Since confinement, times have been hard for creators. The fall in advertising on YouTube, coupled with the freezing of partnerships with brands, hit the revenues of influencers. The artists are suffering from being unable to perform on stage. As for sports or art teachers, most are unable to provide their lessons.
To ensure a regular return of money, a number of these creators turned to platforms specialized in tips. They allow Internet users to pay either on an ad hoc basis or monthly, a small sum of money to their favorite artists and creators. "Hundreds of French creators generate significant revenues thanks to this system", explains Jonas Mary, project manager at the Tipeee platform, leader in France. And since confinement, it's the rush. New page creations on Tipeee jumped 66% in April, with 4,000 new artists and creators registered. His American alter ego Patreon is witnessing a similar phenomenon. Since mid-March, 70,000 creators have joined this platform. The number of musicians increased by 150%, while videographers increased by 57%.
Internet users have answered the call and are generous. At Patreon, the amounts collected in April were 65% higher than they were before confinement, with 20% from new donors. "At Tipeee, we collect 30,000 euros per week, we are now 76,000 euros," says his boss and founder Mickaël Goldmann. “With confinement, internet users have more time to discover content creators and decide to support them in their work. France is one of the most generous countries in Europe for crowdfunding. ”
Yoga chains boom
Tipeee, which passed 17 million euros between Internet users and artists in 2019, charges a commission of 8%. If current growth continues, "we should achieve our figures for 2021 a year ahead," he continues. The company, which has 12 employees, plans to hire three more.
The Tipeee pages which were very successful in April reflect the concerns of the French in terms of confinement. The “YogaCoaching” YouTube channel, which offers free video yoga classes once a week (150,000 subscribers), saw its tips double. "Permaculture, agroecology, etc." (250,000 subscribers on YouTube) raised 12,000 euros last month. "This chain works well all year round, but there has been a strong revival of interest with containment," said Jonas Mary.
The project manager saw arriving on the platform “creators of real life, like musicians or teachers of artistic hobbies. They realize that with the Internet, they free themselves from geographic limits and can reach students all over France. Some are likely to continue on this path after deconfinement. ” But, recalls Jonas Mary, “online creators must diversify their income so as not to depend exclusively on advertising or tips income. Either can collapse overnight. ”