February 16, 2025, 7:51 am | Read time: 6 minutes
Since its founding in 2013, Patreon has gradually developed into a widely used membership platform for artists and various types of content creators. For them, the service can represent an important source of income–fans, in turn, gain access to the latest productions of their idols. TECHBOOK explains how it works.
Imagine you are an artist through and through. Turning your passion into a profession would be the logical step–but one that doesn’t automatically pay the bills. Typically, musicians, painters, writers, and the like must generate income from their art to make a living, facing market uncertainties and the possibility of a lack of audience interest. Patreon was founded to address this problem.
Overview
Founding of Patreon to Support Artists
American musician Jack Conte, along with his co-founder Samuel Yam, launched Patreon in 2013. He remains the CEO of the platform. Conte was previously active as a singer and producer, forming the indie band Pomplamoose with his future wife. The idea for Patreon came from his own interest, specifically in finding a source of income for his work. A particular moment sparked this idea, as he explained in an interview with “Planet Interview“: when he received just $166 for a video on YouTube that had one million views. “So I thought about this payment and the way creative people are valued in the world,” Conte said.
The name Patreon contains the word “patron,” which in English refers to someone who supports a person, cause, or organization (financially). The platform aims to protect musicians, as well as writers or visual artists, from dry spells–specifically by having their fans pay for access to the artists’ works.
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How Exactly Does Patreon Work?
The functionality is similar to other platforms where content creators can be supported by their fans. Examples include Substack or OnlyFans, although the latter is known for primarily erotic content. Patreon prohibits explicit content and is specifically aimed at musicians, (video) artists, podcasters, and game developers–the focus is on artistic content, sometimes with an educational intent.
How Artists Proceed
Artists can create a profile on Patreon–free of charge if desired. This option provides them with a range of core functions that can help expand their reach and build a community. There is also a paid model with advanced features and, according to Patreon, “fully customizable benefits,” which are intended to make the use more effective, meaning more profitable.
Practically, it works like this: after setting up their profile, artists can showcase their work on Patreon. They can offer their fans various subscription tiers at different price levels and define which content is available at each level. These subscription tiers are called “Tiers” by Patreon (English for “levels” or “stages”).
What to Consider
Artists should be aware that a successful subscription profile that generates monthly income requires work. Without regularly providing fresh and quality content, there is logically no incentive for subscribers–they might drop out. The creator is not informed about the cancellation of an individual fan but can view the status of their subscribers in the analytics. Additionally, their monthly income logically decreases.
In general, Patreon is not a place to expect quick, big money. However, with enough time and effort in community maintenance, it can come (more on that later).
What Subscribers Should Know
Fans subscribe to their artists for a set monthly fee. In return, they have access to various content (e.g., songs, images, or podcasts). Depending on the chosen tier–and thus the subscription price–the value of the content also varies. Higher-tier subscribers receive exclusive content and/or various types of goodies. Some artists even engage in personal exchanges with their supporters.
Subscribers should note that the costs of their membership can change, as the artist is free to set prices. A subscription can be canceled at any time, but it is advisable to do so before the next billing period. Canceling results in the loss of access to the previously subscribed profile.
Who Benefits from Using Patreon?
On the artist side, Patreon is particularly interesting for mid-sized creators who do not yet earn enough from their work to pursue it full-time. It also includes creatives who simply refuse to bind themselves to large advertisers or adhere to the requirements of other platforms. While Patreon also has certain guidelines, artists have more freedom here than on platforms like YouTube. Here, creatives can build or maintain a community, which translates into a monthly income.
For fans, a subscription is worthwhile if they want access to the (latest) content of their favorite creators before it is published on other channels. As mentioned, depending on the subscription model, further rewards are possible, such as interaction with the idol.
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Size of the Platform
Since its founding, Patreon has continuously developed into a significant platform. According to a recent Statista survey, Patreon had around 284,000 content creators by the end of 2024. Additionally, an analysis by the marketing company Backlinko found more than 8 million active supporters.
The service experienced a boost, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. The restrictions significantly impacted the creative industry, as gatherings of many people were temporarily banned. For months, events (e.g., concerts, exhibitions) could not be held, which artists relied on for income. Among others, singer Judith Holofernes was one of the many musicians who joined the platform during this time. She discussed this in 2020 with the “Berliner Zeitung.”
Success Lies Also in the “Smallness”
As the frontwoman of the band “Wir sind Helden,” Holofernes performed on large stages in the 2000s. She experienced that in pop music, it is important to be known to a broad audience “so that a fraction of these people might eventually consume something from you,” she explained. Patreon represents a significant departure from this concept. There, you are much more closely connected with people in a much smaller community, which is unusual but above all something beautiful.
Can You Make a Lot of Money with Patreon?
The amount of income through Patreon depends on the number of supporters. As previously explained, creators can set individual prices for as many tiers as they like. A subscription can cost 1 euro or more. If someone has about 100 subscribers, each paying 5 euros per month, that amounts to around 500 euros per month for the respective artist (minus payment processing and general platform fees).
Of course, much more is possible. The currently most successful Patreon profile is “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast,” run by comedians Matt McCusker and Shane Gillis, with 148,040 members. The most expensive subscription model costs “only” about $10 (9.59 euros), while the cheapest is $1 (96 euro cents). You can calculate for yourself that a considerable amount comes together monthly.