Patreon CEO Jack Conte Wants You to Get Off of Your Phone

The man who cofounded Patreon is tired of influencers making content to get clicks. He’d rather creators earn lifelong fans—and he has a plan for that.

Jack Conte hates the word “influencers.” As the CEO of Patreon, he would rather people call artists “creators” if what they do is build loyal fanbases willing to pay for what they do online.

While platforms like TikTok encourage their power users to sell doodads on the TikTok Shop, Patreon wants people to buy into the platform’s stars. To pay a few bucks a month to read what they write or listen to what they have to say.

It’s an idea that took root on a much earlier version of the internet. When Conte confounded the company with his college roommate in 2013, he was just trying to promote his band. Monetizing their videos on YouTube wasn’t cutting it ...