Sean Fenian<p>The inestimable <a href="https://mastodon.world/@catvalente" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@catvalente@mastodon.world</a> has a post up describing in detail the ways in which <a href="https://plasmatrap.com/tags/Patreon" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Patreon</a>'s most recent set of changes screw <a href="https://plasmatrap.com/tags/creators" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#creators</a>. tl,dr: Most Patreon creators' Patreon income just dropped by 30% <b>with no changes to subscriptions</b>. Almost a third of their Patreon income: <b>POOF</b>, overnight. And this is ON TOP of the <i>previous</i> set of changes Patreon made that <i>also</i><span> screwed creators.<br><br>It's even worse, I understand, if you use the Patreon app. And worse </span><b>yet</b> if you use it on iOS. Because if you use the Patreon app on iOS, <b>Apple</b> extracts a 30% vigorish <b>as well</b>, and Patreon subscriptions through the iOS app additionally face a ridiculous <b>75 day</b> hold. Nearly three months during which Patreon earns interest <b>on your money</b> before passing about two thirds of it on to the creator you're trying to <a href="https://plasmatrap.com/tags/support" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#support</a><span>.<br><br>This impacts </span><b>every creator on Patreon</b><span>.<br><br><br></span><b>What can you do?</b><span><br><br></span><b>Don't subscribe through the Patreon app.</b><span><br><br></span><b>Don't subscribe through the Patreon app.</b><span><br><br></span><b>Don't subscribe through the Patreon app.</b><span><br><br>I'll repeat that one more time for people who didn't get it: </span><b>Do. Not. Subscribe. To anyone. Via the Patreon. App.</b> There is nothing about the Patreon app that is good except for Patreon's owners. If you have an existing subscription via the app, consider at the very least canceling it, <b>WAITING FOR THE BILLING CYCLE TO EXPIRE</b>, and the re-subscribing <b>using a web browser.</b><span><br><br>The viability of Patreon is diminishing fast. Greed is once again killing the golden goose. Patreon </span><i>started out</i><span> as a way to support creators. Now the creators are the product. There are other platforms for supporting creators — KoFi, Libera Pay, to name two — but forklift-migrating entire communities wholesale to them is not easy.<br><br><br></span><b>What else can you do?</b><span><br><br>If you want to support a creator, ask what platform is best </span><i>for them</i>. They may have their own subscription page that does not use Patreon. (Randy Cassingham of <i>This Is True</i>, for example.) If you use Patreon, <b>do not</b> use the Patreon app to subscribe. Open the site in a browser and subscribe that way.</p>