As a member, I'm a little unsure about this.
Maybe I'm not the type of person who attaches particular importance to exclusivity.
But maybe I'm also the type of person who prides himself on not attaching particular importance to exclusivity.
Difficult ^^

I hear you Lars but Richard is in business to make money. I paid for his training so it feels better to me that I get more than the non-paying viewer. If you go to a movie theater, you have to buy a ticket to watch the movie. What if others got to see the same movie without paying? Richard seems to be appreciating the paying members a bit more with this minor change.

Joe thank you. I really appreciate you saying that, and I agree with you 100%.

Yes, this is a business, and the only way I can keep doing this long term is to make sure the business stays healthy. Over the last five years I have put an enormous amount of time and energy into free TechHelp content, and there are literally thousands of hours of it available between the website and YouTube. There is more than enough free material out there for anyone to learn how to build solid Microsoft Access databases.

Moving forward, I still plan to release content regularly, but my focus is going to shift. A lot of the free videos will be explainer-style content and gap-fillers where I do not already show up in search results. The deeper, more advanced, and more time-intensive material is going to be aimed at members. Quite frankly, those are the people who make it possible for me to keep doing this.

One of the biggest pieces of feedback I have received over the past couple of years is that there have not been enough developer-level lessons coming out. I hear that loud and clear. My goal is to consistently release at least one new developer video every week going forward, and that is where most of my creative energy needs to go.

I am always grateful for everyone who watches the free content, but when I have to choose where to spend my limited time, I am going to err on the side of taking care of the members who support the site and pay the bills. I truly appreciate you being one of them, and I am glad this change feels like the right direction to you.

Lars I took that as tongue-in-cheek, no worries.

I do not really think of this as an exclusivity issue either. It is more about where I put my limited time and energy. Over the years, the loudest request I keep hearing is for more advanced and developer-focused material, and that kind of content simply takes more time to produce.

So this shift is less about locking things away and more about aligning my effort with the people who are asking for that deeper content and helping support the site. I will still share plenty publicly, but the heavier lifting is going to live with the members.

I appreciate you speaking up and thinking it through.

I totally agree with you both, Richard and Joe!  I have benefited so much more than the cost as a gold member over the past couple years. That's why now was the time I upgraded to platinum and MYOLP developer. And can't beat the extra perks with the holiday sale!

Bill Mark and I appreciate that. Thanks for trusting me with your Access education and your hard-earned money. I hope the investment quadruples itself in value for you.

Yes,I agree. Haven't been a member for long but worth every penny. Richard you keep producing and I will keep buying. All the best for 2026

Disclaimer: I am not a developer and probably never will be. I am in sales and just wanted a CRM. I came to this site through You Tube and watched as many of the Tech Helps as I could, the free versions. Those videos gave me the ability to begin to create the database I have currently and sparked my interest to learn Access again(I built a Purchasing system in Access in 1995). I liked how the free videos helped me create a solid functional database. Once I got started with my database, I noticed the Extended Cuts were where the “Juice” was and would take my learning to the next level. So, I purchased a Silver membership and took lessons all the way through Developer 25. I had that for a couple of years and then upgraded to Gold because I saw the value of the code vault and where that could take me.

All this to say, I hope you keep some meat on the bone in the free videos because that is what inspired me to become a member. As my database grew, I wanted more from it and knew the extended cuts would take me there. And man have they! Love the way you teach and the community you have created!  This is a safe, wonderful place to learn and I am proud to be a member.  Keep up the great work sir!

Brent thank you for taking the time to write that. I really appreciate it.

Just to be 100% clear, I am not stopping free TechHelp videos. Not even close. In fact, I recorded two today (Fitness Parts 66 and 67), and I will absolutely continue producing free content. That free material is still the front door, just like it was for you, and I have no intention of closing it.

What is changing is where I spend most of my deeper effort. There is already a massive amount of free Access material out there (including thousands of hours of mine), and as you proved, someone can build a solid, real-world database using only the free TechHelp videos. Going forward, I want the free content to focus more on explainer-style videos, content gaps, and discoverability, while the heavier, more advanced, and more time-intensive lessons live with the members.

That balance is what allows me to keep doing this long-term, and it is also what lets me put more energy into things members keep asking for, like advanced topics and new areas such as my upcoming SQL Server course.

I genuinely appreciate your perspective because you are exactly the kind of path I want to preserve: free content inspires, members go deeper. I am really glad you are here, and I am grateful for the kind words about the community too. Everyone here rocks! :)

Brent That is the path a lot of us took. It is a low friction approach that gets people engaged. Richard is a fantastic teacher. I am on the site every day! I cannot imagine a day without it. I simply love programming and this site is full of great people who are always willing to help.