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Everyone should watch this video: The rise and fall of patreon
Patreon is struggling financially (at least compared to the level of growth the VCs want to see), and is likely going to fully enshittify before long. It sucks because they provide a super valuable service for creatives.
They should set up a Patreon.
I remember this article from last year, when they laid off 80 people, or 17% of their workforce https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/patreon-layoffs-cuts-creator-partnerships-team-1235372211/
My reaction to this is still - how the hell did they need close to 500 people?
This kind of service should be a very thin layer between the creator and the viewers, there is no need for any additional crap that a middleman company tries to provide. Plenty of other services can do the same for much cheaper.
Luckily there’s Ko-Fi, which I use. Not quite as robust as Patreon but it’s nice if you need a quick donation link.
Ko-Fi is much harder for creators to be anonymous in, however.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
They aren’t the only one providing this kind of service.
Patreon won’t be missed.
They are the simplest service that effectively hides a creator’s personal information, though.
I mean there’s a lot of substitutes right? I feel like every YouTube video I watch there is a plug for their patron, kofi, buy me a coffee, podia. Hopefully they can compete to be not awful in the long run.
Personally I hope Nebula takes off. I signed up for a perpetual account recently and it’s great, but a bit limited in terms of the selection of creators.
a plug for their patron, kofi, buy me a coffee
I’ve got links to several of them on my youtube channel. Patreon is the only one my viewers have ever chosen to use.
Regardless of the issues people identify with Patreon, it is the one that pays the bills consistently.
Was a great video. Thanks. Enshitification seems to be the trend in so many companies right now that I wonder how long it can all be sustained.
They should have never changed their logo at all. The first one was the best:
I welcome the resurrection of 3D logos, flat logos look nice but start to bore me. This blob, however, is just weird and not really unique in the sense that I would mentally link it to the platform.
Can we get a “the sopranos” look how they massacred my boy?
Since they tried to charge everyone extra card payment fees I have assumed their leadership were idiots…
I get why they are doing some of this, not sure how useful it will be. Couldn’t you already have free content? Not sure that’s actually new.
And wow, that has got to be the most unrecognisable logo ever. They are going to have fun trademarking that…
Feels like they’re planning to sell jellybeans
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Many Patreon creators aren’t just posting exclusive content on the platform; they’re also uploading to YouTube, chatting with fans directly on Discord, and promoting themselves on TikTok.
Conte is emphatic that Patreon doesn’t want to replace all of that — but the platform is no longer simply a way for artists, podcasters, and writers to paywall their work.
Soon, Patreon creators will get access to free membership tiers, allowing fans to follow their work without signing up for a paid subscription.
“There’s some [fan discussion] that’s happening on Twitter, but those spaces aren’t built for this,” Julian Gutman, CPO at Patreon, told The Verge.
In the future, member profiles could contain more detailed information about individuals, including what tier a user subscribes to, items they’ve purchased, and what other creators they support, according to the updated privacy policy.
In August, multiple simultaneous issues with Patreon payment processing meant that some creators were unable to access their money, and fans were seeing their subscriptions being canceled.
The original article contains 927 words, the summary contains 165 words. Saved 82%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
