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Patreon, the real discussion.
8 years ago
General
A lot of people say that Patreon is a bad thing because it stops them being able to see art for free, but that's about as far as these arguments ever go. I'm going to explain here exactly why Patreon is a bad idea, not just for commissioners and lurkers but genuinely for artists as well. If you're not interested i'll post a short TLDR at the end. Also my RWASD keys aren't working properly so i appologise in advance for typing errors.
Ok so i'm sure that many artists begun using patreon because they wanted to believe they had a solid salary coming in based on their artwork, to pay bills and such. There's nothing wrong with that at all in fact i wish that could be the case. What you don't realise is you're actually gimping your ability to earn money and here's why: exposure. Advertisement is king, in a way. I've been a commissioner on this website for years and have known many others. The very first thing i do, that anyone does when looking at a potential artist for a commission, is look through their gallery to see examples of their work and the things they want to draw. But you know what? If half your gallery is locked behind a paywall, no matter how small that paywall is, then i don't HAVE any examples. So you know what i'll do? I'll just go to someone else. Art is very much a competative industry. No matter how good your art is, i can assure you it isn't worth a monthly fee when so many other artists provide it free of charge.
Let me give you an example. You want some good food, so you go out to a resteraunt. You sit at the table and ask for a menu. The waiter says "of course you know already that we're very good at what we do. You have to pay to be able to see the menu each month, and then pay for the food seperately". You'd just stand up, thank him for his time, then leave and never come back. Resteraunts don't have a guarentee people will buy their product or service each month, but they don't charge for permission just to enter their premises, they work harder to show off their products to people who can then buy their own and that's how they get their business. This is how artists also function, commissions are their service. Once art is finished it's posted publically to bring in their next customers. Everyone loses out when you hide completed works, especially you.
Example 2. Fred's Sheds is the finest shed building contractor in the area. He works very hard and does an extremely good job of his sheds. My back garden is empty and i want a brand new shed from him, so i phonee him up. Do you think he'll say "Yes, for a small fee per month, i can let you see all the new sheds i've made and you'll get exclusive access to my PREMIUM shed pictures, which you can enjoy whenever you like. No? Does that sound weird? That's because i'm not here to pay for products he's already finished. He already got paid to make those. And if he made them for himself i don't care about them, i don't want to see them. I'm here because i want MY shed to be made, and that's what i am here to pay for.
Alright so by now you're sick of examples so let me move on to another point. Third parties. Maybe you don't realise it but Patreon is charging you for your subscriptions. You do realise they are an entirely pointless leech. Their entire business model is to make you think you can get something better from your art job, by doing less work and getting security from your fans. But let me be clear. You do not earn extra money through patreon. Not only that but they then take their cut out from under it. If you actually want people to have to pay you just to see your art, just charge them for this month's "art pack" and take the money directly. You're shitting away profit for no reason.
And this leads on to the final portions of the argument. Is Patreon really a bad thing? It's similar to kickstarter and GoFundMe. It works. But not for everyone. I'm sure there are some people, even some artists, whose unique business model works best when provided through this service. But 99% of you need to go look at Patreon again and think "is this really for me?" Because i assure you, no-one is winning but Patreon. No-one else gets anything out of this. Your bill fears aren't actually gone, your commissioners aren't getting anything out of it, you aren't earning more money. Personally i think about half of the people using Patreon only do it because they want to draw whatever they want rather than commissions and still think they should be paid for it. I enjoy playing computer games but i don't get paid to do it. You get paid for work. So stop feeling miserable and get to work, everyone else does it. If you actually worked hard and did 2 commissions a day, which is very easy to achieve, you could earn much higher than minimum wage without trying to con money from the guillable and obsessed. If you're subscribed to someone's Patreon, rethink if you're actually getting anything out of it. I guarentee that artist isn't worth the price, thousands of pictures get uploaded free of charge every day, just look elsewhere.
TL:DR. Patreon is just sucking money out of artists by making them think they're getting a better life of more money. It's a scam. No-one wins but them. You're cucking yourselves and your consumers.
Comments won't be disabled. If you're here to cry, that's what your momma's for. I want people to come and explain why Patreon is actually good for them, because i'm an open minded person and an adult. Talk to me. If you can genuinely change my mind, i'll even consider subscribing to you. If your argument is "artist have a right to be paid for their work" that's what commissions are for, don't waste my time. If it's "i want to draw whatever i feel like, people can pay to see it" then art is your hobby not your job. So you shouldn't be paid for it. You're just going to look like an idiot in front of everyone who reads this. Legitimate arguments only please.
Ok so i'm sure that many artists begun using patreon because they wanted to believe they had a solid salary coming in based on their artwork, to pay bills and such. There's nothing wrong with that at all in fact i wish that could be the case. What you don't realise is you're actually gimping your ability to earn money and here's why: exposure. Advertisement is king, in a way. I've been a commissioner on this website for years and have known many others. The very first thing i do, that anyone does when looking at a potential artist for a commission, is look through their gallery to see examples of their work and the things they want to draw. But you know what? If half your gallery is locked behind a paywall, no matter how small that paywall is, then i don't HAVE any examples. So you know what i'll do? I'll just go to someone else. Art is very much a competative industry. No matter how good your art is, i can assure you it isn't worth a monthly fee when so many other artists provide it free of charge.
Let me give you an example. You want some good food, so you go out to a resteraunt. You sit at the table and ask for a menu. The waiter says "of course you know already that we're very good at what we do. You have to pay to be able to see the menu each month, and then pay for the food seperately". You'd just stand up, thank him for his time, then leave and never come back. Resteraunts don't have a guarentee people will buy their product or service each month, but they don't charge for permission just to enter their premises, they work harder to show off their products to people who can then buy their own and that's how they get their business. This is how artists also function, commissions are their service. Once art is finished it's posted publically to bring in their next customers. Everyone loses out when you hide completed works, especially you.
Example 2. Fred's Sheds is the finest shed building contractor in the area. He works very hard and does an extremely good job of his sheds. My back garden is empty and i want a brand new shed from him, so i phonee him up. Do you think he'll say "Yes, for a small fee per month, i can let you see all the new sheds i've made and you'll get exclusive access to my PREMIUM shed pictures, which you can enjoy whenever you like. No? Does that sound weird? That's because i'm not here to pay for products he's already finished. He already got paid to make those. And if he made them for himself i don't care about them, i don't want to see them. I'm here because i want MY shed to be made, and that's what i am here to pay for.
Alright so by now you're sick of examples so let me move on to another point. Third parties. Maybe you don't realise it but Patreon is charging you for your subscriptions. You do realise they are an entirely pointless leech. Their entire business model is to make you think you can get something better from your art job, by doing less work and getting security from your fans. But let me be clear. You do not earn extra money through patreon. Not only that but they then take their cut out from under it. If you actually want people to have to pay you just to see your art, just charge them for this month's "art pack" and take the money directly. You're shitting away profit for no reason.
And this leads on to the final portions of the argument. Is Patreon really a bad thing? It's similar to kickstarter and GoFundMe. It works. But not for everyone. I'm sure there are some people, even some artists, whose unique business model works best when provided through this service. But 99% of you need to go look at Patreon again and think "is this really for me?" Because i assure you, no-one is winning but Patreon. No-one else gets anything out of this. Your bill fears aren't actually gone, your commissioners aren't getting anything out of it, you aren't earning more money. Personally i think about half of the people using Patreon only do it because they want to draw whatever they want rather than commissions and still think they should be paid for it. I enjoy playing computer games but i don't get paid to do it. You get paid for work. So stop feeling miserable and get to work, everyone else does it. If you actually worked hard and did 2 commissions a day, which is very easy to achieve, you could earn much higher than minimum wage without trying to con money from the guillable and obsessed. If you're subscribed to someone's Patreon, rethink if you're actually getting anything out of it. I guarentee that artist isn't worth the price, thousands of pictures get uploaded free of charge every day, just look elsewhere.
TL:DR. Patreon is just sucking money out of artists by making them think they're getting a better life of more money. It's a scam. No-one wins but them. You're cucking yourselves and your consumers.
Comments won't be disabled. If you're here to cry, that's what your momma's for. I want people to come and explain why Patreon is actually good for them, because i'm an open minded person and an adult. Talk to me. If you can genuinely change my mind, i'll even consider subscribing to you. If your argument is "artist have a right to be paid for their work" that's what commissions are for, don't waste my time. If it's "i want to draw whatever i feel like, people can pay to see it" then art is your hobby not your job. So you shouldn't be paid for it. You're just going to look like an idiot in front of everyone who reads this. Legitimate arguments only please.
It's no wonder people don't accept furries...
At first, I had the idea of making a Ptreon myself, still on building. FInally saw it was a lot of job for me, and due to that duties delving and asking other artist I though the same.
-Gives lots of snuggly cuddles-
I salute to you, mad respect man