How Crowdfunding Site Patreon Is Helping Artists Build Media Empires

Get the Full StoryCreative types can already make tens of thousands of dollars a month on Patreon. Now the site is giving them even more power to build their businesses.

In the spring of 2013, musician Jack Conte was frustrated with the challenge of supporting himself as a creative person in the internet age. Conte, who performs both solo and—with his wife, Nataly Dawn—as part of an indie-rock duo called Pomplamoose, had sunk 10,000 of his own money into a wildly inventive sci-fi–themed music video, complete with a singing robotic head. It soon racked up a million YouTube views. But Conte’s share of revenue from the ads the site stuck on his work amounted to a pittance: about 150.Read Full Story

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