PAVE Studios has selected Supporting Cast to provide subscription infrastructure for “Crime House,” the company’s true crime brand. The deal gives “Crime House” subscribers access to ad-free listening, bonus episodes, early releases, and exclusive content, with additional subscriber-only experiences planned.

Supporting Cast’s platform manages subscriptions, payment processing, private podcast delivery, newsletters, and community tools from a single system. Crime House had previously launched a subscription tier, Crime House+, through Apple Podcasts.

“Crime House was built around the idea that fans want deeper relationships with the creators and stories they love,” said Max Cutler, founder and CEO of PAVE Studios. “Supporting Cast gives us the infrastructure to create premium experiences that strengthen those connections while building a sustainable, direct relationship with our audience.”

“Crime House,” which launched in 2024, operates across audio, video, social media, and live experiences, drawing millions of monthly listeners and viewers. Its creator roster includes Morgan Absher, Kaelyn Moore, Sarah Turney, Heidi Wong, Vanessa Richardson, Carter Roy, Dr. Tristin Engels, and Kourtney Nichole, with a combined social following exceeding 50 million.

The partnership responds to a broader shift among podcast publishers toward subscription revenue and direct audience relationships. Patreon reported in April that podcasters earned more than $629 million on its platform in 2025, the highest-earning category on Patreon for the second consecutive year, up 33% year over year, supported by 7.6 million paid memberships across more than 47,000 active podcasters.

A separate survey from Epidemic Sound found that 95% of full-time and part-time creators are already engaging audiences through direct-to-fan models, with the report attributing the shift partly to “platform saturation and algorithm changes disrupting traditional ad-based income.” Fan subscriptions ranked as the third-largest revenue source for creators, cited by 27% of respondents.

“PAVE understands that the strongest media businesses are built around passionate audiences, and we’re excited to help Crime House deepen those relationships through premium memberships that create value for both fans and creators,” said David Stern, CEO of Supporting Cast.

Supporting Cast serves NPR, SiriusXM, NBC, CBS, Lemonada Media, Slate, and Vox Media.

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