As a solo artist and member of folk-rock duo Pomplamoose, Jack Conte garnered millions of views for his offbeat "video songs," including his breakout hit "Yeah Yeah Yeah" and "Pedals," a robotic tour-de-force with a set that duplicates the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.
Despite his success, Conte noted the disconnect between page views and revenue, and he realized that if you’re a widely viewed artist and you aren’t making money, "that's not your fault -- it’s technology's fault." His solution is Patreon: a membership platform built on recurring payments from patrons to support creatives with ongoing projects.
“Tapping into an ancient human instinct to support culture, Conte is leveraging the democratized economics of the Internet to come up with a new digital take on the tradition of patronage for independent artists.” — Billboard, May 10, 2013
The world is changing faster than ever, bringing with it brand-new problems, while our most persistent troubles — like poverty and health — haven’t gone anywhere. One thing has become abundantly clear: our machines aren’t going to save us; people are. How do we respond to problems new and old with humanity and dignity? In the […]
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