Ronny Krieger

Ronny Krieger (Patreon): “We paid out several million euros to creators in Romania last year”

From September 6-8, Bucharest has hosted Mastering the Music Business, Romania’s first international event for professionals in the music industry. The conference is dedicated to artists, managers, bookers, promoters, labels, and all other music business professionals. Business Review talked to Ronny Krieger, the General Manager for Europe at Patreon, who will be one of the key speakers at the event.

By Oana Vasiliu

You have an economic and corporate background, having mentioned in previous interviews that your parents wanted a safe career for you. I guess this is the case for most independent artists and creatives. How has Patreon helped them monetise their creativity?

Patreon has paid out over USD 3.5 billion, coming directly from fans. This has supported countless creative projects and brought many wonderful ideas to life. It also means that hundreds of thousands of creators worldwide can make a living from their art. How stunning is that?

For the past two decades, with the digitalization of the creative industries, many proven and fair income streams for independent artists no longer exist. Many of the digital services that have been launched in the past couple of years have failed—or have never tried—to become impactful economic alternatives for the majority of artists.

Patreon was the first digital platform that prioritised fair creator monetisation.

Are there any figures worth mentioning for Romania? How many creatives are listed on Patreon, and what are their average earnings?

I can’t really give you specific numbers, but I can tell you that we paid out several million euros to creators in Romania last year, and that number has nearly doubled every year so far.

Can you profile the average subscriber? Gender, age, how much money they spend monthly, etc.

With such a diverse set of creators on the platform, there is no typical subscriber persona and it completely depends on the creator and their content/benefits. Audiences can be as young as 18+, in their 20s, 30s or even their 60s. It really varies.

Spending also varies. From a patron supporting one creator with 1 euro per month, we also see patrons supporting multiple creators with hundreds of euros per month.

Is there any particular case study you could share of a Patreon artist who has had amazing results?

There are too many to single out just one. Once more, it completely depends on the individual scenario. Which art form and interests are we talking about? What is the community like? What are the goals for membership? All these factors influence success or failure. If anybody is interested to learn more about how membership could work for them, I recommend getting in touch with our partnerships team to explore what an individually tailored approach could look like: berlin-team@patreon.com. Can you explain Patreon’s business model?

Patreon is a membership platform that allows creators to be paid by their fans on a subscription basis. Supporters are referred to as patrons.

What is a creative’s main concern when starting a profile on Patreon?

One of the key blockers for creators, musicians in particular, is the idea that they have to ask for money. “Beg for money” is also a phrase we hear frequently. But that’s not how membership works. You don’t ask for money. You don’t have to ask for support. I often like to use the example of a store. Have you ever gone into a store where the owner greeted you and said, would you please leave 200 euros at my store today and support me? You’d be shocked and leave. That’s not how this works. Instead, the owner would point out their attractive offerings. That’s what would potentially convince you to purchase something. It’s the same with membership. Offer great benefits that are attractive to your audience and keep talking about the great experiences they can get through membership. Share snippets of gatherings, recordings, and other exclusive benefits for patrons, do it frequently, and over time you’ll see more and more or your fans joining.