You can, of course, support it on Patreon
May 4, 2016 12:36 PM Subscribe
Graphtreon is a website that visualizes how much different creators are earning on Patreon.
I'm in the wrong line of work.
posted by soren_lorensen at 12:40 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by soren_lorensen at 12:40 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
The great John Porcellino, who I support, is making $980 extra a month off this. I hope it's helping.
posted by ryanshepard at 12:42 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ryanshepard at 12:42 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
It's heartening to me that so many of the top earners are earning so much with an average (I'm assuming mean average) of <$5ish per person per month(or thing).
There's maybe a folk or two in the top 15 that I would prefer stop getting Patreon support so that they would go away forever, BUT, it's a net good that they are getting fan support, and that providing that fan support is a (relatively) affordable thing for their fans to do.
posted by sparklemotion at 12:49 PM on May 4, 2016
There's maybe a folk or two in the top 15 that I would prefer stop getting Patreon support so that they would go away forever, BUT, it's a net good that they are getting fan support, and that providing that fan support is a (relatively) affordable thing for their fans to do.
posted by sparklemotion at 12:49 PM on May 4, 2016
I hope to get started on Patreon sometime this summer/autumn for my project, but I need to start producing more content first! I'd be happy with a few hundred bucks a month, mostly for sound editing software and the ability to interview and what not. I think it's a great idea for the independent artist, tbh.
posted by Kitteh at 12:52 PM on May 4, 2016
posted by Kitteh at 12:52 PM on May 4, 2016
I have to admit, I posted this before really considering how the values are being scaled. I’m not sure how the site is mapping between “per month” and “per thing”, and that seems like a crucial distinction.
posted by Going To Maine at 12:53 PM on May 4, 2016
posted by Going To Maine at 12:53 PM on May 4, 2016
Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Gamebasedanimalporn.
posted by gwint at 12:53 PM on May 4, 2016 [19 favorites]
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Gamebasedanimalporn.
posted by gwint at 12:53 PM on May 4, 2016 [19 favorites]
Look at that power law graph. Just look at it.
posted by pharm at 12:55 PM on May 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by pharm at 12:55 PM on May 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
So it looks like the things that get support are mostly recurring video projects (Crash Course, other YouTube projects), podcasts, or people that already have a fairly strong following (Amanda Palmer). All I need to do is become famous and make videos!
Also, wow, Dwarf Fortress is earning almost $4,300/month just on Patreon? Loyal fanbase indeed.
posted by backseatpilot at 1:07 PM on May 4, 2016
Also, wow, Dwarf Fortress is earning almost $4,300/month just on Patreon? Loyal fanbase indeed.
posted by backseatpilot at 1:07 PM on May 4, 2016
Interesting that the earnings/patrons graphs for each of these follow a similar sawtooth pattern - gradually rising through the month; taking a reasonable dump on the last day/first day of the month; then rising to (usually) exceed previous takings.
posted by scolbath at 1:09 PM on May 4, 2016
posted by scolbath at 1:09 PM on May 4, 2016
sleep with me podcast is getting $3,900 per month
i need a new job
posted by rebent at 1:09 PM on May 4, 2016
i need a new job
posted by rebent at 1:09 PM on May 4, 2016
rebent: "i need a new job"
have u considered video game podcasting
posted by boo_radley at 1:12 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
have u considered video game podcasting
posted by boo_radley at 1:12 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
What's really interesting to me is seeing AvE on there, who mostly seems to post videos of tool reviews and teardowns and manages to make $7k a month doing so. Compare to, say, Jimmy Diresta who has more than twice as many YouTube subscribers but about 3500 fewer patrons (and all of $500/month, which is better than nothing).
posted by zempf at 1:14 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by zempf at 1:14 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
The only other thing I can think to compare this to is public radio fundraising. I would love to see a good analysis of NPR's success versus, say, Jeph Jacques or Amanda Palmer. Obviously the scales would be quite different, but what are the other similarities and differences?
At a glance, it looks like the most successful Patreons are geared towards people that are already fairly computer/internet literate - video gamers, artists with big social media presences, etc. Can you extend Patreon to, say, birdwatching? My local model train club? Can Patreon exist in a non-internet space?
posted by backseatpilot at 1:16 PM on May 4, 2016
At a glance, it looks like the most successful Patreons are geared towards people that are already fairly computer/internet literate - video gamers, artists with big social media presences, etc. Can you extend Patreon to, say, birdwatching? My local model train club? Can Patreon exist in a non-internet space?
posted by backseatpilot at 1:16 PM on May 4, 2016
I have to admit, I posted this before really considering how the values are being scaled. I’m not sure how the site is mapping between “per month” and “per thing”, and that seems like a crucial distinction.
Yeah -- this is a weird thing. To have both types of earnings in the same list, there really should be some tracking of how many 'things' this patreon campaign produces every month/year.
So it looks like the things that get support are mostly recurring video projects (Crash Course, other YouTube projects), podcasts, or people that already have a fairly strong following (Amanda Palmer). All I need to do is become famous and make videos!
This is pretty much exactly the way anyone makes moneyon the Internet in media. If you're ad-based, you need eyeballs, and to get and keep eyeballs you need to have/create a following by producing regular content. If you're subscription based, you need people willing to pony up for a subscription, so you need to have/create a following by producing regular content.
The most popular folks are going to have the most eyeballs, so they'll make the most off of Patreon, or ads, or subscriptions, or anything else.
posted by sparklemotion at 1:19 PM on May 4, 2016
Yeah -- this is a weird thing. To have both types of earnings in the same list, there really should be some tracking of how many 'things' this patreon campaign produces every month/year.
So it looks like the things that get support are mostly recurring video projects (Crash Course, other YouTube projects), podcasts, or people that already have a fairly strong following (Amanda Palmer). All I need to do is become famous and make videos!
This is pretty much exactly the way anyone makes money
The most popular folks are going to have the most eyeballs, so they'll make the most off of Patreon, or ads, or subscriptions, or anything else.
posted by sparklemotion at 1:19 PM on May 4, 2016
Ordering the list on who makes the most per Patron is where things get interesting...
Muv is creating Happiness
posted by The Power Nap at 1:22 PM on May 4, 2016
Muv is creating Happiness
posted by The Power Nap at 1:22 PM on May 4, 2016
"The Breeding Season Team"
There is no way in hell i'm clicking on that. Why in gods earth are they earning $30k a month for that?
posted by 81818181818181818181 at 1:23 PM on May 4, 2016
There is no way in hell i'm clicking on that. Why in gods earth are they earning $30k a month for that?
posted by 81818181818181818181 at 1:23 PM on May 4, 2016
Sex sells. And that one actually looks like original IP. I see a lot of copyright violation in the other highly-paid NSFW ones. O strange new world.
posted by Phssthpok at 1:28 PM on May 4, 2016
posted by Phssthpok at 1:28 PM on May 4, 2016
81818181818181818181: ""The Breeding Season Team"
There is no way in hell i'm clicking on that. Why in gods earth are they earning $30k a month for that?"
"Pokemon, but with fukken"
posted by boo_radley at 1:30 PM on May 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
There is no way in hell i'm clicking on that. Why in gods earth are they earning $30k a month for that?"
"Pokemon, but with fukken"
posted by boo_radley at 1:30 PM on May 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Patreon has changed my life. After years of feast-and-famine (and occasional begging), being able to have a(n increasingly significant) reliable income has genuinely improved my mental health.
Sometimes I get angry about creators who, IMO, don't deserve to be on the platform and getting support. And then I remember that there are people who would think I don't deserve to, either, and I try and put my bitterness/jealousy aside. Some of the visualisations on this site make that a little harder, sure, but hey–there are literal trillionaires in the world, I should save some of that bile for them, right?
(Sleep With Me deserves every penny, he's doing Good Work.)
posted by aedison at 1:35 PM on May 4, 2016 [9 favorites]
Sometimes I get angry about creators who, IMO, don't deserve to be on the platform and getting support. And then I remember that there are people who would think I don't deserve to, either, and I try and put my bitterness/jealousy aside. Some of the visualisations on this site make that a little harder, sure, but hey–there are literal trillionaires in the world, I should save some of that bile for them, right?
(Sleep With Me deserves every penny, he's doing Good Work.)
posted by aedison at 1:35 PM on May 4, 2016 [9 favorites]
Can you extend Patreon to, say, birdwatching? My local model train club? Can Patreon exist in a non-internet space?
I think that the niche that Patreon fills is providing a platform to help artists/fans deal with the "everything on the internet is free" problem. Ad revenues aren't perfect (and in many ways reflect the ad-buying company's values). Direct fan funding by putting stuff behind a paywall necessarily limits the reach that the artist has. Patreon makes it easier for creators to offer most of their stuff for free, while still making a living off of creating if their fans think that it's worth chipping in the $5 or whatever.
In real life, clubs could charge dues, or have a donation jar at events, and it would serve the same purpose. Patreon is nice because they handle all of the payment details and no-one has to try to break a $20 or whatever. So I don't see why you couldn't set up a Patreon account for, say, a birdwatching club, and promote it at the meetings and ask for $2 per month per member to cover expenses. Maybe you could set a goal, so that if the club is earning $50/month, then transportation from [central location] to [cool place with birds] could be provided by the club. This could help people who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford to participate (because of transportation, etc) to go see cool birds too. Maybe if your model train club is earning $20/month you can afford to pay to have a speaker in once a quarter?
"The Breeding Season Team"...Why in gods earth are they earning $30k a month for that?
Because nearly 10,000 people think it's worth it to pay $3/month for whatever they offer (which from Phssthpok's comment, seems like it might be a quality version of that sort of thing).
posted by sparklemotion at 1:36 PM on May 4, 2016
I think that the niche that Patreon fills is providing a platform to help artists/fans deal with the "everything on the internet is free" problem. Ad revenues aren't perfect (and in many ways reflect the ad-buying company's values). Direct fan funding by putting stuff behind a paywall necessarily limits the reach that the artist has. Patreon makes it easier for creators to offer most of their stuff for free, while still making a living off of creating if their fans think that it's worth chipping in the $5 or whatever.
In real life, clubs could charge dues, or have a donation jar at events, and it would serve the same purpose. Patreon is nice because they handle all of the payment details and no-one has to try to break a $20 or whatever. So I don't see why you couldn't set up a Patreon account for, say, a birdwatching club, and promote it at the meetings and ask for $2 per month per member to cover expenses. Maybe you could set a goal, so that if the club is earning $50/month, then transportation from [central location] to [cool place with birds] could be provided by the club. This could help people who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford to participate (because of transportation, etc) to go see cool birds too. Maybe if your model train club is earning $20/month you can afford to pay to have a speaker in once a quarter?
"The Breeding Season Team"...Why in gods earth are they earning $30k a month for that?
Because nearly 10,000 people think it's worth it to pay $3/month for whatever they offer (which from Phssthpok's comment, seems like it might be a quality version of that sort of thing).
posted by sparklemotion at 1:36 PM on May 4, 2016
Sex sells. And that one actually looks like original IP. I see a lot of copyright violation in the other highly-paid NSFW ones. O strange new world.
Plus, think of it from a different angle: come up with a list of "most popular things advertisers refuse to affiliate with." Suddenly Pokeporn's rise to the top of patreon makes sense.
posted by pwnguin at 1:51 PM on May 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
Plus, think of it from a different angle: come up with a list of "most popular things advertisers refuse to affiliate with." Suddenly Pokeporn's rise to the top of patreon makes sense.
posted by pwnguin at 1:51 PM on May 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
At a glance, it looks like the most successful Patreons are geared towards people that are already fairly computer/internet literate
I think that's quite likely a streetlight effect, the most money is where your audience is already prepped to pay attention to you. Bringing an off-line community on-line to support you would be an additional speed-bump.
But not impossible. My wife does a lot of traditional music events, with very traditional audiences who typically have all the usual issues with technology. However, she was very happy recently with using one of the on-line ticketing services to sell one of her concerts. She didn't get a huge uptake from the more traditional folks, but there's enough who are also technically able enough to use facebook, for example, who took to the convenience of on-line ticketing like ducks to water. So with the right promotion and social priming, I think this sort of model might work to an acceptable degree, even with traditionally non-technical audiences. The trick is to make it simple, and Patreon is pretty easy to give money to.
posted by bonehead at 2:17 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I think that's quite likely a streetlight effect, the most money is where your audience is already prepped to pay attention to you. Bringing an off-line community on-line to support you would be an additional speed-bump.
But not impossible. My wife does a lot of traditional music events, with very traditional audiences who typically have all the usual issues with technology. However, she was very happy recently with using one of the on-line ticketing services to sell one of her concerts. She didn't get a huge uptake from the more traditional folks, but there's enough who are also technically able enough to use facebook, for example, who took to the convenience of on-line ticketing like ducks to water. So with the right promotion and social priming, I think this sort of model might work to an acceptable degree, even with traditionally non-technical audiences. The trick is to make it simple, and Patreon is pretty easy to give money to.
posted by bonehead at 2:17 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I am really glad that the pages for a particular campaign's stats don't tell you their PATREON RANK; I know that I'm nowhere near the top 10% of Patreon earners even when I'm turning out comic pages on a regular basis, I don't need to have my nose rubbed in the fact that I'm, I dunno, #11592 or whatever depressingly large number.
In fact, looking at my stats actually reminded me of something interesting: oh hey look at that constantly increasing twitter followers graph, there are probably lots of people following me nowadays who didn't even know I have a Patreon. So I tweeted a link to it. But mostly I probably just need to start drawing comic pages again; I've been pretty dormant for the past few months.
posted by egypturnash at 2:33 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
In fact, looking at my stats actually reminded me of something interesting: oh hey look at that constantly increasing twitter followers graph, there are probably lots of people following me nowadays who didn't even know I have a Patreon. So I tweeted a link to it. But mostly I probably just need to start drawing comic pages again; I've been pretty dormant for the past few months.
posted by egypturnash at 2:33 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
My husband released a free game on Steam with a link to Patreon, it's not a ton of money but it's a nice bonus to other income. Amanda Palmer has had huge success there, she's been pretty prolific lately with things, so it's been about a thing per month so it fits in the rankings.
posted by Hazelsmrf at 2:39 PM on May 4, 2016
posted by Hazelsmrf at 2:39 PM on May 4, 2016
And also:
sparklemotion > I think that the niche that Patreon fills is providing a platform to help artists/fans deal with the "everything on the internet is free" problem. Ad revenues aren't perfect (and in many ways reflect the ad-buying company's values). Direct fan funding by putting stuff behind a paywall necessarily limits the reach that the artist has. Patreon makes it easier for creators to offer most of their stuff for free, while still making a living off of creating if their fans think that it's worth chipping in the $5 or whatever.
Oh so very yes. A fan asked me to set up a Patreon so they could pay me for the graphic novel they were enjoying reading. I very quickly made a ton more from Patreon than I ever did from the traditional webcomic model of "update every day, get lots of ad impressions"; I'm now running my comics totally ad-free and I love not shitting up the page with blinking, flashing distractions.
posted by egypturnash at 2:41 PM on May 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
sparklemotion > I think that the niche that Patreon fills is providing a platform to help artists/fans deal with the "everything on the internet is free" problem. Ad revenues aren't perfect (and in many ways reflect the ad-buying company's values). Direct fan funding by putting stuff behind a paywall necessarily limits the reach that the artist has. Patreon makes it easier for creators to offer most of their stuff for free, while still making a living off of creating if their fans think that it's worth chipping in the $5 or whatever.
Oh so very yes. A fan asked me to set up a Patreon so they could pay me for the graphic novel they were enjoying reading. I very quickly made a ton more from Patreon than I ever did from the traditional webcomic model of "update every day, get lots of ad impressions"; I'm now running my comics totally ad-free and I love not shitting up the page with blinking, flashing distractions.
posted by egypturnash at 2:41 PM on May 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
I have to admit, I posted this before really considering how the values are being scaled. I’m not sure how the site is mapping between “per month” and “per thing”, and that seems like a crucial distinction.
Yeah -- this is a weird thing. To have both types of earnings in the same list, there really should be some tracking of how many 'things' this patreon campaign produces every month/year.
My husband released a free game on Steam with a link to Patreon, it's not a ton of money but it's a nice bonus to other income. Amanda Palmer has had huge success there, she's been pretty prolific lately with things, so it's been about a thing per month so it fits in the rankings.
Just realized that the rankings are in terms of number of followers, not dollars paid, so all is well.
posted by Going To Maine at 2:45 PM on May 4, 2016
Yeah -- this is a weird thing. To have both types of earnings in the same list, there really should be some tracking of how many 'things' this patreon campaign produces every month/year.
My husband released a free game on Steam with a link to Patreon, it's not a ton of money but it's a nice bonus to other income. Amanda Palmer has had huge success there, she's been pretty prolific lately with things, so it's been about a thing per month so it fits in the rankings.
Just realized that the rankings are in terms of number of followers, not dollars paid, so all is well.
posted by Going To Maine at 2:45 PM on May 4, 2016
Many of the folks we watch on Youtube have been moving away from the pure ad models, mostly because Google is paying a lot less in the last year or two, I think, but also to balance completely pissing off their veiwers. I know we're happily to support a number of them now, if nothing else to provide the channels we like with a stable level of funding from which to make more and better videos. The Great War is one of the better examples of this. They're only still going because of Patreon.
posted by bonehead at 2:54 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by bonehead at 2:54 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
For all his flaws (and they are legion) I've learned way more about machining from AvE than I have from Diresta.
Some creators I support use Patreon, but many just use Paypal links. Is there any particular reason some folks choose one over the other?
posted by phooky at 3:33 PM on May 4, 2016
Some creators I support use Patreon, but many just use Paypal links. Is there any particular reason some folks choose one over the other?
posted by phooky at 3:33 PM on May 4, 2016
What gets me is the #1 spot is making a LOT more then the #2 spot, and it is a porn flash game. I mean, I took a risk and looked at it. It appears to be a fairly primitive game, is no where near done based on the update posts, and frankly the art isn't very good. And yet, assuming they divide up the money equally, each member of that team is making $73K/year. That is a heck of a lot of money, I mean, damn. I wonder how they got a following for such a primitive game? Is animal breeding porn a popular genre, and they are the only ones hitting that niche? Is this their second project so people know it will be good? I need someone to go write up a long form non-fiction article on this, it seems to weird not to have a story behind it.
I'm surprised that Dwarf Fortress is so far down the list. I guess they've got a community that is used to direct donation, so why give Patreon a cut?
posted by Canageek at 3:36 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'm surprised that Dwarf Fortress is so far down the list. I guess they've got a community that is used to direct donation, so why give Patreon a cut?
posted by Canageek at 3:36 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
What gets me is the #1 spot is making a LOT more then the #2 spot, and it is a porn flash game.
Fenoxo Fenfen is getting ~ $216K / annum for making a porn text adventure, if these numbers are right.
posted by Going To Maine at 4:08 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Fenoxo Fenfen is getting ~ $216K / annum for making a porn text adventure, if these numbers are right.
posted by Going To Maine at 4:08 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I knew I should have invested in...breeding games?
posted by turbid dahlia at 4:26 PM on May 4, 2016
posted by turbid dahlia at 4:26 PM on May 4, 2016
I support Primitive Technology, because I find it very relaxing to watch (and he really is quite good at it) (MeFi) and Every Frame a Painting, which is fantastic (MeFi).
Crowdsourced patronage is a great idea.
posted by flippant at 4:31 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Crowdsourced patronage is a great idea.
posted by flippant at 4:31 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Wow, the History of English Podcast guy is making over $1300 a month. It is richly deserved, but dang. That's awesome, in all senses of the word. Great FPP - it really made it clear to me how important and useful Patreon is as a funding option.
posted by chainsofreedom at 5:30 PM on May 4, 2016
posted by chainsofreedom at 5:30 PM on May 4, 2016
I follow a 💩-ton of webcomics (probably the only neighborhood of the web where I spend more time than MeFi) and I see Patreon buttons/badges on almost all of them. While I am not a Patreon patron for anybody (yet), I have supported enough Kickstarters that I am currently looking a two-and-a-half shelves of webcomic-based graphic novels. Still, I wanted to know who the stars and moguls of that subcategory of Patreons were...
The top ranked webcomicker is Jeph Jacques ("Questionable Content") with 3505 patrons but only an average of $2.19 per patron per month. Next is Zach Weinersmith ("SMBC") with 3349 patrons at $2.05 per month each. David Willis ("Dumbing of Age") has 1804 patrons averaging $2.91 per month and Tom Siddell (Gunnerkrigg Court) has 1788 at $2.99 per month. And that's all for the Top 40 Patreons.
In the Top 100 are also Aaron Diaz (Dresden Codak), Dan Shive (El Goonish Shive), Erika Moen (Oh Joy Sex Toy NSFW) and Howard Tayler (Schock Mercenary) all over 1000 patrons but under $3.50 a month each.
There is an oft-repeated adage among web creatives that "all you need are 1000 dedicated fans" and that top 100 covers all those over 1000. Wait, Jon Rosenberg (Scenes from a Multiverse) is #102 with 1001 patrons. And then there's Alex Woolfson with 995 patrons at $6.47... his "The Young Protectors" is a gay-themed superhero comic with Marvel-quality art and his Patreon-exclusive content is mostly "Yaio".
There are 9-10 SFW webcomickers in the 2nd 100 (depends if you include Danielle Corsetto whose Girls With Slingshots is in reruns while she's selling art instruction), 12 from 201-300, 13 from 301-400 and 14 from 401-500, almost all of which I know and most of which I follow (told you it was a 💩-ton). So over 12% of the Patreons with 300-1000 patrons (plus the NSFWs) are comickers and even more between 200-300. Webcomics do have loyal fans.
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:09 PM on May 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
The top ranked webcomicker is Jeph Jacques ("Questionable Content") with 3505 patrons but only an average of $2.19 per patron per month. Next is Zach Weinersmith ("SMBC") with 3349 patrons at $2.05 per month each. David Willis ("Dumbing of Age") has 1804 patrons averaging $2.91 per month and Tom Siddell (Gunnerkrigg Court) has 1788 at $2.99 per month. And that's all for the Top 40 Patreons.
In the Top 100 are also Aaron Diaz (Dresden Codak), Dan Shive (El Goonish Shive), Erika Moen (Oh Joy Sex Toy NSFW) and Howard Tayler (Schock Mercenary) all over 1000 patrons but under $3.50 a month each.
There is an oft-repeated adage among web creatives that "all you need are 1000 dedicated fans" and that top 100 covers all those over 1000. Wait, Jon Rosenberg (Scenes from a Multiverse) is #102 with 1001 patrons. And then there's Alex Woolfson with 995 patrons at $6.47... his "The Young Protectors" is a gay-themed superhero comic with Marvel-quality art and his Patreon-exclusive content is mostly "Yaio".
There are 9-10 SFW webcomickers in the 2nd 100 (depends if you include Danielle Corsetto whose Girls With Slingshots is in reruns while she's selling art instruction), 12 from 201-300, 13 from 301-400 and 14 from 401-500, almost all of which I know and most of which I follow (told you it was a 💩-ton). So over 12% of the Patreons with 300-1000 patrons (plus the NSFWs) are comickers and even more between 200-300. Webcomics do have loyal fans.
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:09 PM on May 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Thanks for this!
It was a very similar post, in 2012, on Kickstarter, that actually kicked off a major stream of academic research for me. I have since used crowdfunding data to examine issues like gender discrimination and high versus low culture in art.
This dataset might be similarly interesting to play with... thank you again MeFi(in general) and Going to Maine (in specific)
posted by blahblahblah at 9:27 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
It was a very similar post, in 2012, on Kickstarter, that actually kicked off a major stream of academic research for me. I have since used crowdfunding data to examine issues like gender discrimination and high versus low culture in art.
This dataset might be similarly interesting to play with... thank you again MeFi(in general) and Going to Maine (in specific)
posted by blahblahblah at 9:27 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Is there a way to see rankings by total income? Uhh Yeah Dude is far down the list in number of patrons but their income is about $8500, which is a lot higher that the leaders listed. I would bet there are others with higher money/patron ratios and bigger monthly totals.
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:34 PM on May 4, 2016
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:34 PM on May 4, 2016
I'm surprised that Dwarf Fortress is so far down the list. I guess they've got a community that is used to direct donation, so why give Patreon a cut?
IIRC, they actually had a significant uptick in donations after they started using Patreon - it basically doubled their income, finally allowing them to make a comfortable living off the game. Sure, the community may be used to direct donation, but it's probably a lot easier to set up an automatic donation than it is to remember to do it yourself each month. In other words, it's just real-life task automation.
posted by daniel_charms at 10:58 PM on May 4, 2016
IIRC, they actually had a significant uptick in donations after they started using Patreon - it basically doubled their income, finally allowing them to make a comfortable living off the game. Sure, the community may be used to direct donation, but it's probably a lot easier to set up an automatic donation than it is to remember to do it yourself each month. In other words, it's just real-life task automation.
posted by daniel_charms at 10:58 PM on May 4, 2016
Also Tracy J Butler, she of the expressive expressions, gets enough from her Patreon to quit her day job and work full time on Lackadaisy Cats.
I was a bit dubious about Patreon as a concept when I first heard of it, it sounded too easy for scammers and con artists to abuse, but it seems have found a niche in providing some stability for creators that's not dependant on the whims of sociopathic advertising executives.
The Dwarf Fortress example is a bit different to the rest. It's still mostly the common scenario of a niche fanbase supporting a creator, but you could also view it as a community effectively sustaining itself through optional crowdfunded micropayments. I wonder if you could take it further and have creator-less Patreons that just serve to cover the activities and running costs of a community?
posted by Eleven at 3:46 AM on May 5, 2016
I was a bit dubious about Patreon as a concept when I first heard of it, it sounded too easy for scammers and con artists to abuse, but it seems have found a niche in providing some stability for creators that's not dependant on the whims of sociopathic advertising executives.
The Dwarf Fortress example is a bit different to the rest. It's still mostly the common scenario of a niche fanbase supporting a creator, but you could also view it as a community effectively sustaining itself through optional crowdfunded micropayments. I wonder if you could take it further and have creator-less Patreons that just serve to cover the activities and running costs of a community?
posted by Eleven at 3:46 AM on May 5, 2016
I wonder if you could take it further and have creator-less Patreons that just serve to cover the activities and running costs of a community?
You would still need some legal entity to receive that money from Patreon, but I imagine that could be anything from a sole proprietorship, to some form of LLC or a non-profit. So have any of those run a community site and sure, I don't see a huge hurdle with that at all.
posted by bonehead at 9:03 AM on May 5, 2016
You would still need some legal entity to receive that money from Patreon, but I imagine that could be anything from a sole proprietorship, to some form of LLC or a non-profit. So have any of those run a community site and sure, I don't see a huge hurdle with that at all.
posted by bonehead at 9:03 AM on May 5, 2016
It was a very similar post, in 2012, on Kickstarter, that actually kicked off a major stream of academic research for me. I have since used crowdfunding data to examine issues like gender discrimination and high versus low culture in art.
Have you published any of this research, blahblahblah? I'd be curious to read it.
posted by sparklemotion at 9:07 AM on May 5, 2016
Have you published any of this research, blahblahblah? I'd be curious to read it.
posted by sparklemotion at 9:07 AM on May 5, 2016
I support Every Frame a Picture, RedLetterMedia (of the star wars review fame), and the War Nerd podcast, who are all doing rather well for themselves.
The one Patreon I would love to see gaining more traction here is 'District of Wonders', which is hosting Starship Sofa (previously on MeFi), among others.
Tony deserves to do this full time!
posted by ts;dr at 9:38 AM on May 5, 2016
The one Patreon I would love to see gaining more traction here is 'District of Wonders', which is hosting Starship Sofa (previously on MeFi), among others.
Tony deserves to do this full time!
posted by ts;dr at 9:38 AM on May 5, 2016
Some creators I support use Patreon, but many just use Paypal links. Is there any particular reason some folks choose one over the other?
Money. As a consumer, you'd have to remember to go back to the page frequently and pay. With patreon, you sign up once and never need to do anything again. I'm very sure that creators on Patreon are making more money than creators relying on pay buttons, when everything else is equalized.
posted by greermahoney at 8:15 PM on May 5, 2016
(You can actually use Paypal to set up recurring donations, but clearly that message hasn’t trickled into the general consciousness.)
posted by Going To Maine at 8:55 PM on May 5, 2016
posted by Going To Maine at 8:55 PM on May 5, 2016
I use Patreon for my podcast and it's been incredibly helpful. I used to have a Paypal donate button but I get a lot more with Patreon than I ever did with that.
FYI the dip every month is because there will almost always be some declined charges. Credit cards expire, etc. Patreon automatically lowers how much you are making with every declined charge.
posted by clockworkjoe at 12:57 PM on May 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
FYI the dip every month is because there will almost always be some declined charges. Credit cards expire, etc. Patreon automatically lowers how much you are making with every declined charge.
posted by clockworkjoe at 12:57 PM on May 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
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2. Holy shit, some folks make a fuck ton of money on that site.
posted by Kitteh at 12:39 PM on May 4, 2016