Patreon invests in its own original content

The Future. Patreon is diving into content creation, and it’s trying to woo creators from nearly every entertainment format (podcasters, video-game livestreamers) and celebrities such as Will Smith (already a social media star) in its quest to compete. As a historically creator-first platform, Patreon is building from a strong and loyal fanbase, and the company has the potential to back exciting stories unrestricted by the limits of picky advertisers.

Create creators
Patreon is moving beyond just hosting creators…it wants to create its own.

• The platform that allows creators to collect subscription payments from fans is moving into producing its own original content.
• It’s using a significant amount of a recent $155 million financing round to fund the projects.
• It’s also hiring engineers to build out the platform infrastructure, especially video and audio support.

The company is reportedly courting podcasters, video game livestreamers, YouTubers, and celebrities such as Will Smith and Jennifer Lopez to make exclusive content.

Donation shares
As companies like Twitter, YouTube, Spotify, OnlyFans, and Substack all aping on the business that Patreon created first, CEO Jack Conte knows it’s time to play catch-up. Expanding on the decision, Conte says, “We focused on that foundational layer for many years, the whole first chapter of the company, and now it’s quite clear that creators want better native media features. They’re asking for them loud and clear.”

So what’s behind the big push? Other than making sure that creators stay faithful to Patreon, the company is preparing a still-to-be-dated IPO. The company was valued at $4 billion back in April — triple what it was worth in September 2020. That growth is no fluke.