Some Cool Stuff I Support On Patreon
As someone who creates stuff, I've constantly struggled with finding the balance between:
Doing something I love
Creating something that other people care about
Making a living
It's no secret that making music for a living (for example) doesn't pay well. In fact, I've heard that the average Canadian musician makes about the same money today as they did 30 years ago, which is pretty fucked up. That means that, potentially, making music for a living used to be a viable option, at least for some, whereas now it's so impractical, I'm genuinely amazed people still try to do it the "old way."
That's partly why I really like Patreon. I think it has great potential to change the way art is valued.
That's really a topic for another day, though. Today, I just wanted to share some of the folks I follow on Patreon. There's so much interesting and inspiring work going on. Here's a snapshot of what's in my feed:
I Fight Dragons: This is an American chiptune-infused rock band I first discovered on my own radio program, Operation Manatee, on Regina Community Radio, in Regina, when my co-host, Cory, played them. I've been smitten ever since. Their particular brand of nerd rock stuff just scratches the right itches for me. They're very fun and super talented.
I started supporting them on Patreon coincidentally just after they were wrapping up a big project on Patreon (I just missed it). I was just curious what they were up to these days, and after a quick web search saw they had a Patreon. Cool! Unlike most creators on Patreon, who offer tiers of support at a monthly rate, for ongoing work, IFD went for the per-creation model, meaning you pick the tier you want and you are charged that amount only when they do a special type of charged post.
I went for the $67 tier because they were offering loads of content (including the opportunity to sing on an album) and promising to only charge patrons when they finish a big project. Pretty rad!
Kid Koala: Eric San is one of the most creative and prolific artists I know of! I believe I first heard him circa 2003 as a DJ on a compilation put out by Ninja Tune called Xen Cuts. He was cutting up a trumpet solo sample over a slow, deranged blues track. It was called Drunk Trumpet. It was weird, funny, and it was absolutely brilliant! I've been following his career ever since.
When I found out he was on Patreon, it was a no-brainer for me. What I didn't realize until I joined his New Fun Tier is that he's an absolute creative madman! He's got multiple huge creative projects going on (multiple large-scale live shows, a new album and board game in the works, etc.), offers a ton of behind-the-scenes stuff including daily pics and videos, does weekly (and monthly) livestreams, gives out downloads, discord chat, mails something neat once a year, discounts on his merch store... I mean damn! I am constantly looking to him for ideas on how to keep my own Patreon fresh and fun!
Studio TRIGGER: This is one of my favourite modern anime studios! Their first big series was Kill la Kill (2013-2015), which I found to be the most fun show I'd seen in years and kind of rekindled the flame that is my love of anime.
For a mere $1.50 a month, I get to help them create their amazing work. To be honest, they aren't the most involved Patreon creators. I wish they'd be a bit more interactive there, but I appreciate that they're doing a lot of cool work and they do sneak in some pretty neat exclusive stuff like shikishi's (original artwork scans) and patron-access at events like anime conventions.
Guidewire: This guy is an acquaintance of mine, living in the same city I live in. That's important because I think I first found him by sifting through tags like Regina, electronic music, experimental, etc. on whatever music sharing site was cool like 15-20ish years ago (Oh god! Was it Geocities??) Lo, and behold! There was exactly one other person making weird, unique electronic music that I actually like in this little prairie city! We've shared a bit of music and ideas here and there over the years, typically both jumping on whatever is the hip new internet music thing of the moment.
Shortly after I started using Patreon, myself, I noticed Guidewire had something cooking there too, so I signed up at a whopping $1/m. I don't think he'd even posted anything yet. Now, he's posting all kinds of creative works-in-progress, in an almost stream-of-conciousness creativitystraveganza!
I try to keep my monthly spend on Patreon to a maximum of $20. This means that whenever I really really want to become a patron of something new, I typically choose to drop something else.
Some of the excellent folks of whom I used to be a patron includes:
Kina Grannis - Really nice singer/songwriter. Excellent community-builder.
säje - Incredible vocal quartet.
Pondercast - Sort of a meandering philosophical podcast with a strong focus on music. Hosted by former CBC Radio 2 host Laurie Brown, whom I just love!
Beverly Glenn-Copeland - Musician with a really interesting story and gorgeous music.
Some others I follow and hope to support soon: