Now on Patreon!
Crissi Cochrane
I’ve finally started my own Patreon page!
I’m so excited! This is something I’ve been considering doing all year, and I’ve finally realized that this is a pretty vital new aspect in sustaining an independent music career, especially in the ongoing pandemic.
It took me a while to settle on the pricing and the perks, but I think I’ve struck a nice balance, with the lowest tier being $4 and the highest being $38 (prices are all in USD, so that’s more like $5 and $50). I’m especially excited about the one unreleased song per month that I’ll be sharing on Patreon. I have more than 70 custom love songs in the vault that I’ve been longing to share, and I’ll be mixing in other hidden gems (new and old) as we go.
CHECK IT OUT >
One big change is that my Facebook Live performances are now going to be trimmed down to just 2-3 songs on Facebook - this is a pretty neat feature that allows me to keep all the likes, comments, and shares on my original streams - and then upload the full versions exclusively for Patreon subscribers who pay $8+/month.
There are lots of different ways to be a patron and support independent artists, so no worries if this particular model isn’t for you. I’m grateful to you no matter how you support my career! That being said, I’m really optimistic about this new platform and determined to help it grow - I feel like I’ve been putting in a lot of work on certain types of content that don’t really seem to be reaching many people (like blogging and podcasting), so I think it’ll be nice to divert those efforts to a specific group of people who really want in. I’ll still keep blogging (not sure about the podcast though - maybe just shorter episodes?), but I may move some of my more personal pieces of writing towards Patreon.
I know it’s going to take a while for me to get patrons to sign up, and I’m fully ready for my page to sit at 0 supporters while I’m just starting out. But I think this is the right time to begin, and I’m optimistic that I’ll soon have to go buy some stamps for all the handwritten thank-you notes I’ll be writing!
WHY PATREON?
Originally posted by Crissi on Patreon.com
Earlier this month, the news broke that Spotify has found a new way to pay artists even less - allowing them into preferential treatment by their music recommendation algorithms in exchange for a reduced royalty rate.
And for me, that was all the fire I needed to finally create my own Patreon. My friend Christina Martin, a fierce East Coast singer-songwriter, has been encouraging me to create one since the start of the pandemic, and then another artist, Zachary Lucky, was promoting his (in the context of talking about the above Spotify news), and I realized that Patreon is becoming an essential part of the fabric of sustainability for independent artists.
Before the pandemic, an extended family member came to visit us - she was once married to a well-known Canadian saxophonist, and had so many clever ideas and fascinating stories about the music business of some years ago. She kind of blew our minds when she said offhandedly, "the arts have always survived on patronage" - and that line really stuck with me. When I saw the same idea written in the Patreon founders' mission statement, I felt like all the pieces were finally clicking into place.
Recordings used to be one of the biggest generators of revenue in the music industry. Now, it's unlikely we'll even recoup the cost of our making those recordings because streaming is the main method by which music is consumed, and it takes thousands of plays to earn a single dollar. In our household, we survived instead by performing - and now, the pandemic has decimated that remaining leg of our income. (And somehow, still, there are people asking artists to perform for "exposure." More like, exposure to the virus.)
Which reminds me just how important patrons really are. I'm lucky to have a small number of super-fans - among whom I hope you will count yourself, if you're reading this post - and I'm so immensely grateful that my music resonates with you. I have some really great achievements under my belt, and a good reputation as a musician and helper of fellow musicians, and those things help remind me that there is a place for my music in the world.
I know that there are a lot of different ways you can be a patron - so no worries if this platform just isn't for you - but Patreon does make it really easy to give your support without breaking the bank and with virtually no effort on your part.
To those who decide to take the plunge and join me here, I want thank you. I feel like the outer world as a musician - negotiating contracts, tracking statistics, enduring headlines, juggling bills - is a very bleak and kind of post-apocalyptic landscape, but I feel like I can navigate it because I have my own inner light to help me see, a light that you help make brighter. Your support helps me nurture that light so that I can share more of it with you and the world.