I think the real answer may be that patreon is, actually, a bad business; and that nobody has cracked microtransactions.
Separately, while Patreon's charging changes seem boneheaded, I'd guess at least a 50% chance that they weren't driven by stupidity but rather by a CFO having a come to jesus conversation with the e-team. Driven by the fact that microtransactions run on a credit card are tough.
Their giant raises make more sense if they were eating a ton of fees in an attempt to hold out for scale where enough people (eg I spend $20-ish/mo on patreon) charge enough money that the 5% covers the processing fees.
Separately, while Patreon's charging changes seem boneheaded, I'd guess at least a 50% chance that they weren't driven by stupidity but rather by a CFO having a come to jesus conversation with the e-team. Driven by the fact that microtransactions run on a credit card are tough.
Their giant raises make more sense if they were eating a ton of fees in an attempt to hold out for scale where enough people (eg I spend $20-ish/mo on patreon) charge enough money that the 5% covers the processing fees.