5 ms·
With >$7500 per month rolling in[1], I doubt she has to starve very much, or at least I hope so. Amazing that she has managed to get that far! Way to go Vi. [1
by Zolomon 9y ago
With >$7500 per month rolling in[1], I doubt she has to starve very much, or at least I hope so. Amazing that she has managed to get that far! Way to go Vi.
[1] https://www.patreon.com/vihart https://www.patreon.com/vihart
- patrickyeon 9y agoI don't know if that's as much as you think it is. Vi's actually pretty forward with what some of those costs are on her Patreon page there, and in calling the goal of $10,000 "sustainability". If I were to throw some very rough numbers, I'd guess at 10% of that going to payment processing (iirc, Patreon takes 5%, paypal/stripe would be at 3-5%?), which would leave 81,000/yr. 24,000 to tax, and we're down to 4,750/mo. Internet, piano loan, and rent are 2,650 as per Vi's Patreon pledge amounts. So, 2,100/mo for the rest of life's costs (and if you're not used to seeing the cost, remember that health insurance is not cheap in the US), as well as the costs of material and equipment for her work. I'll point out that "sustainability" as her Patreon goal still involves counting on Amazon wishlist gifts to provide the equipment she wants/needs, and this is before we talk about savings or other such adult things. It's great that she's getting Patreon income (and probably Youtube ad income)! I really would love to see amazing creators supported in such a way more often. We should just be careful when reading the Patreon top line number that we don't compare it to our bottom line on a pay stub.
- vasco 9y agoI think every other artist, creator or more generally, independent worker in the world also has all of those costs you mention, and a big chunk of them aren't making anywhere near 7.5k/month. Not that I think it is "too much" or anything like that, please support the arts, but I can see the OP's point regarding it already being a nice sum that she's getting for her most excellent work.
- eXpl0it3r 9y agoMany if not most artists and creators also make use of sponsorship and selling merch and physical copies of their work. Just comparing Patreon numbers doesn't really mean anything. Who knows, maybe vihart also ears quite a bit of money from other activities...
- leoc 9y agoHart is offering some merch too: https://store.dftba.com/collections/vi-hart https://store.dftba.com/collections/vi-hart . I think physical goods are or were a significant part of her revenue plans, though I don't know how that's working out. Unlike a lot of other Patreon creators she is apparently trying to live full-time on her creative/featured/sponsorable output without a day-job to supplement it.
- kgc 9y agoPatreon donations are taxed?
- pjc50 9y agoWhat is your purpose in posting this comment?
- sp332 9y agoProbably just to link to the Patreon? There's a paragraph in the article that says she's still traumatized from having been a starving artist.
- mturmon 9y agoRelated, my wife is a visual artist and she finds it quite maddening that a typical conversation with a stranger goes: Q: So what do you do? A: I'm a sculptor. Q: Oh, how do you sell enough to make a living at that? There are several alternative formulations focused on money, like, "who do you sell your work to", or "who bought your last piece". Always about the money. Very rarely, "what material", or "where can I see your work", or "where's your studio".
- sp332 9y agoYeah but if that's a viable career path, I'd want to know about it.