Jonathan Rosenberg

Patreon is Dead. Long Live Patreon.

Added 2017-12-09 17:25:58 +0000 UTC

There were two reasons I liked Patreon.

1. It upended the traditional model of patronage, which required one dude to put up all the money. Patreon distributed the cost and the risk, which is nice for everyone.

2. Shared credit card fees from multiple pledges meant it was actually in your interest to tell your friends about the service and get them signed up. It encouraged cooperation rather than competition.

These were pretty radical ideas coming from a capitalist entity.

The recent fee structure reverses course on both of these things. There are no more shared credit card fees and small donations are punished, preferring fewer and larger donors. The old Patreon is essentially dead. This new thing, this shambling husk, is pure capitalism and no art. It's for the 1%.

Am I surprised? Not one bit. Sad that the life cycle went by so fast, though. Money ruins everything.

I'm not closing down this Patreon. I'm going to continue to use the service, but as one of multiple options to support the comic and get bonus content for your contribution. You'll be able to choose what method works best for you. Patreon will have to court you if they want you.

I'm in slow mode right now (Alec is doing great! No new news, just slow progress) so it's going to take a while to roll out all the new changes that need to be made and services that need to be set up. Keep your eye here and on my twitter for more developments.

p.s. -- Folks have asked for alternate donation methods in the meantime: