Patreon Creators Stew as Apple Imposes App Tax and Billing Changes

Big, unwelcome changes are coming to Patreon, the monetization platform used by many steampunk creators, due to requirements imposed by Apple’s App Store.

The changes won’t have any impact on users who currently support The Steampunk Explorer on Patreon. But they could have a major impact on future supporters, as well as creators who bill their fans on a per-item basis.

Many creators on Patreon have denounced the moves. Erica Mulkey, aka Unwoman, the singer-songwriter who is popular among steampunk fans, announced on Saturday that she will leave the platform in January largely due to the changes.

So what’s going on? Beginning in November, Apple will require the Patreon iOS app to use Apple’s in-app payment system. This means that Apple will get a 30 percent commission on all new Patreon subscriptions purchased through the app.

On top of that, Patreon says it will have to move creators to a single billing model. It currently allows three:

• Subscription billing, in which supporters are billed monthly, beginning on the day they subscribe.

• First-of-the-month billing, in which supporters are billed on the first day of each month regardless of when they began their support. This is the model used by The Steampunk Explorer.

• Per-creation billing, in which supporters pay for each piece of content produced by the creator, up to a monthly limit.

Apple’s in-app purchasing system only allows subscription billing, so Patreon says it will scrap the first-of-the-month and per-creation models for all users, including those who use Patreon’s website or the Android app.

Patreon is encouraging creators to switch to subscription billing by November. Creators will have the option to delay the transition an additional year, until November 2025, but if they do so, “your fans will not be able to purchase new memberships in the iOS app,” the company advised in a blog post.

“Apple has made it clear that if creators continue using those billing models or disable transactions in the iOS app, then Patreon is at risk of having the entire app removed from the App Store for all creators,” said Patreon CEO Jack Conte in a YouTube video about the changes.

You can learn more in this Patreon blog post.

Unwoman Moves On

Many creators are casting blame for these moves squarely on Apple. However, some have suggested that Patreon should have dumped its iOS app rather than bowing to Apple and disrupting the livelihoods of artists who use the platform.

One of the latter is Mulkey, who revealed her decision to leave Patreon in a lengthy message to her fans. She currently uses per-creation billing, charging supporters $1 per song.

“My first songs for Patreon were made in January 2015, and my patronage grew a lot in those first few years,” she wrote. “At its peak I was earning about $980/song, if I recall correctly. For a while I was able to make three songs a month and actually earn a passable living. If Patreon had listened to artists’ suggestions, I’m pretty sure I could have grown it even more. But alas, they’ve done quite the opposite and are now taking away the per-creation model for creators.”

Beginning Jan. 1, she will no longer accept new supporters on the platform. “I may make free posts from time to time, but in November 2025 Patreon will close my page since I’m never moving to a subscription model here,” she wrote.

Mulkey also cited family commitments as a factor behind her move, noting that she has less time to produce the songs. And she’d like to focus more of her efforts on original compositions, as opposed to covers that account for many of her songs on Patreon. She’s already released eight volumes in her Uncovered series, with one more due by the end of the year.

She will continue to fund new albums on Kickstarter, she wrote, and she also offers Bandcamp subscriptions for $20 per year.

She added that she has no quarrel with creators who choose to stay on Patreon. “As evil tech companies go it’s pretty mild,” she wrote. “Tragically, I’ll probably cut most of my patronage when I leave, though.”

What It Means for Us

The Steampunk Explorer uses first-of-the month billing, but the switch to subscription billing should be seamless for current supporters, as they will continue to be billed on the first day of the month. Apple’s 30 percent commission will apply only to new supporters who sign up in the iOS app, effective in November.

Readers can support the site for as little as $1 per month, and this will continue. For iOS users, Patreon will automatically add the 30 percent commission on top of the monthly subscription fee, though creators will have the option to absorb the added fee instead. However, we want to make the “Apple tax” clear to potential supporters, and will encourage them to use the Patreon website (or an Android device) to avoid paying extra.