Creators now can earn money from direct sales in addition to regular subscriptions while fans get free content.

Patreon has announced a major change to its business model – from now on fans (called “patrons”) can receive some free updates from creators even though they are not paying contributors while creators can sell their products directly to consumers through the platform. 

The company, which operates the monetization platform with business tools that enable content creators to earn money from subscribed members and now direct sales, explains in a blog post that the new features offer more flexibility both to content creators and to patrons. 

The goal of free access to a part of content is to create a centralized space where creators can interact with as many of their fans as possible.

“We’re giving creators new ways to strengthen their communities and build sustainable businesses outside of paid membership. Creators can now let people join their communities for free, so they can connect directly and reliably with all of their biggest fans,” the statement reads.

The company added, “Members will get updates to their inbox, through the Patreon mobile app, and on the web, so they can easily stay connected to their favorite creators and everything they make. If creators want to start earning and building their businesses, they can introduce paid options at any time.”

The direct sale feature, called Commerce, is a departure from Patreon’s typical business model. Until recently, the company focused on a fan-funding model, which offers rewards to subscribers who deliver regular payments to their favorite creators. Now, Patreon users will be able to add another monetization model by selling items directly to fans.

To sell digital products directly on Patreon, creators have to upload their media, choose a price, and Patreon then creates a shareable product page. All products will also show up in a browsable shop.

The transactions will be processed through the same system Patreon uses for its subscriptions.

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Patreon’s blog post cites “individual videos, podcast episodes, and other downloadable files” as products that could be sold through Commerce.

For transactions on Commerce, Patreon will take a 5% cut plus the applicable fees for payment processing and payouts, currency conversion, and applicable taxes. In addition, Patreon will keep the 8% commission for paid memberships.

Patreon Inc. was founded in May 2013 by developer Sam Yam and musician Jack Conte, with headquarters in San Francisco, the U.S. The platform is currently used by 3 million active users per month. 

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