years, thousands of readers and fans have asked me, “How can I thank you?”

More details can be found on his website. He is potentially taking a financial risk by removing ads and sponsors from the show. If the experiment doesn’t work out as he hoped it would, it might be difficult to entice the dropped sponsors to return.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Tim Ferriss’s net worth is $100 million. Between that, and his huge fan base, it seems to me that his experiment could work out for him. But, if it doesn’t, it appears that he won’t be destitute. Few podcasters can safely take that sort of risk.