A nice directory of creator platforms which make payment data portable—i.e. so that you can move your work elsewhere without requiring all subscribers to re-enter their payment info. opensubscriptionplatforms.com
It’s a subtle limitation of tools like Patreon but a very important one.
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I do think the non-portability of payment information creates less competition pressure on Patreon—pretty unfortunate.
I’m grateful that Patreon exists, but the way my work is presented there often makes me embarrassed to link to it. Very high barrier for me to fix that now!
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This extends to the nature of the patron/creator relationship, I think. Being a Patreon creator doesn’t really feel like having a direct business relationship with patrons; it feels more like selling goods on consignment through a vendor. This is very unlike Substack/Ghost/etc.
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Do you feel like Patreon owns the distribution? As a patron, I feel like Patreon is just subscription rails, but I do feel limited by the quality of experience for products shared through it.
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They own distribution in the opposite of the way that would be helpful: in the sense of handling hosting and publication (limited quality, as you say), rather than in the sense of driving an audience my way.