Most musicians quit Patreon right before it would have worked.
I analyzed 423 of Patreon's top musicians and found specific patterns in how they structure their offerings, price their tiers, and navigate the predictable challenges that stop 9 out of 10 artists.
For instance, musicians with 500+ posts on Patreon average 2,163 patrons.
Those who have just 100 posts average 3.8X fewer patrons.
Obviously, there's more to success than persistence alone.
Here's a data-driven look at everything you need to know about Patreon to win as an independent musician in 2025.
The Compounding Effect of Creative Consistency
Here’s how patron growth stacks among successful musicians:
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0–100 posts: 557 patrons (average)
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101–300 posts: 1,178 patrons (average)
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301–500 posts: 1,742 patrons (average)
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500+ posts: 2,163 patrons (average)
Each step adds roughly 400–500 supporters.
Early gains feel modest; later gains accelerate because the base is larger.
The Success Spectrum
Is Patreon worth it with only 10 fans?
A small start can be meaningful when you keep members engaged.
Artists at the low end of this dataset still average 557 patrons.
If five percent of them are paying members at $10 a month, that gets you to $278 per month. Which isn’t much, but everyone has to start somewhere.
The early job is to keep your first 20 patrons happy -- simple updates, thanks, works in progress. Retention builds the foundation compounding needs.
What niche or genre should I choose?
Let’s face it, not every musician is skilled enough to be able to perform equally well across a variety of genres. And even if you are, odds are, you’re unlikely to choose based on the commercial prospects alone.
Still, this is surprisingly a more common question than I’d imagined, so here’s what the data say.
Jazz artists have the highest number of average patrons of all genres on Patreon, followed by Metal and Pop.
This probably says more
Will asking for money alienate my audience?
Every musician in this dataset keeps a free tier -- all 423.
Think of paid tiers as premium rooms in a house where the front door stays open.
Free keeps the community together; paid gives the willing a clear way to support.
Inviting support alongside free access strengthens the relationship.
Patterns That Matter
Will anyone actually pay $10 a month for music?
Top artists cluster around familiar price points: $5, $10, $25, $50, and sometimes $100.
Only about 3 percent priced between $7 and $9.
Round, confident numbers reduce friction and feel natural to commit to. Present tiers clearly and describe their value simply.
Four tiers beat ten, every time
Choice should help, not overwhelm.
Musicians with four or five tiers average 1,503 patrons -- about triple those with one to three tiers.
But more than five rarely seems to help.
Not surprising, given that four to five options covering different commitment levels are about as many as anybody can process without decision fatigue.
What kind of content do patrons expect?
Format is a strategic choice.
Artists with minimal video (0–25 percent of posts being video content) average around 960 patrons.
Meanwhile, artists with a video-first approach (76–100 percent video content) 2,268 patrons, which is 2.36X higher.
Content choices also seem to differ by genre.
Video share tends higher in Jazz (~50%) and Country (~46%), while Rock and Electronic lean more towards Image/Text.
But the throughline is sustainability.
Choose the mix you can maintain -- video, audio, text, or a blend -- and build a rhythm around it.
What do I do when I don’t have much to share?
Dry spells are part of the process. Patrons value presence, not perfection.
Post #237 might be a photo of broken strings with a short caption. Or a rough demo. Or a thank-you for feedback.
You get the idea.
Ordinary posts, repeated reliably, build trust.
The Journey, Not the Destination
What if I’m stuck at 20 patrons forever?
It’s the middle stretch -- around roughly 100 posts --that tests most musicians’ resolve the most.
Three things tend to happen together:
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Friends stop asking with the same enthusiasm.
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You see a younger artist jump to 1,000 patrons overnight.
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You realize you’ve posted a lot for fewer results than you hoped.
But moving from under 100 posts to 101–300 adds hundreds of patrons on average.
And the next rung on the ladder adds hundreds more.
Momentum shows up for the artists who stay visible long enough for these steps to materialize.
Systems keep you consistent when inspiration fades
The scaffolding matters.
An electronic musician in this dataset, grew from 50 to 500 patrons in 18 months by posting twice a week.
Half their posts were music; half were simple process videos shot on their phone.
At two posts a week, reaching 300 posts takes about three years. Results arrive along the way.
Many artists hit roughly 100 patrons around six months, 300 around one year, and 500 around eighteen months.
Stage playbook (make it concrete)
Starting Out (0–50 posts)
Set a schedule you can keep when life gets hard. Weekly beats an unsustainable daily sprint. Launch with four tiers at round numbers. Post small: studio snippets, works in progress, stories behind songs.
Building Momentum (50–200 posts)
Watch what resonates and do more of it. Tighten your tier copy based on what people actually pick. Find a content mix you can keep up for months.
Scaling Up (200+ posts)
Systems decide the outcome. Batch work, pre-schedule, and protect creative time. Focus on retention first, then steady acquisition.
Your Strategic Decisions
How much time should I spend on Patreon vs. music?
Guard your creative energy with systems.
Batch similar work: record multiple videos in a single session, draft several updates at once, schedule posts ahead.
Rhythms like these keep Patreon from consuming time meant for making music.
Should I focus on $3 patrons or $50 patrons?
Build room for both breadth and depth.
Lower tiers add reach and stability. Higher tiers deepen commitment and let income scale.
Give fans an easy starting point at $3 or $5 and a clear path to step up to $10, $25, $50, or $100 as enthusiasm grows.
Retention improves when people can move between levels instead of dropping off.
How do I promote myself without feeling spammy?
Self promotion is part of the creative process.
Share updates, thank patrons publicly, and mention Patreon alongside free releases.
When the invite follows real value, support feels natural.
So: Is building a music career realistic in 2025?
Across formats and styles, artists who keep posting, price with confidence, build simple systems, and retain early patrons create meaningful income.
Use simple benchmarks to gauge progress:
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50 patrons at 50 posts: on track
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200 patrons at 150 posts: ahead of most
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500 patrons at 300 posts: approaching top-performer territory
Endurance paired with smart structure is what separates outcomes. Keep going, and the steps that looked far off begin to come into reach.
Next Steps
The musicians in this dataset grew their Patreon audiences by first building broader fanbases through playlist placements and targeted promotion.
While the strategies above show how to convert and retain supporters, they work best when new fans can discover your music.
At De Novo, we’ve helped hundreds of artists build growing fanbases that feed directly into platforms like Patreon.
Want audience growth plans that actually work? Let’s chat!
