The big picture: Patreon had a couple of missteps over the past year or so but the shortcomings don't appear to have caused the platform any long-term damage. Growth is trending in the right direction as the company is on track to surpass $1 billion in revenue generated for creators in 2019.
Patreon, the membership platforms that helps fans financially support creators, now has over three million patrons supporting more than 100,000 creators, the company revealed on Wednesday.
Patreon was founded in 2013 when YouTube musician Jack Conte realized he needed a better way to supplement the income his videos were generating. With help from college roommate Sam Yam, they created Patreon, a platform that is now a solution for thousands of other creators.
Platforms like YouTube help creators get paid through various monetization features but a major benefit of Patreon is that it is platform agnostic. This allows creators specializing in a variety of artistic endeavors to monetize their passions, not just, say, video makers.
The number of patrons that support creators has increased from two million to three million in just one year. Patreon continues to nearly double the amount of money it sends creators each year and is on track to pass along more than $500 million in 2019. The total generated for creators since its founding is expected to eclipse $1 billion this year.
Patreon is planning to introduce new features and services to better serve creators in 2019 including a merch solution that'll assist creators in sending out physical benefits to their supports.
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