Tylan Greenstein and Ingrid Elizabeth of the folk-pop duo Mouths of Babes are a busy couple these days. On the personal front, the two left their home in California last October and relocated to Chicago, settling in Andersonville. Professionally, they are looking forward to releasing a full-length album in the coming year and have found an innovative way to partially fund their career.
When they took a much-needed break from the road last year, the duo was were faced with the question of how to make ends meet. Enter Patreon, a crowdfunding platform where patrons support artists with small donations over time.
“It was a choice between stopping doing music altogether or finding another way to do it while we were off the road,” says Greenstein. “Patreon helped to fill that gap for us. We had other work that each of us did during that time, but I don’t think we would have made it through without Patreon.”
Both singer-songwriters are veterans of long term bands.
Greenstein spent nearly 12 years in the folk-pop band Girlyman, while Elizabeth played for seven years in Coyote Grace. In 2013 the two toured in support of Tylan’s solo record, then decided to take 2014 off the road. During their hiatus from touring they formed Mouths of Babes and released an EP. The duo performs at SPACE in Evanston on Sunday.
Patreon came at a fortuitous time for the two women. They had both been invited to participate in “Real Women Real Songs,” a project that involved writing a song and making a video every week for a year. It was a labor of love — the project was unpaid and all the content was free.
The two singer-songwriters realized that their respective fanbases might be interested in financially supporting their new work. They decided to use individual Patreon accounts for the duration of the song-a-week project, which has stretched beyond the year timeline.
“People make micro-contributions,” Greenstein says about Patreon. “They’ll chip in a dollar a song or three dollars a song. It’s not much, but combined with a lot of other people it can really help to make a creative career sustainable.”
A wide variety of creators use Patreon, including writers, photographers, podcasters and animators. Among the increasing number of musicians using the site are South African folkie Nate Maingard, Grammy-winning vocal group Pentatonix and Postmodern Jukebox creator Scott Bradlee.
The online subscription service allows donors to automate payments either per project or on a monthly basis. The arrangement creates a tight feedback loop between artist and backer.
“It’s been a really big motivator,” says Elizabeth. “Rather than just writing a song and making a video and tossing it out into the void, where you have no idea who is going to see it, the people on Patreon are applauding you and giving you feedback. They’re really interested in what the next song is going to be.”
Founded in 2013, the San Francisco-based Patreon was the brainchild of Jack Conte, who founded the company with entrepreneur Sam Yam. Greenstein points out that Conte knows firsthand about the financial struggles in an artist’s life.
“Jack is an independent musician and that’s what really motivated him,” she says. “He saw that there was an opportunity for bands to really drive this business and strengthen the bond between fans and musicians.”
A musician, producer and videomaker, Conte originally rose to fame in Pomplamoose, a music duo with his partner Nataly Dawn. Pomplamoose became an internet sensation and has more than 400,000 subscribers on its YouTube channel. Conte and Dawn also maintain popular solo channels.
“Patreon’s mission is to fund and empower the emerging creative class,” says Conte. “We’re trying to pay creators. There are very few companies that do. Most companies are consumer-first organizations. Spotify and Pandora and YouTube are trying to reach consumers. They’re not trying to help the creator.”
Conte was inspired to help other artists make a living after realizing that even a massive amount of video views on YouTube does not necessarily translate into financial success. “My personal channel in the last 30 days has generated over 500,000 hits and my ad revenue earnings from that is $71,” he says. “(The equivalent of) five football stadiums full of people watched my stuff and I get paid $71.”
Conte realized he was hardly alone. The internet has rendered most digital content virtually free, leaving the folks making the content working for a pittance. “The injustice of the way creators are compensated for their work felt very potent and real to me,” he says. “It felt like a systemic problem.”
He joined forces with Yam to develop a platform where fans could support an artist with regular donations. “We’re going back to the patronage system,” Conte says about the concept. “But instead of having to find one or two super-wealthy patrons who can afford a few thousand dollars a month, you have it spread among your fans. If you have 1000 fans who are willing to pledge $10 a month each, you’re making a good living as an artist.”
Although Patreon is becoming a boon to indie artists who have developed active and ardent fanbases, it’s not necessarily a place for the artistic newcomer. Conte points out that audience building and audience monetization are two separate things.
“Find people who want to listen to your work before you try to find people who want to pay for your work,” he advises. “No one is going to pay until they’ve listened to it. First gather fans who are enjoying your stuff. Once you’ve created that base, then Patreon is an awesome platform.”
Patreon proved a good fit for Greenstein and Elizabeth, two artists who have built devoted audiences over time. “The fans come to the shows, they buy the music and they support the Kickstarters we do,” says Greenstein. “We’ve been very fortunate that’s the case. Not everyone has been. A lot of people have had to go back to day jobs. We are always finding new ways to use the passion of the fans to drive the career. Patreon is one way to do that.”
The funding platform is one factor in the career of Greenstein and Elizabeth, who are partners onstage and off. The two women are engaged and planning a May wedding.
“My bigger goals in life have always been to be a creative artist, to be someone who tours and to spend my life with my partner,” says Elizabeth. “The fact that I can have all of those in one package is ideal. Both of us feel this is an ideal setup. We are very blessed that we not only work well together as a couple, but as business partners.”
When: 7 p.m. Sunday
Where: SPACE, 1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston
Tickets: $12-$22; (847) 556-9756 or evanstonspace.com
Twitter @chitribent
