Are you a Patreon?
Discussion
I browse YouTube a lot and of course have some favourite channels.
Anything from bike maintenance to living in your van.
I like and subscribe but a lot of them have a separate Patreon section with subscriptions ranging from a couple of quid a month upwards.
Do any of you subscribe and if so why?
Absolutely not. I pay for YouTube with my time watching advertisements, I won't voluntarily pay further to subsidise the lifestyle of someone choosing to dick around on video as a career. If they can't make enough revenue from their platform of choice then perhaps they aren't up to snuff or their concept is crap or they don't have the personality to be presenters, in which case they should get a proper job.
the69hunter said:
Absolutely not. I pay for YouTube with my time watching advertisements, I won't voluntarily pay further to subsidise the lifestyle of someone choosing to dick around on video as a career. If they can't make enough revenue from their platform of choice then perhaps they aren't up to snuff or their concept is crap or they don't have the personality to be presenters, in which case they should get a proper job.
And what if it's a really niche subject? The videos could be excellent, and costly to produce, but get far fewer views than other channels based on more common material. Funds from patreon can go a fair way to helping these creators out. I give a few quid a month to a few that I watch regularly. I have stopped once I am either no longer interested, either because their content changes or my interests have changed.
Yes, £3 a month for a podcast where I know the people who make it - they aren't making loads of money and have been able to buy decent mics etc.
Not for YouTube though. You can support them for free by letting the ads run and watching right to the end - they get a (presumably tiny) payment if you start watching an advert, a bit more if you watch the whole ad and something if you watch to the end.
Not for YouTube though. You can support them for free by letting the ads run and watching right to the end - they get a (presumably tiny) payment if you start watching an advert, a bit more if you watch the whole ad and something if you watch to the end.
Yep, about £25 a month between various youtube channels and a couple of podcasts. I think of it like a Sky/Virgin bill that I don't pay any more.
Someone like Jonny Smith (Late Brake Show) put out more than 2 1/2 hours of video this month, not counting the "projects of the people" clip ones. It's well produced, well researched stuff that is given as much time as it needs. It's also so niche that's never going to be doing hundreds of millions of views per video to be making a fortune off ad revenue (or be the sort of thing that would make it on TV at this length). He has to travel a lot to do it, and pay someone else to film for him. He doesn't promote the latest irrelevant VPN or mobile game or scrotum trimmers or whoever are paying the most this month like many do. I watch and enjoy every one, and that's well worth a fiver a month to me.
Find a way to support stuff you like if you want to keep seeing it. Good video, good podcasts, good anything takes time and effort and money to make so don't be surprised when something you enjoy stops one day because the creator had to take better paid work elsewhere to keep themselves going.
Someone like Jonny Smith (Late Brake Show) put out more than 2 1/2 hours of video this month, not counting the "projects of the people" clip ones. It's well produced, well researched stuff that is given as much time as it needs. It's also so niche that's never going to be doing hundreds of millions of views per video to be making a fortune off ad revenue (or be the sort of thing that would make it on TV at this length). He has to travel a lot to do it, and pay someone else to film for him. He doesn't promote the latest irrelevant VPN or mobile game or scrotum trimmers or whoever are paying the most this month like many do. I watch and enjoy every one, and that's well worth a fiver a month to me.
Find a way to support stuff you like if you want to keep seeing it. Good video, good podcasts, good anything takes time and effort and money to make so don't be surprised when something you enjoy stops one day because the creator had to take better paid work elsewhere to keep themselves going.
I was, a long time ago, for the band Pomplamoose. Seemed like a really good idea, and they were pushing it quite hard .. lots of 'support struggling artists' and whatnot. Turned out one half of the band is the Patreon founder and is hugely wealthy. I still like their stuff, but balls to still paying for it 
Pebbles167 said:
And what if it's a really niche subject? The videos could be excellent, and costly to produce, but get far fewer views than other channels based on more common material. Funds from patreon can go a fair way to helping these creators out.
I give a few quid a month to a few that I watch regularly. I have stopped once I am either no longer interested, either because their content changes or my interests have changed.
If it's a really niche subject and the videos are excellent but costly to produce then they'll find their audience. If they don't find their audience then the subject is too niche and the content creator doesn't deserve to make a living from it. I give a few quid a month to a few that I watch regularly. I have stopped once I am either no longer interested, either because their content changes or my interests have changed.
the69hunter said:
Pebbles167 said:
And what if it's a really niche subject? The videos could be excellent, and costly to produce, but get far fewer views than other channels based on more common material. Funds from patreon can go a fair way to helping these creators out.
I give a few quid a month to a few that I watch regularly. I have stopped once I am either no longer interested, either because their content changes or my interests have changed.
If it's a really niche subject and the videos are excellent but costly to produce then they'll find their audience. If they don't find their audience then the subject is too niche and the content creator doesn't deserve to make a living from it. I give a few quid a month to a few that I watch regularly. I have stopped once I am either no longer interested, either because their content changes or my interests have changed.
Meanwhile in the real world people are allowed to spend their money as they see fit. I am a Patreon for a couple of astrophotography YouTubers, neither do it as a full time career and I know one of them personally. COVID decimated the industry for his day job, he has been relying on his YouTube revenue to do things like pay his mortgage. The money he gets from his Patreon goes to new equipment for his videos, you also get some perks like access to a specific Discord channel where you can get good reliable advice from him and some other experts.
Edited by geeks on Monday 31st January 12:01
I don't for you tube type stuff, so much available for free, never really had enough interest in a single provider to pay them.
I did pay for a few 3D model type services for a while.
Which brings us to 'who pays for porn?' or more specifically things like Only Fans. I spotted an article the other day about a girl who had quit her job to do this full time and was making £200k a month. It smelled like BS but it actually seems possible for a very small subset of providers. The top income on OF was estimated to be $30m PA!
The average though was £150, so a lot are making nothing.
I did pay for a few 3D model type services for a while.
Which brings us to 'who pays for porn?' or more specifically things like Only Fans. I spotted an article the other day about a girl who had quit her job to do this full time and was making £200k a month. It smelled like BS but it actually seems possible for a very small subset of providers. The top income on OF was estimated to be $30m PA!
The average though was £150, so a lot are making nothing.
I'm not subscribed to anyone niche enough that my donation would make a difference and lots of people on youtube are part of a "media company" so don't see most of the money anyway. On the subject of Onlyfans, a lot of the big earners have managed to bag a few whales who throw thousands of dollars at them. Who knows where that money comes from, unless it's some elaborate scam.
the69hunter said:
Absolutely not. I pay for YouTube with my time watching advertisements, I won't voluntarily pay further to subsidise the lifestyle of someone choosing to dick around on video as a career. If they can't make enough revenue from their platform of choice then perhaps they aren't up to snuff or their concept is crap or they don't have the personality to be presenters, in which case they should get a proper job.
Only 11 posts on Pistonheads, and if that is your standard of contribution then maybe you shouldn't bother with too many more?Lord Marylebone said:
the69hunter said:
Absolutely not. I pay for YouTube with my time watching advertisements, I won't voluntarily pay further to subsidise the lifestyle of someone choosing to dick around on video as a career. If they can't make enough revenue from their platform of choice then perhaps they aren't up to snuff or their concept is crap or they don't have the personality to be presenters, in which case they should get a proper job.
Only 11 posts on Pistonheads, and if that is your standard of contribution then maybe you shouldn't bother with too many more?the69hunter said:
Absolutely not. I pay for YouTube with my time watching advertisements, I won't voluntarily pay further to subsidise the lifestyle of someone choosing to dick around on video as a career. If they can't make enough revenue from their platform of choice then perhaps they aren't up to snuff or their concept is crap or they don't have the personality to be presenters, in which case they should get a proper job.
Clueless commentThe Patreon system is there to support content producers who make niche content for a specialised audience.
By supporting them, you are allowing them to keep operating and produce the content that you like.
If you don't support them, they will not be able to produce the content you like.
Saying that their concept is therefore crap is literally cutting your nose off to spite your face.
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