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Patreon has raised an additional $60 million in a round led by Thrive Capital along with returning investors Index, CRV, Freestyle Capital and new investor DFJ Growth. The company has raised $107 million to date, and is estimated to be valued at more than $400 million.
Based on old-school patronage, Patreon enables fans and sponsors to support musicians and other creators. Patrons pledge to support creators on a recurring basis for each work created. This year, the company says it is on track to enable $150 million in contributions from one million fans to 50,000 creators. Many creators are doing well on Patreon, with YouTube based artists and other vloggers dominating top earners.Amanda Palmer Earns $38,194 Per "Thing"Patreon's #3 earner, musician and artist Amanda Palmer, earns $38,194 per "thing" – a video, poem, song, etc – shared first and often exclusively with her 11,000+ Patreon fans. Founder Conte's own duo with his wife, Pamplamouse, collects $3783 per new song or video from its 1428 subscribers.
Not every creator does that well, of course. A survey of stats on Patreon tracker Grapheon shows that somewhere between 100 and 200 music based creators are earning $2000 a month or more. Singer and songwriter Heatherlyn earns just $349 per month from 24 patrons. But for an independent musician, each small source of income contributes to keeping their dreams afloat.
