Patreon Reinvents Itself to Empower Creators
Patreon, the creator memberships platform, is undergoing a significant rebrand. The changes were announced in a creative and entertaining YouTube video by CEO Jack Conte, reflecting the company’s commitment to its creator community.
Livestreamers have often preferred Patreon due to its favorable revenue split compared to platforms like Twitch. The platform allows creators to connect with fans directly and monetize their content more effectively. However, the landscape is changing as many platforms, like Discord, have introduced their own membership features, increasing competition.
Despite the evolving digital landscape, Patreon remains confident in its unique offering within the creator economy. Rather than replicating the discovery features found on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, Patreon’s focus is on providing creators with a direct line to their audiences. This approach allows creators to engage with their fans outside the confines of recommendations and algorithms, fostering a more authentic and meaningful connection.
The rebranding aims to deepen creators’ relationships with their audiences, with Patreon becoming a ‘creator fandom company’. It’s introducing features like community chats, commerce, and free memberships to help creators connect with fans outside of algorithmic feeds.
However, the rebranding comes after Patreon’s valuation dropped 70% from its high last fall. The platform has been looking for new ways to add value for creators. Despite the challenges, Conte remains optimistic about the future of the creator economy, believing that more people will become professional creators with power shifting towards individuals and away from platforms and companies.
Rooster Teeth Pulls Shows from YouTube
Rooster Teeth, a renowned production company with a subscriber base of 9 million on YouTube, has announced a significant shift in its content distribution strategy. They have decided to move some of their most popular shows, including the long-running comedic series Red vs. Blue and Camp Camp, off YouTube to exclusively stream on their own website.
Red vs. Blue, a machinima series that uses footage from the popular video game Halo, has been a staple of Rooster Teeth’s content since 2006. The decision to move these shows was announced by Kerry Shawcross, a senior writer and showrunner, who cited insufficient revenue from YouTube as the primary reason for the move.
Shawcross revealed that Rooster Teeth earns approximately 5-10 times more value from ads run on its website compared to YouTube, highlighting the financial viability of this shift, especially considering the high production costs associated with animation. While the exact details of what specific content was moved and when were not specified, the move signifies a growing trend among content creators to optimize their revenue streams by leveraging their own platforms.
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Discord Closes Partner Program, Boosts Enforcement, and Expands Clips
Discord is taking major strides in reshaping its operations. The company announced the closure of its Partner Program, a significant increase in policy enforcement, and an expansion of the Clips function to Nitro users this week.
The Discord Partner Program, which provided perks to selected servers, will no longer accept new entries. Existing partners will retain their benefits and are no longer required to maintain engagement or retention metrics. Discord reassured users that the partner server and newsletters will continue to function, indicating a shift in focus rather than an end to support for partners.
Simultaneously, Discord’s Q2 2023 transparency report shows a dramatic rise in enforcement actions:
- 294,255 accounts were disabled for policy violations
- Almost 8 million accounts were disabled for spam.
- 54,362 servers were removed.
- 1,349 DMCA requests were processed.
This surge in proactive measures underlines Discord’s commitment to creating a safe and respectful community.
Discord is also expanding its Clips function to Nitro users allowing users to capture, trim, adjust audio, and share memorable moments from live streams on the platform.
These changes reflect Discord’s ongoing efforts to refine its platform, balancing the need for a safe community with the desire to provide an engaging user experience.
News Highlights
- TwitchCon attendees can now book meet-and-greet sessions through the official app.
- Stream-Charts unveils a Chrome extension to detect potential legal view-botting on streams.
- CommanderRoot enhances follower-blocking tool for improved control.
- Twitch’s dashboard now features a dedicated monetization tab.
- Twitch reportedly lifts ban on IShowSpeed.
- TikTok’s new API enables direct content uploading for Twitch, Premiere Pro, and CapCut users.
- Twitch triples the appeal timeframe, extending it from 60 to 180 days.
- YouTube is experimenting with a new posts-only feed.
- US-based YouTube creators can now share their pronouns on the platform.
- Twitch’s APAC Content Director shares insights on competitor platform, Kick.
