Well, it is my understanding that if you NEVER get that money back then it should be a loss, yes.
The reason for this is that if you never get paid for the $10,000 worth of membership you sold, those members got access to your content for free. So it's a business loss since membership costs you money (money to produce content, money for bandwidth, money to edit the content etc.. etc..)
Of course, if you're unsure it's always a good idea to see a tax expert since I am not one. Just offerring suggestions (and not tax advice) based on what I would do if I were in this situation.
