Report: Creators Criticize Patreon’s New Fee After Users Leave Service

The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Charlie Nash

Several creators on membership platform Patreon have criticized the company’s new fee structure after it reportedly caused patrons to leave in protest.

Patreon, which allows users, or “patrons” to donate a monthly sum to their favorite content creators, has become a popular service amid increasing YouTube demonetization.

“Many artists rely on small pledges of $1 or so per month, which is partly why Patreon’s new fee is causing an uproar in the artist community,” reported CBS News. “The service is planning to add a new service fee of 2.9 percent of each pledge plus 35 cents, which will be paid by the patrons. For those paying just $1 a month, that represents a roughly 38 percent increase in their costs.”

CBS News further explained that because patrons are now being forced to foot the large fee, many have decided to leave the platform, resulting in a drop in revenue for creators.

“A few hundred people HAVE left my Patreon in the last few days, mostly from the $1 level,” complained musician Amanda Palmer following the update. “We don’t own the land. Patreon does and as stated above: they are not, fundamentally, our friends. Even if we like them. They’re a company. They exist to make a profit.”

In a blog post, Patreon defended the fee structure update by claiming it was in the interest of creators on the platform.

“We want you to know that we approach every change with a creator-first mindset, aiming to help creators grow their businesses,” the company proclaimed. “In preparation for this change, we ran experiments and months and months of research to understand patrons’ potential reactions and we found that many patrons were happy knowing that this change will send more money to creators. While some patrons may leave in the short-term, we know this will help creators earn more money in the long term.”

“Every decision we make — including this one — is a part of our goal to help creators establish memberships, earn salaries, and build careers,” they continued, adding, “Standardizing third-party fees in this way helps ensure that creators can continue to get paid making content their fans love.”

Patreon also claimed that the update “was never (and still isn’t) about making more money for Patreon as a company.”

“This is a strategic move to make our platform even better for creators and patrons in the future. We want a Patreon where all creators receive their money as soon as a patron pledges,” they declared. “We want a Patreon where your patrons never have to wonder when they’ll be charged, or how much they’ll be charged, and this is the first step toward the improvements we’re making so that Patreon becomes a better system for everyone.”

Despite their attempts at explaining the fee update, users took to Twitter to complain that patrons were still leaving the platform.

https://twitter.com/byelacey/status/938482222759383040

In 2015, Patreon suffered a hack, resulting in the unauthorized access of email addresses, posts, registered names, and “some billing and shipping addresses.”

The platform has also been frequently used by social justice activists, including “game developer” Zoe Quinn and “Yes You’re Racist,” an anonymous account that was banned from the service after it made errors while publicly exposing alleged attendees of the Charlottesville march in August.

Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington and Gab @Nash, or like his page at Facebook.

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