Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/tomnicholas
Watch my new Nebula class "How to Research Like a PhD Student": https://nebula.tv/how-to-research-like-a-phd-student?ref=tomnicholas
A video about Patreon. Its rise, and ongoing fall...
Written, directed and presented by Tom Nicholas.
Edited by Georgia Burrows.
*Chapters*
00:00 Patreon in Crisis
04:04 Jack Conte and the Birth of Patreon
08:28 Enter the Venture Capital Investors
11:36 Making a Monopoly
14:08 10X Growth and Increased Fees
18:30 Patreon-19
22:17 Stagnation
23:59 Patreon's Whales
27:15 The Enshittification of Patreon
33:52 Payout Problems
*Bibliography*
You can find a bibliography for this video on my Patreon, here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/video-rise-and-90135596
For ten years now, Patreon has been at the core of the creator economy. Since it was founded by Jack Conte in 2013, it has enabled huge swathes of YouTubers, podcasters, illustrators and other content creators to derive an income from their work, to expand their budgets and to be more ambitious in the work they produce.
But, recently, it's found itself in a bit of trouble. After experiencing mind-boggling levels of growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has since hit a patch of stagnation. And, with venture capital investors looking to recoup over $400 million in investment, that's going to be a problem.
Watch this video ad-free on Nebula at https://nebula.tv/videos/tomnicholas-the-rise-and-fall-of-patreon
Support my work on Patreon at https://patreon.com/tomnicholas
Twitter: http://twitter.com/tom_nicholas
Instagram: http://instagram.com/tomnicholaswtf
Patreon: http://patreon.com/tomnicholas
Website: http://www.tomnicholas.com
Select footage courtesy of Getty
Music from Epidemic Sound