So Michelangelo says to the Prince: “Whattup, Prince. It’s cool that you dig my sculptures and commission me to do one every five years or so, but I still gotta pay rent, go for brunch and pick up my art supplies in between commissions. That’s a lotta chedda’, and I need to make it rain!”
If only Michelangelo had a DeLorean, he could’ve taken advantage of a new philosophy of independent cultural enterprise that relies on the direct, regular and ongoing relationship between artists and their paying fans (or, as Michelangelo would’ve referred to them, patrons).
A New Patron Age
Jack Conte, half of indie duo Pamplemoose & founder of Patreon.org
Quoting from one of my former publishing company’s own titles, The New Rockstar Philosophy, in its chapter on The Nano Rockstar, authors Matt Voyno and Roshan Hoover describe the idea this way for musicians in particular: “With a die-hard fan base of very few, it’s possible, using a subscription model, to earn a comfortable living and continue to make your music.” (The New Rockstar Philosophy: a Guerrilla Blueprint for Digitally Conscious Artists)
But the concept doesn’t just work for musicians—basically anyone who creates something they can share on a regular basis can take advantage of this model: authors, dancers, bloggers, painters, photographers, cartoonists and illustrators are only a few.
This subscription model became commercialized online for creators in 2013 with the entry into the crowdfunding platform space of Patreon.org, started by indie duo Pomplamoose’s Jack Conte. Here’s how it works: You ask your fan base (who already love you and your work) to participate in a new level of engagement with you – that of a patron. They agree to pay you a monthly micro-sum of their choosing (from options you’ve offered) in return for a different packages of engagement perks ranging from early access to content (pre-public release) to discounts on show tickets to extra unreleased content. Patreon has a number of newer features and integrations with other programs that allow you to monetize your content, as well as do many other things that help automate administering benefits, growing your fan base and promoting your work.
You agree in return to earn that patronage by sharing your newest content before others see it, give exclusive access to behind-the-scenes video or any number of other related benefits. Patrons have the satisfying knowledge that one of their favourite creators continues to work, or is able to work more, in part because of their monthly support.
What Does it Cost?
Patreon charges 5% for their fees and 5% to cover transaction fees, which is a bit higher than other kinds of crowdfunding platforms, but the system is set up specifically to support the subscription model for creators, unlike traditional all-purpose crowdfunding platforms.
If you’re an indie author trying to figure out if the membership or subscription-based model is for you, here’s a handy guide by blogger Orna Ross
Creative Cash Flow
Soon you’ll be bathing in money! (Disclaimer: You probably will not be able to actually bathe in money.)
The more fans who sign up willing to pay small increments ($1, $5, etc.) per month to you, the more you create a sustainable monthly cash flow that allows you to pay bills and do your art. Say you’re a writer who needs to pen a novel this year and your cash flow needs are $3,000/month. You’ll need 1,500 patrons at $2/month, or 3,000 patrons at $1/month, or some combination that gets you to that total. Yay math!
But Does It Work?
In its first year, Patreon distributed over $1 million to its artists, with some of the most popular ones making more than $100,000. The latest figures from Grapheon, the research arm that reports on Patreon, are
Michael Wolf, tech writer for Forbes wrote this in May of 2013: “Their marketplace currently includes 50,000 patrons and 15,000 creators, with one third of creators also falling in the patron bucket – giving financial support to other artists on the platform.”
Those numbers have gone crazy in the six years since: Today there are 138,566 creators on Patreon who are being supported by more than five million individual pledges by more than 3 million patrons representing nearly $13 million/month in payouts.
Pretty impressive numbers, but like all forms of crowdfunding, it isn’t as easy as “build it and they will come.” You still have to build a crowd who appreciates your work before you can ask them to pony up their credit card number for monthly payments.
Creative Accountability
As a content development coach, I like the accountability and consequences this kind of model automates for the creator. In Patreon’s model your patrons’ credit card charges can be triggered by your content posting, so if you don’t create anything new and post it this month, you quite literally don’t get paid. In other versions of the model you can choose to be paid a certain amount monthly for update reports on development of work, but you’d better ensure those updates happen and samples of the work get shared, or your patrons may lose the faith and find other artists to support.
And speaking of accountability, after nearly a decade of coaching my author clients on crowdfunding, I’m finally doing my own campaigns, starting with a Patreon account. You can check it out HERE.
It’s a modern-day patronage system so useful, you’d think Michelangelo had invented it himself.
Other Options?
Patreon has been the kingpin of the creator membership-based business model until just recently, when word started to spread that the major content aggregator platforms like Facebook and YouTube were starting to develop similar features. There is a great analysis here by TechCrunch’s Eric Peckham that tells all about what these giants have been doing.
So, while Patreon is the most comprehensive creator-focused membership-based crowdfunding option now, it might not be the only game in town for much longer.
