Tom Nicholas
patreon
Video: The Rise (and Fall) of Patreon
🕑 Added 2023-10-01 18:59:41 +0000 UTCHello all!
Here it is, my latest video: The Rise (and Fall) of Patreon.
A slightly weird one to be posting here on Patreon itself!
In fact, this has been a slightly weird one to make. The unique relationship that many creators (including myself) have with Patreon seems to shield it from even very light criticism. While I think there are many, many positives to come out of Patreon's rise, I thus wanted to try and view the company through a more detached, nuanced lens.
I've hesitated to include too many predictions about what might happen to Patreon next. My naive hope would be that they decide to refocus on the basics and building a sustainable business model using the features that made the platform so popular in the first place.
In the short term, though, I simply hope that the video can invite a more complex conversation about Patreon among both creators and fans!
Whatever questions I might raise about the company, know that I super appreciate all of you who support me on here. It really does give me some extra freedom on what I write and produce videos about knowing that there is some money which isn't tied to viewership or sponsorships.
I've got big, big plans for making more and better videos over the next year, and by being signed up to support me on here you are a huge part of making that happen.
Thanks as ever for your generous support!
Tom
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Comments
Tom Nicholas
That’s a really good example. I haven’t used Bandcamp much in recent years but used to love it when I was a bit younger and going to lots of gigs etc. as loads of musicians use it. Kickstarter is actually a public benefit corporation (although I don’t know entirely what that means for how they operate). In fact, given I’ve done so much critiquing of “bad” internet companies lately, maybe I should make a video highlighting some good ones.
Tom Nicholas
Yeah, sorry it’s a bit of a headache. I don’t mind some aspects of the redesign and I’m sure I’ll get used to some of it. Whether or not all the many, many new features will actually get used by most creators is something else though.
A username far far away in a galaxy
A company with a similar creator focused mission would be Bandcamp. This is a small profitable music merch and partly streaming platform. They were recently sold to the music rights company Songtrader. Since Bandcamp is mostly noncommercial in its musical offerings, it does not make much sense. Patreon, in its original idea, is much closer to its mission. Maybe a public benefit company or ethical investor will combine these 2 in the long run and just be content with running a healthy midsize business supporting the arts. But who am I kidding, right?
Amro
Thanks Tom, only just managed to watch this on this truly awful new app update. “God” help us from the improvements of the Tech Bros.
