Challenging Times on Patreon?

My dear Patrons,

I'm sure many of you have noticed the unrest among many NSFW artists in the fetish scene here on Patreon and other platforms. Breast Expansion as well as Bimbofication are considered body fetishes, while Transgender, thankfully, is no longer categorized as a fetish but rather recognized as a life decision in many countries. Some Patreon pages of well-known artists are currently inaccessible and undergoing review. This may also happen to my Patreon page. So, if I suddenly become unreachable here, you'll know why.

There are several reasons for the unrest among artists:

• A well-known payment service provider, which most of us are familiar with and use, drastically adjusted its guidelines for adult content at the beginning of the year. This led to

• Platforms like Patreon and Gumroad, which operate through this payment service provider, being pressured to also revise their guidelines regarding adult content.

• This in turn led to Gumroad, among others, quickly taking action to ban content among NSFW artists, now known as the Gumroad Fiasco.

• Patreon also significantly tightened its guidelines in March 2024. So, there is currently legitimate uncertainty among many artists, including myself, who are seeking ways to secure their Patreon accounts.

• A similar procedure was initiated last year, where all artists creating adult content not only had to verify themselves but also had to provide and verify their personal ID.

I have looked up the guidelines for you so that you can get an idea of the situation yourself: Link to Patreon guidelines

What has changed? 

Unlike before, with the emergence and strengthening of the AI wave, also generated CGI characters have now come into focus. Before March 2024, consent for a sexual act by real-life individuals was deemed essential, allowing artists like me a small margin of freedom – however, this still had to be adhered to, even if it did not involve real-life individuals. Personally, I can say that I always adhered to this, as you won't find rape, etc., in my work.

It has always been important to me in all my works that none of my artificial characters were forced into a sexual act in their stories. Because nothing repulses me more than coercion and violence.

Hypnosis and Bimbofication 

Hypnosis, often used for Bimbofication, is no longer allowed according to the new guidelines and is thus considered a clear "no" for sexual interactions by the character in question. I do not use hypnosis in my works. As you know, I rely more on magic, mystique, but also science, all within the realm of fantasy. But whether others would perceive it the same way as I do is questionable.

My considerations 

Over the past three weeks, I have spoken with many colleagues in the art scene who, like me, operate in this segment here on Patreon, Gumroad, DeviantArt, or Subscribestar.

I had the following considerations:

• Distribute this via Discord and use a toned-down version on Patreon only. Problems with this idea:

  • a. This would be linked with Patreon so that the tier level remains clearly defined for you. Thus, the server would fall under Patreon's rules, as Patreon would set up a bot in this case.

  • b. The distribution would also be dependent on Patreon, thus falling under their guidelines.

  • c. There is insufficient time for personal moderation as not all supporters can be permanently active and only support briefly, download the content, and then end their support.

  • d. Discord users may potentially be targeted by hackers. This would make not only the personal account vulnerable but also all linked accesses, such as my server, which would affect every using account.

• Set up a cloud via Mega and link the content. My problem with this:

  • a. Similar to the Discord idea, the Mega account would be linked with Patreon so that this provider is not excluded due to the high data traffic between Patreon and Mega after a publication. Without linking, the Patreon algorithm automatically assumes a bot attack and blocks the link.

  • b. The linking would grant Patreon automatic access rights, placing the content, as with Discord, under these guidelines.

• Set up a Subscribestar Adult account.

  • a. Positive - Subscribestar Adult does not have the strict boundary to adult content, so the works would be (at the moment) safe.

  • b. Negative - From reports with other artists, I have learned that not even 10% of their Patreon or DeviantArt community are active on this platform.

  • c. Negative - Patreon has an excellent system for the due taxes, allowing artists to focus on their work. Subscribestar does not have this. However, since I am still obligated to taxes, this would mean double work.

  • d. Negativ - I don't like receiving my payment through my credit card.

My conclusion 

I must admit that I am a little lost, which is rare for me. Although I always adhere to all applicable rules, I currently feel very tense because my work on Patreon is not only something I enjoy but also fills me with joy doing what I love.

In any case, you are now up to date. If my Patreon is suddenly no longer accessible, you know that you can reach me via X, as well as through DeviantArt.

Even though I try to stay positive, it's these uncertain situations that exacerbate my depression - so please excuse me if I've been irritable or responded with significant delays in the past or in the coming weeks.

See you later
Jim