More than 200,000 musicians, journalists, podcasters, and other creators rely on Patreon to make money. Now the membership platform, which allows creators to charge "Patrons" for their content, is reaping the benefits with some fundraising of its own.
The San Francisco-based company just completed a $155 million funding round led by Tiger Global that brought its total valuation to $4 billion.
Jack Conte, CEO and co-founder of Patreon, told Cheddar that the investment will help the company continue to "internationalize" and bring its platform to creators around the world.
"They want the platform in languages other than English and in currencies other than dollars," he said.
Patreon is currently supported in German, French, Spanish, and Italian. As for currencies, it supports Euros, British pound sterlings, Canadian dollars, and Australian dollars.
While Patreon has steadily expanded its network since launching eight years ago, the platform got a serious boost due to the pandemic, which shut down large swaths of the creative economy such as concerts and other in-person events. In the first few weeks of March 2020 alone, 30,000 creators started accounts, according to a blog post from the company.
"The pandemic has been really tough for a lot of people, and especially creators — especially creators who relied on in-person events as one of their main streams of revenue," Conte said.
The platform currently has six million subscribers who generate more than a billion dollars in revenue for creators. Conte said the experience of the pandemic, as well as the growth of the creative economy in general, is driving the adoption of Patreon's membership-based model.
"I think one thing that creators are trying to do right now is build out their businesses and diversify their business to make sure that they're getting revenue from a variety of places, and running a membership business and building special experiences for your most passionate fans is a great, fun, exciting way to do that as a creator," he said.
Despite reports that Patreon is considering a public listing as soon as this year, Conte said the company does not have a set timeline and is focused on other priorities, such as improving the experience of both fans and creators.
"There's no timing right now," he said. "We're not focused on that right now as a company."
Conte also expressed his belief that the next 10 years will be "the decade of the creator."
"I really think that we're entering a second renaissance right now," he said.
James Gallagher, CEO and Co-Founder of GreenLite, discusses the challenges of rebuilding the fire-affected LA area and how permitting complicates the process.
Super Bowl Champion, Julian Edelman, talks Chiefs' conspiracies, his fave TSwift song and his bet for Super Bowl LIX. Plus, the best time for a bathroom break.
Ron Hammond, Sr. Director of Government Relations at the Blockchain Association, breaks down Trump’s plan to strengthen U.S. leadership in financial technology.
BiggerPockets Money podcast is now available on Cheddar Wednesdays at 10am ET! Mindy Jensen shares how her podcast is helping people gain financial freedom.
The social video platform's future remains in doubt, as players scramble to profit from the chaos. Plus: Big oil gets bigger, DOGE downsizes, and tariffs!
Ty Young, CEO of Ty J. Young Wealth Management, joins Cheddar to discuss Trump's moves as he returns to Washington D.C. and how it may affect the U.S. economy.
Starbucks’ decision to restrict its restrooms to paying customers has flushed out a wider problem: a patchwork of restroom use policies that varies by state and city. Starbucks announced last week a new code of conduct that says people need to make a purchase if they want to hang out or use the restroom. The coffee chain's policy change for bathroom privileges has left Americans confused and divided over who gets to go and when. The American Restroom Association, a public toilet advocacy group, was among the critics. Rules about restroom access in restaurants vary by state, city and county. The National Retail Federation says private businesses have a right to limit restroom use.
President Donald Trump is talking up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum. While Trump has seized on similar announcements to show that his presidency is boosting the economy, there were already expectations of a massive buildout of data centers and electricity plants needed for the development of AI.
