Changes coming to Patreon & Loyalty Migrations

There’s an important bit of news we need to share with you Patreon folks, about some looming changes to the platform coming in November. In aid of these changes, we’re also running another Tribes Migration this month.

There’s a bit to unpack here, but let’s start with the key points:  

• Bestiarum will no longer be able to process new subscriptions through the Patreon iOS app. New subscribers will need to sign up via a browser.

• We've set up another round of Tribes Loyalty Migration, check the end of the post for details.

Right, let's get into it -

What’s happening?

Patreon is changing to comply with Apple’s requirements for selling through the App Store. These changes include:

• A 30% App Store fee will be added to all new memberships made through the iOS app.

• iOS users can no longer be charged on a first-of-the-month billing cycle.

You can read more, directly from Patreon here.

For these two reasons, Bestiarum will no longer be able to offer subscriptions through the Patreon iOS App.

What does means for Bestiarum today?

While the 30% fee is a pain, the bigger issue for us is the change to subscription billing.

Our model is based on First-of-the-Month Billing:

• You pay when you join, and then on the 1st of every month.

• Our collections are shared with every confirmed subscriber from the 1st of the month onwards.

For example: If you join on October 28th, you’ll be charged and receive October’s collections. Then, on November 1st, you’ll be charged again and receive November’s collections.

With Subscription Billing, if you joined on October 28th, you would not be charged again until November 28th. This doesn’t work with our delivery model, as our collections are released at the start of each month.

Because of this, we have been forced to switch off payments through the Patreon iOS app. You’ll need to join through a browser instead.

What does the future hold?

Patreon is committed to continuing subscriptions through the iOS app and has announced that by November 2025, all creators will need to migrate to Subscription Billing.

This is tough news for us, given the issues we’ve outlined. While Patreon has promised new tools to support models like ours, no specific solutions are available yet.

We hope to stay on Patreon, we understand many of you are perfectly comfortable here, but changes to our delivery model may become necessary. We will of course let you know more as the situation develops.

Fortunately, we have options and time. Tribes remains a stable platform tailored for STL creators like us. And soon, we’ll be launching our own subscription service through the new and improved Bestiarum website!

What Does This Mean for You?

• For New Subscribers: You won’t be able to join Bestiarum through the iOS app. However, everything else will remain the same—you’ll pay when you join and again on the 1st of each following month.

• For Returning Subscribers: If you frequently leave and re-join, future subscriptions will need to be processed through a browser, not the iOS app.

Tribes Migration & Grabbing your Loyalty Rewards

With these upcoming changes to Patreon, now is the perfect time to switch over to Tribes. To make the transition easier, we’re launching another migration wave, allowing you to carry over your loyalty data and move to Tribes *almost* seamlessly.

Please note - This is now the only way to receive your Loyalty Rewards. You’ll need to claim the free trial on Tribes to receiving them, then cancel your free subscription before the month closes.

How does it work?
All active Patreon subscribers will receive an email invitation to join us on Tribes with a free trial for October.

Simply follow the instructions in the email, and your Tribes subscription will then start, with your next billing date set for November 1st.

IMPORTANT:

Before the end of October, make sure to unsubscribe from the platform you’re leaving to avoid being double-charged.

Can I stay on Patreon?

Of course, we know many of you prefer this platform, and we will continue to support it for as long as it is possible.

Although, if you have no strong feelings about either platform, we would ask you to join us on Tribes. We have found it carries a much lower administrative burden, and your customer experience will be more streamlined.

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Thanks for reading this far, this is a pretty clunky and annoying subject to relay - for the vast majority of you, you won’t notice a difference. If you’ve got any questions just drop us a line and we’ll do our best to answer.

Thanks,

Bestiarum Crew