Patreon's Building Native Video Hosting For Creators To Sidestep YouTube

Patreon is building a video hosting solution and native player. The Verge reports: CEO Jack Conte confirmed the project to The Verge, alongside news that he is joining many executives before him in launching a podcast called The Creator Economy. "We already host podcasts, and now we're starting to host video, as well," he says. "We're building a video product ... So in terms of how we've approached our strategy, and what exactly it is that we're building, we're building the horizontal architecture for any creator, no matter their medium, or no matter the upload format, to be able to build a business around their work." Conte didn't share more details on the product, but it's presumably a way for creators to host and share video without leaving the platform. It's still unclear when it might launch or how broadly it would be deployed. We've reached out to a spokesperson for additional context and will update if we hear back. Still, Conte's acknowledgment of the goal and progress on allowing creators to natively host their videos on Patreon could allow more people to avoid YouTube, or at least not rely on it so heavily.

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