oh joy (Patreon)

I'm sure some of you have heard that Patreon made some changes in how fees are handled. Instead of taking a lump sum of fees off of the total amount of pledges creators get, they decided it was a good idea to charge patrons a fee on their pledges instead. That's 2.9% + 35 cents US. If you're supporting several creators, that $1 pledge will start to add up. I'd rather take the hit on fees than have the patrons pay the fees. 

It's hard enough trying to keep patrons on board and even harder to gain new ones. Patreon believes that if a patron truly wants to support a creator, they will think paying that little extra on top of their pledges is worth it. What they don't seem to realize is how small that number of patrons is, how poor AF people are, and the creators who are just trying to hang on. 

There are many levels of poor AF some of us fall in. It could mean being able to eat or having a roof over your head. It could mean not being able to afford certain luxuries. It could mean you're just able to pay the bills, have a roof over your head, look perfectly okay to some people but you're always on the edge of oblivion. All it takes is just one bad thing to topple you over. When people say they're poor AF, they mean it and you better believe they'll think twice before putting their hard earned money into something that doesn't pay the bills or keep them fed. When they do support a creator like me, that pledge feels so fragile and precious. Along comes Patreon who wants to poke it with a stick.

I am grateful for all the patrons that supported me and for those who stuck around for more than a month. If you need to leave because you can't afford to support, it's cool with me. You do you. You worry about your financial obligations first. If you're able to stick around, I'll still continue to work hard to bring you some rewards each month for your support.

Some creators are lowering their tiers by a dollar to compensate but I do not believe it is a solution. Sure, it's a workaround but what about that $1 tier? It doesn't go any lower, I tried. I'm currently looking into alternatives. You can go complain along with the rest of the creators and patrons. So far, I haven't seen any response to the backlash other than a clarification to the decision.