The Hard Times Explained

The Hard Times
Logo Alt:Logo of The Hard Times
Type:Satirical website
Founder:Matt Saincome
Bill Conway
Ed Saincome
Staff:250-300 contributors (July 2017)
Foundation:December 2014
Headquarters:San Francisco
Motto:"Punk News Comin' Your Way!"

The Hard Times is a satirical website with a focus on punk (especially hardcore punk and first wave screamo), alt music, and millennial culture[1] [2] [3] [4] founded in 2014 by former SF Weekly music editor Matt Saincome,[5] [6] his brother Ed Saincome, and comedian Bill Conway.[7] It has been compared to The Onion, ClickHole, and Reductress in style, and has received praise for its specificity and niche appeal.[8]

The Hard Times also publishes Hard Drive, a satirical video game vertical, hosts stand-up comedy shows at music festivals, and produces podcasts.[9] As of 2021,[10] the Hard Times podcast network included:

Content published by The Hard Times is typically virally spread through engagement on social media such as Facebook. The site averages between 2 and 6 million views a month.

History

Founder Matt Saincome began pitching the idea for The Hard Times in 2012 as a junior studying journalism at San Francisco State.[11] [12] [13] He formally founded The Hard Times with his brother Ed and comedian Bill Conway in December 2014, following a soft launch earlier in the year.

In September 2016, the site passed 3 million views, and entered into an advertising partnership with Vice Media.

In 2017, the site launched Hard Drive for video game related articles, and began developing video content. The site tapped Jeremy Kaplowitz, Mike Amory, and Mark Roebuck as co-founding editors.

In 2018, The Hard Times began work on a book and a television show.

In 2019, several editors of The Hard Times and actor Phil Jamesson created a parody presidential candidate Ace Watkins account on Twitter, with the fictional candidate claiming to aspire to be "the first gamer president".[14] The Twitter account amassed more than 40,000 followers within several days after the account's creation.

Hard Times Media LLC sold The Hard Times to Project M Group, the parent company of Revolver magazine and Inked magazine, in July 2020, while maintaining ownership of Hard Drive.[15]

In May of 2023 The Hard Times parted ways with Project M and is once again owned and operated independently by the site's founders.

See also

References

  1. News: How The Hard Times Is Building A Bridge Between Punk and Comedy. Daniels. Melissa. Forbes. 2018-09-22. en. 2018-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20180922141818/https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissamdaniels/2017/07/12/how-the-hard-times-is-building-a-bridge-between-punk-and-comedy/. live.
  2. News: Punk And Irony Are Dead; Long Live The Hard Times. Raggett. Ned. The Concourse. 2018-09-22. en-US. 2018-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20180922140129/https://theconcourse.deadspin.com/punk-and-irony-are-dead-long-live-the-hard-times-1699112264. live.
  3. News: The Hard Times is perfecting punk satire . 2016-11-06. The Daily Dot. 2018-09-22. en-US. 2018-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20180922135835/https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/hard-times-punk-facebook/. live.
  4. Spotlight: 'The Hard Times' Founder Matt Saincome on Turning Punk Into Comedy & Developing a New TV Show. Billboard. 2018-09-22. 2018-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20180922141424/https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8214723/the-hard-times-matt-saincome-spotlight-interview. live.
  5. News: About - The Hard Times. The Hard Times. 2018-09-22. en-US. 2018-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20180922135937/https://thehardtimes.net/about/. live.
  6. News: The Hard Times Unveils Its First Ever Documentary - October 4, 2016 - SF Weekly. 2016-10-04. SF Weekly. 2018-09-22. en-US. 2018-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20180922173325/http://www.sfweekly.com/music/allshookdown/hard-times-unveils-first-ever-documentary/. live.
  7. Web site: In strange times for Internet satire, the Hard Times grows beyond its punk niche . Brown. August. Los Angeles Times . 13 January 2017 . 2018-09-22. 2018-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20180922135945/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-hard-times-20170110-story.html. live.
  8. News: 'The Hard Times' Founder Gives An Inside Look At His Punk Satire Site. 2017-11-08. Uproxx. 2018-09-22. en-US. 2018-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20180922135810/https://uproxx.com/music/the-hard-times-punk-satire-matt-saincome-interview/. live.
  9. Web site: We're the Founders of the Hard Times, and This Is How We Work. Douglas. Nick. Lifehacker. 10 April 2019 . en-US. 2019-08-02. 2019-07-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20190717152254/https://lifehacker.com/were-the-founders-of-the-hard-times-and-this-is-how-we-1833611661. live.
  10. Web site: Hard Times Podcast Network . The Hard Times . 2021-08-14.
  11. News: Area Punk, Founder of 'The Hard Times', and Entertainer of Millions Lands Major Interview with RiotFest.org Riot Fest. 2018-01-05. Riot Fest. 2018-09-22. en-US. 2018-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20180922135711/https://riotfest.org/2018/01/hard-times-interview/. live.
  12. News: The Hard Times founder sent us this article he wrote about himself . 2018-02-06. Alternative Press. 2018-09-22. en-US. 2018-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20180922140114/https://www.altpress.com/features/hard_times_matt_saincome_founder_interview/. live.
  13. Web site: Alum Matt Saincome Founded Satirical Punk-Rock Website The Hard Times College of Liberal & Creative Arts. lca.sfsu.edu. en. 2018-09-22. 2018-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20180922140338/https://lca.sfsu.edu/lcanews/2018/02/07/817607-alum-matt-saincome-founded-satirical-punk-rock-website-hard-times. live.
  14. Web site: Ace Watkins, the first 'gamer candidate,' gains thousands of Twitter followers. 13 July 2019. The Daily Dot. en. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190715153544/https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/meet-ace-watkins-the-first-gamer-candidate/. 15 July 2019. 7 September 2019.
  15. News: Ha . Anthony . Project M acquires punk rock satire site The Hard Times . 8 July 2020 . TechCrunch . July 2, 2020 . 10 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200710153827/https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/02/project-m-acquires-the-hard-times/ . live .

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