Internet Is Leaving Ad-Based Revenue Models Behind: Patreon CEO
*By Christian Smith*
The internet is moving away from an ad-based revenue system says Jack Conte, co-founder and CEO of Patreon, a platform that allows people to pay for access to exclusive content from digital creators.
That trend is evidenced by the growth that Patreon saw in 2018, Conte said in an interview on Cheddar Wednesday, the same day the company announced it now has more than 3 million subscribers, or "patrons," with more than 100,000 creators on the platform. The company began 2018 with 2 million patrons supporting its content.
"I think what's driving this growth that Patreon is seeing, and I think membership in general, is the larger trend of the movement of the web from an ad-based system into a consumer payments-based system," Conte said.
Patreon's growth in 2018, however, didn't come without some controversy. Patreon came under fire for removing some content creators from its platform for engaging in what it defines as hate speech. Some critics claimed Patreon was restricting free speech, but Conte told Cheddar the company is upfront with creators about its anti-hate speech policy.
"We're serious about not allowing hate speech, and when a creator does that, we reach out, we tell them what's going on, and most of the time we're able to work with creators and sometimes we're not, but we draw a hard line on hate speech," Conte said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/creator-crowdfunding-platform-patreon-hits-three-million-subscribers).
Unionized Hollywood actors on the verge of a strike have agreed to allow a last-minute intervention from federal mediators but say they doubt a deal will be reached by a negotiation deadline late Wednesday.
Squeezed by painfully high prices for two years, America’s households have gained some much-needed relief with inflation reaching its lowest point since early 2021 — 3% in June compared with a year earlier — thanks in part to easing prices for gasoline, airline fares, used cars and groceries.
A federal judge has handed Microsoft a major victory by declining to block its looming $69 billion takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard. Regulators sought to ax the deal saying it will hurt competition.
Bank of America will reimburse customers more than $100 million and pay $150 million in fines for “double-dipping” on overdraft fees, withholding reward bonuses on credit cards and opening accounts without customer consent.
