Patreon continues its fight against algorithmic feeds with its latest State of Create report, which highlights trends in the creator economy based on internal data—an effort creators can definitely get behind.
Surveying 1,000 creators and 2,000 fans, the membership platform found that 53% of creators believe it’s harder to reach their audience today than it was five years ago.
This isn’t exactly news. Celebrities, including the Kardashians, have been vocal about the challenges of Instagram’s video-focused, algorithmic feed, which makes it tough to reach even their massive followings. If someone like Kylie Jenner struggles to connect with her audience, creators who aren’t household names are facing an even tougher time.
Fans are frustrated too, as social platforms shift to prioritize short-form video and “For You” feeds—formats pioneered by TikTok. According to Patreon’s survey, fans report seeing more short-form content than long-form, but 52% of fans say they value long-form content more and would be more willing to pay for it. Long-form content also typically earns more through ad revenue shares, especially on platforms like YouTube, where short-form monetization remains a challenge.
This highlights a key tension in today’s creator economy: Platforms like TikTok have made it easier to build an audience, but the flood of algorithm-driven content means that even if creators get a fan’s attention, keeping it is much harder. On platforms like TikTok or Instagram, followers might not even see the majority of a creator’s posts because they get buried in a sea of content from accounts they don’t follow.
This is why, as creators shared with Patreon, they now place more value on quality and building deeper connections with fans rather than focusing on metrics like follower counts, likes, and views—a shift from the priorities of five years ago.
Patreon CEO Jack Conte explained his frustration in 2022, when Instagram overhauled its algorithm: “When you focus on the platform mediating the relationship between the creator and the subscriber, you’re essentially letting the platform decide what gets shown to whom and when. That’s the part that makes me angry as a creator because I’ve spent years, decades, building communities on these platforms.”
As more creators aim to make a living online, finding a direct path to connect with fans is crucial for monetizing their work. However, the dominance of algorithms often creates a barrier, forcing creators to adapt their content to fit platform preferences. The report found that 78% of creators said “The Algorithm” influences their creative choices, and 56% admitted it discourages them from exploring their true passions.
The broader instability of social media platforms adds to these challenges. With TikTok facing legal scrutiny, Meta adjusting its content moderation policies, and X becoming increasingly prone to fringe extremism, creators are growing more frustrated with the current state of social media. While platforms like Patreon, Substack, and OnlyFans give creators more control over their content and income, connecting with those willing to pay for it is becoming more difficult.
As Karen X. Cheng, a Patreon creator, put it in the survey: “‘The Algorithm’ doesn’t measure what people want. It measures what people pay attention to.”