Like a lot of independent musicians, Patreon is a part of my income. An humbling part of the music life, where I can be honest about my music successes and pot holes, where we can discuss things best left off social media. I run mine with no real format or routine, like a kind of community group with benefits! My Patrons receive things like CDs, Downloads and this year, certain tiers get free vinyl!, discounts on other things like merch and gig tickets, if I am running the gig! I show them my early ideas for songs, artwork, first project mixes, and we discuss whats good and what's not so good. Over the last couple of years Patron contributions have helped me buy a recording microphone, press a Live Album on to CD, buy Reaper software (a DAW) and anything left over I usually put into my budgets to promote gigs. It's a massive help, and my target is to have a community of 100 patrons, to enable me to make an album every 18 months! I do make money as a musician/singer/songwriter, but I spend 100% of it on making original music, hiring venues, promoting shows and releases and all the other small costs around this. I love it, I do NOT do it for the money (laugh!), but of course I long to do it full time, so I can focus my time and energy on it, achieve more and be better, with a little left over for boring things like my rent and bills.