A quick update on what is going on over at Patreon after the announcement last week of changes to their subscription methods and service fees. In a surprising reversal of position, Patreon has decided to not roll out their planned changes. This reversal will keep in place the current system while they find a way forward that allows Patreon to fix the problems that prompted the changes in the first place.
Many of the creators that contacted Patreon noted many of the same things that I mentioned in my post last week. Specifically, Patreon said that:
- The new payments system disproportionately impacted $1 – $2 patrons. We have to build a better system for them.
- Aggregation is highly-valued, and we underestimated that.
Thank you Jack Conte and the team at Patreon for listening to the concerns of your creators and patrons. As they mentioned it will be some time before trust is rebuilt, but hopefully creators that lost pledges and patrons will be able to quickly regrow their networks. I know that I am looking forward to seeking out new creators and giving them my support.