The Future Of Patreon...[UPDATE] (Patreon)

Soooo once again Patreon is thinking of wanting to implement things creators (and most patrons, I assume) don't want. 

For those unaware, a big survey (about 15-20min long) went out to creators yesterday that give us the option of providing feedback and input on how patreon is currently doing things and what we'd like seen be done in the future. Two big red flags that stuck out to me in the survey were:

- Patreon still wanting to implement a new billing cycle for patrons

- Patreon expressing interest in accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment

The first point was already an issue for me back when they first announced this last year, and resulted in me starting up my SubscribeStar page as a back up to jump to. They wanted to introduce a system called "anniversary billing" (billing you the day you join someone's page vs being billed on the first of each month) which of course, caused a huge uproar. Cryptocurrency, however, is something I definitely won't tolerate and will absolutely ditch Patreon for in a heartbeat. I'm VERY against that kind of thing and think it's gross they're even bringing it up in the survey that's going out to artists, of all people. 

I rely on my Patreon page to cover my rent, hydro, groceries, and whatever else to keep me afloat. I definitely have no intention of getting rid of a pledge based system but unfortunately I can't guarantee it'll be continuing here on Patreon if they go through with either of these things. I just want this to be known so you're not all caught by surprise if you end up seeing a post from me explaining that I'm closing my Patreon page.

I REALLY hope it doesn't come to that and that they listen to our feedback in this survey and base their decisions around the artists that are putting money in their pockets and that they claim to care about.

But I will take this time now to mention that I do still have an active SubscribeStar page, all content here gets carried over to there. And they're fantastic, might I add! Haven't had any issues at all since starting up a page there. 

For now, things are continuing as normal here, I'll just be on high alert for any news relating to the two points listed.

If a survey happens to go out for patrons, I highly suggest filling it out! Despite how much time it takes to get through, it's really important to have a voice on these things that could potentially do harm to creators you want to continue to support! 

Thanks for reading, everyone!