What Is It?

From Micropatronage

Donation? Tip jar? Sponsorship? Micropatronage? People call it different things, and do it in different ways, but it all comes down to the same thing: Individuals directly supporting the work of others through voluntary monetary contributions via the Internet.

It may be as simple as an anonymous donation button, or it may involve recognition pages, special privileges, thank you gifts, etc., but it always has these key factors:

• The audience/patron can pay what they're comfortable with, when they feel moved to
• People with greater financial resources can pay more; money is not left on the table
• The money goes directly to the intended recipient, with a minimum of middlemen
• Content is free to spread far and wide without restriction; in fact, this spread is encouraged, as long as the opportunity to contribute is preserved
• Patrons can make a tangible difference, supporting work they feel passionate about

Patronage and donation have existed, in one form or another, since the dawn of history, but the Internet takes it to a whole new level.

There are different takes on micropatronage being tried out or thought about. The Street Performer Protocol imagines micropatronage applied on a larger scale to novel publishing, and reimagines the "publisher" as an intermediary between an author and their audience, who holds the money the audience donates to fund the novel until the author releases their work. The "Ransom Model" is a term for micropatronage being used by a gaming company that publishes PDFs. They set a date for a new product's release, and a "ransom," a bottom level of donations that must be met by a certain date for them to release the product.

Discussion

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