Amanda Palmer considers joining Patreon, asks fans for feedback

Amanda Palmer considers joining Patreon, asks fans for feedback


Amanda Palmer has reached out to her fans on Facebook to ask whether they think joining Patreon would be a good idea for her. If you haven’t heard of the new hot startup on the block, Patreon allows creators to set up a page where fans can donate on an ongoing basis towards the creation of new content.

Musicians, videographers, podcasters, comic book artists can decide whether their fans should pledge for each individual piece of content (up to a capped amount per month) or on a monthly basis - it all depends on frequency - and that enables them to keep distributing their content for free whilst knowing that they are able to support themselves. Palmer has obviously been keeping a close eye on Patreon for a while and in the Facebook post points to the work of comic artist Jeph Jaques and videographer Jack Conte (also founder of the platform).

Patreon relies on the idea that fans of creators want to be “patron of the arts” and are happy to contribute towards the creation of the content even if it doesn’t sit behind a paywall. Like Kickstarter, Patreon allows creators to establish different “tiers” of contribution: at the higher end of the spectrum fans could expect a Skype call every month or to be guest listed at the artist’s next gig in their home town. The key difference between Kickstarter and Pateron is the ongoing nature of the latter as well as the fact that the finished product is (at least for the moment) a digital piece of content.

Amanda Palmer points out that that is a key issue with Kickstarter: it works well for big one-off releases (i.e. that album you’ve been slaving away at for a year) but if you want to release content on a regular basis, hop in and out of the studio and just keep creating regularly it doesn’t work as well, or at all. In addition she states “I WANT TO RELEASE THINGS FOR FREE. but as i've learned, offering 100% of everything for free on my site hasn't yielded very much business. people will help me when i ask (see: kickstarter) but they won't just wander to my music tip jar and throw in money. we have watched and learned.”

True to form, Palmer is asking her fans what they think she should do and goes as far as outlining potential Patreon tiers, from $1 per month for a standard “backer” to $100 for the “The Medici” subscription which would potentially involve her sending a personalised postcard per month & having those backers guest listed at any show.

Looking at the 711 replies that the thread has generated thus far, Palmer is definitely on to something especially given how engaged her fanbase is. Most of the replies are extremely positive towards the Patreon experiment and seem to be steering her towards charging on a monthly basis (although she states in a reply “The only thing that freaks ME out is....what if i have a REALLY light month and only release one small thing?”).

Palmer joining Patreon would greatly raise the profile of the platform it wouldn’t be too surprising to see her page become the most successful one on the site within a few days from launch.

Amanda Palmer's new book "The Art of Asking: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help" will be out in the UK on the 11th of November.

(Andrea Leonelli)