Here’s an old picture of Dave and Luke – it’s all I could find on Google.

Being creative isn’t easy. Whether it’s writing, music, film-making or something else, it takes work. It means spending time working on that craft when you could be doing something a whole lot more fun (at least that’s the way it feels when I’m writing for the blog or a book). It means putting in an effort.

And that effort is worth something. It’s always been a bugbear of mine that people are happy to download music or movies for free – as though the people who created them don’t deserve to be paid for what they’ve done.

That’s why I’ve always refused to download movies or TV shows and will instead buy the DVD when it comes out – because the creators deserve to be paid. It’s why I have literally downloaded one (yes, just one) song off the internet in my lifetime. Because I’d prefer to pay $15-$30 for a CD to show the artist that I value their work and the effort that went into it.

It’s the same deal with websites. If there’s a site I visit regularly and I’m finding I get some value out of it, then I’m happy to fling a few bucks their way. They’ve put in the effort to create content I enjoyed, so they should be rewarded for that.

Now, this isn’t the build-up for me to ask you for money to keep my blog going. Nope, I reckon I’d have to be offering a bit more in terms of content and a bit less stupidity before I could expect to have you fling money my way.

But this IS a build-up for you to fling money at someone else. Luke and Dave over at Ale of a Time. I’ve enjoyed the blog and podcast over the years, so I figure it’s only fair that I pay a bit of money for that. Which I’ve done this morning, just an hour or so after he asked for some help.

So if you’ve enjoyed their stuff, go fling some money at them – here’s all the details.

And if there’s some other creative type whose labours you’ve been enjoying for free, maybe think about paying them for it. It’s the right thing to do.