In 2013, YouTube musician Jack Conte and his college roommate, developer Sam Yam, turned an innovative idea into a fully-functioning web-based service (in the span of 6 weeks!) designed to help artists and creators like himself get paid for their work, and in doing so, achieve both the creative and financial freedom to continue doing what they love.
In 2013, YouTube musician Jack Conte and his college roommate, developer Sam Yam, turned an innovative idea into a fully-functioning web-based service (in the span of 6 weeks!) designed to help artists and creators like himself get paid for their work, and in doing so, achieve both the creative and financial freedom to continue doing what they love.
In 2013, YouTube musician Jack Conte and his college roommate, developer Sam Yam, turned an innovative idea into a fully-functioning web-based service (in the span of 6 weeks!) designed to help artists and creators like himself get paid for their work, and in doing so, achieve both the creative and financial freedom to continue doing what they love. In just 10 short years, the company has created a flourishing community of creators that includes visual artists, musicians, podcasters and vloggers, and writers, among many others.
“Our commitment to our creators drives everything we do,” explains Ty Layton, Associate General Counsel of Patreon, “and it is what led us to partner with Scale to help meet the evolving needs of our creator community.”
Patreon offers creators a full suite of tools designed to help them build careers around their passions. These tools include a customizable membership platform on which creators can operate a subscription service; in exchange for a monthly membership fee, creators can offer their fans something of value, such as bonus content or an exclusive look into the creator’s artistic process. Additionally, an online help center provides a variety of resources for both creators and patrons who have joined the platform.
“As creators grow their businesses using Patreon, legal issues tend to arise, often involving entity formation, licensing, and brand protection, among others” explained Layton. “We have an exceptional customer-support team, but they’re not in a position to offer individualized guidance to creators on legal issues like these.” Recognizing an opportunity to serve Patreon’s creator community, Layton reached out to Scale attorney Heather Cantua, who, along with colleague Alandis Brassel, developed an innovative pilot program to help creators overcome legal hurdles facing their small businesses. Dubbed “Creator GC,” the program matched a cohort of Patreon creators with Scale attorneys who provided educational materials along with practical, business-focused legal counsel.
“Scale’s flexible model gives us considerable room to tailor client engagements,” notes Cantua, “which allowed us to create a bespoke engagement to accommodate Patreon’s innovative Creator GC initiative.”
Brassel, an intellectual property attorney and Billboard 2023 Top Music Lawyer who represents musicians, record labels, and artists, knows the legal issues creators face, and how to explain those issues in a practical way. Based on his experience as a former professor at Nashville School of Music, Brassel designed and presented an 8-week legal training program for the creators, which would include one-on-one time with Brassel to discuss their particular legal issues.
Patreon sees the rise of the creator economy as a “second renaissance.” The creative world is evolving at a breakneck speed, and with this program, Scale and Patreon demonstrated that legal advice tailored to meet creators’ unique needs is a win, win.
