Brellom
patreon
Expanding upon Patreon's MASSIVE Changes
🕑 Added 2024-08-13 15:42:19 +0000 UTCThe last post was a bit quick & simple because I wanted to get the info out to you as soon as I heard about it. It's been a day of discussion in the Patreon Discord but no progress has been made, so I figure I'd talk a bit more about what's going on and what it actually means for us.
Patreon Changes:
Although the 30% pushed onto iOS users is the easiest talking point in the current discussion, it is the least important problem with Patreon's decision. You can avoid that by simple refusing to pledge via the Patreon App on iOS hardware and suffer no repercussion, even if it's annoying.
The problem lies in Patreon forcing all creators to move to a Subscription Model. I'll spend some time explaining the difference and why this is a problem for everyone here.
What is the Difference:
My current billing schedule is "first-of-the-month" billing. That means Patreon will charge you on the 1st of every month, allowing me to reliably earn my monthly income at the start of the month.
The schedule they want to move towards is "subscription" billing. This means Patreon will charge you every 30 days in relation to the day you first pledged, so you can be charged on the 2nd, 14th, or 26th day of the month.
Why this is a Problem For You:
If you're supporting multiple creators on Patreon, instead of being charged on one simple day of the month... You will charged once on the 2nd for one creator, then again on the 14th for another, and then the 26th for yet another creator.
That puts more pressure on you to manage your finances, requiring more math: how much are you spending and how often are you spending? And that number isn't consistently leaving your wallet together at once, which can be stressful depending on your financial situation.
Why this is a Problem for Me:
I will no longer receive all of my income at the start of the month, because your specific pledge might not be charged until halfway through the month or even until the end of the month. Now imagine that problem with hundreds of different patrons charged on different days of the month.
That will make it harder to pay my monthly expenses (rent & food).
Additional Issues:
If pay exists to ensure a quality for labor, then why should I bother to work so hard every single month before I've even earned my income? Why even use my reward structure to begin with? I wouldn't want to run Patreon & SubscribeStar with different systems either, so do I need to make a mess and change how my entire career operates altogether?
Furthermore, if supporting creators on Patreon becomes harder on YOU, then you are less likely to stay on Patreon to support me, so I lose even more money (this applies to all creators).
Afterword:
A lot of us are arguing with Patreon, but I don't think they will listen. To make matters worse, most of the public discussion is focused on the 30% increase on Apple products and not the biggest problem - the subscription billing that will outright destroy some business. Although this system works for some creators, it doesn't work for all of us - and it puts more pressure on you guys.
Seriously... How often do I need to fight with Patreon and their oppressive changes? Annoying! They're giving me until 2025 to change my billing model, but I don't like it at all.
I plan to return to our regularly scheduled programming soon, but these changes threaten how we've been handling this Patreon for nearly 8 years now, so I would not be surprised if I had to make some kind of change down the line to reduce the amount of stress this crap causes me. I am thoroughly incensed that Patreon keeps making my job harder and becoming outright unruly.
Don't forget to eat & sleep.
Comments
Tony Veron
Ahhh. I knew the pricing differences wouldn't affect any current subs, plus I'm on android, but I wasn't sure if my billing dates would change. It's extremely crappy they're doing this after stating they wouldn't change to a subscription model
brellom
As a current member, you, thankfully, don't need to worry about this. It will only become a problem if you take a break and then resub to my patreon at a later date or if you pledge to a new creator using the new billing system. But none of you should be forced to meta-game this by determining if you should cancel and resub on a specific day. Imagine how many creators will also suffer because now users may wait until the 1st of the month to support because that's still the best option.
Tony Veron
Should we cancel and resub to get our billing at the start of the month (come November anyway)
