Patreon users are worried about the site’s new payment structure

Patreon has set up a new payment model that’s supposed to make artists’ lives easier, but could discourage small-time patrons from making pledges. Yesterday, Patreon announced that it would no longer take payment processing fees out of an artist’s monthly funds. Starting December 18th, it will charge those fees to patrons, adding a service fee of 2.9 percent, plus 35 cents on each pledge.

The change is meant to help artists know how much they’ll make every month, since they’ll only be charged Patreon’s normal 5 percent deduction — not extra processing costs that could vary month to month. It implicitly encourages patrons to offer a little bit more money. But it’s also regressive: patrons who currently give artists $1 or $2 a month,...

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