It helps artists and other creators earn a recurring income by providing rewards and perks to its subscribers. Patreon charges a commission of 8 to 12 percent of creators' monthly income, in addition to payment processing fees. Patreon is used by writers, videographers , webcomic artists, video game developers , podcasters , musicians, adult content creators, [ 3 ] and other kinds of creators who post regularly online. Patreon, Inc. It signed up more than , "patrons" in its first 18 months.
In March , Patreon acquired Subbable , a similar voluntary subscription service created by the Green brothers , and absorbed Subbable creators' pages and content.
In October , the site was the target of a large cyber-attack , with almost 15 gigabytes of password data, donation records, and source code taken and published. The breach exposed more than 2. Notable improvements included a customer relationship management system, a mobile app called Lens, and a service to set up exclusive livestreams. In August , Patreon announced the acquisition of Memberful, a membership services company. In March , Patreon announced that it had more than , creators who were using the platform, and there were more than 8 million active patrons from more than countries.
In October , Patreon announced a full redesign of its interface and brand identity, including new features like community chats. These content creators set up a page on the Patreon website, where patrons can choose to pay a fixed amount to a creator on a monthly basis. A creator typically displays a goal that the ongoing revenue will go towards, and can set a maximum limit of how much they receive per month. Patrons can cancel their payment at any time. Creators typically provide membership benefits commonly in the form of exclusive content or behind-the-scenes work for their patrons, depending on the amount that each patron pays.
Patrons can unlock monetary tiers that increase the content type they see from the user. Several content creators on Patreon are also YouTubers.
