Want to become a patron of the arts?

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So what the hell is this Patreon thing?

Basically it’s a way for you to become a “patron” of the arts. In terms of us, the Tuck Shop Ladies, it means you become a sponsor, a backer, a subscriber. Think of it as like an online magazine subscription: you pay $x per month, and each month you get access to the magazine’s online content. In terms of the Tuck Shop Ladies, that means you get “behind the scenes” videos, downloads of our new songs, first looks at all the other videos we make, like Sam’s Great Tips and Official film clips. We’ll also do live Q + A sessions, and other things as they come to mind :-). You can choose a level of payment that suits you. Some people will want to build the Arts Centre, others will be happy to pop in $2 per month. We’re happy with whatever suits you, which is why we have all the levels we do :-). 

But won’t it just be the same as what you put on social media already? Why should I pay for what I can get for free?

Well, some of it will be, some of it won’t be. All the official videos that we make will go up to the usual social media channels, but on Patreon there will be extra stuff. And you’ll be able to interact with us about it. It will be a place where we can all engage together on a deeper level, as a community. Also, most of the people linked in with us on regular platforms like Facebook and Instagram won’t get to see half of what we post because of the fancy algorithm stuff. With Patreon, you’ll never miss out on anything.

Finally, in a sense, patrons of the arts are often the ones who pay for something that others get to enjoy for free. So, like Michelangelo, some patron paid him (and his friends) to do that Sisteen Chapel stuff (or as our friend Mel called it, the sixteenth chapel), and now everyone gets to waltz through and eyeball it without charge. Patreon allows you to sponsor us, so we can make the art in the first place.

Can’t we just give you the money? What are your bank details? I don’t want to go through Patreon.

Well, the thing is, we are trying to build something. It’s almost like a Tuck Shop Ladies community and Patreon are providing us with a platform to do that, so we pay them a small percentage. Most of the online platforms we use, like webhosts, Bandcamp, CD baby, iTunes, Spotify etc charge us some kind of fee for service- it comes with the territory. In return we get the infrastructure to build in the virtual space, which we wouldn’t otherwise be able to do. 

But what will you use the money for? Why can’t you just sell cds and stuff like everyone else?

As artists, we diversify our income streams. We sell tickets to shows, we sell merch, we get royalties for streaming, etc, etc. At our level, most of the income is sporadic and unpredictable. Having a monthly addition to our income allows us to plan things out in advance, allows us to engage other artists to work with, like graphic designers and videographers, pay for costumes and spaces and just generally dig in a little deeper with what we do.

But it’s not really art that you’re making, is it? It’s just a bit of fun.

Who says art can’t be fun? :-)