Suddenly closed following a judicial liquidation on April 4, 2023, the French crowdfunding start-up uTip made many unhappy among the creators of content who collected money from their fans there. A forced departure which has consequences for their work … and could make other platforms happy.
The announcement caught many content creators off guard. On Monday April 3, we revealed that the French crowdfunding start-up uTip had been in compulsory liquidation since March 23, 2023 after its payment provider Mangopay terminated the contract that bound them. A few hours later, uTip announced on Twitter the effective closure of the service from Tuesday, April 4.
“Prevent the day before for the next day and do not even leave a month to look back… There will be very complicated May months for many of us“Laments Maxime of the YouTube channel Spline LND.
Whether they are videographers, streamers or podcasters, many content creators who depended on monthly donations from their fans via the platform are seeing their funding evaporate.
Steady income gone overnight
Because the platform was particularly practical for them, in particular allowing their subscribers to schedule an automatic monthly payment to support their activity. For the YouTube channel Stupid Economics, this represented “1200 people who gave on average between 2.30 and 2.70 euros per month», Details its co-founder Valentin Levetti. A help thatwould have represented 50,000 eurosfor 2023, i.e. 75% of their income.
Stupid Economics’ survival hangs in the balance.
Following the definitive closure of Utip, more than 70% of our funding will disappear tomorrow, Wednesday April 4th.— Arnaud – Stupid Economics (@Stupid_Eco) April 3, 2023
Same thing for the political talkshow Backseat on Twitch. Its creator Jean Massiet is sorry to see the fundraising campaign for the second season of the show stop at two-thirds of the final goal. If the 200,000 euros already paid by 4,000 donors have been recovered, the thousand monthly donations “which brought us 9000 euros per month» is for the moment lost.
For Jean Massiet, the closure of uTip above all causes a communication problem: “There is a big acculturation of the public to this platform, […] but now we’ll have to tell them to support Backseat on another. In terms of communication we will start from scratch, we will row.»
An at least temporary loss of regular income which also forces some creators to adapt their activity to a forced march. For Stupid Economics, its two co-founders have decided to put certain projects on hold and freeze the payment of their salaries of “1000 to 1200 euros gross» for the next few months, in particular to ensure that the other people in the structure are paid.
Small creators could be the most affected
“It adds stress, recognizes Valentin Levetti, but I’m thinking especially of the smallest creators who won’t necessarily focus attention on them because they only lose 200 or 300 euros. […] They may be the ones who will disappear without anyone noticing.“, alerts the videographer, also co-founder of a collective bringing together 8 other content creators.
Among them, Maxime from the Spline LND channel, launched in 2017. Although he works partly on a voluntary basis on this project, the youtuber tries to “live from this channel since 2021», year of opening of its uTip page. “I almost reached 500 euros per month, with 171 donors […] That’s almost all of the revenue.»
Usually I don’t react to hot topics but this is a hard blow.
After 2 years of scrounging every € to reach 500€/month, uTip closes.
This amount was essential to my channel. It’s not much but it made it less “bad to live” with my content. https://t.co/mzTQVI2JQl
— Spline Ethics (@Spline_LND) April 3, 2023
Even if he too hopes to redirect his subscribers to another platform, he knows that it will not be as easy as for other videographers: “These 500 euros per month, we had to get them euro by euro. With each video, encourage people who can to support the channel, make monthly donations… It takes time to reach that amount.” A “obstacle course» which could definitively discourage these modest creators, worries Valentin Levetti.
Imperfect competitors as an alternative
Jean Massiet, Stupid Economics and Spline LND have chosen the same crowdfunding platform as an alternative: KissKissBankBank (KKBB), another French company specializing in collective pots. And all three emphasize the motivation and support of their respective communities in the face of this sudden closure.
Valentin Levetti said he was particularly surprised to have “already recovered almost halffrom uTip donors on KKBB, some of whom even increased their contribution according to him.
Other creators have also (re)launched their page on the competing platform Tipeee, such as podcaster Alice Creusot from Cinerameuf or youtubers Game Next Door. A platform however disavowed by many creators in 2021 after the financing of several projects deemed conspiratorial.
Source: Cinerameuf
Source: Cinerameuf
Source: Cinerameuf
Source: Cinerameuf
Competitors who also offer fewer options than uTip, which allowed both to make one-time, monthly payments and to buy derivative products via a store integrated into the creator’s or creator’s page. The rate of commission fees is also not the same, forcing creators to pay a second time.
Courted by several platforms to transfer his campaign of hundreds of thousands of euros there, Jean Massiet admits to having chosen KissKissBankBank in particular after having obtained “a gestureregarding the commission rate of its premium offer.
He also assures that the platform would plan to add missing features to content creators. Two elements that suggest that KKBB is trying to recover the financial windfall represented by the disappointed uTip.
Vary sources of income
Still, changing platforms means taking a risk similar to that of uTip: putting all your eggs in one basket. While the content creators interviewed are aware of this risk, seeking, for example, to diversify their income through multiple platforms or public aid from the Center national du cinema et de l’image anonyme (CNC), they do not necessarily have the choice. For Maxime de Spline LND, “those of YouTube advertising represent almost nothing, between 10 and 150 euros per month“.
Other content creators therefore try to use multiple crowdfunding to give their donors a choice. On Twitter, the Game Next Door videographers also announce have created pages on Patreon platforms And Kofiespecially for those who do not wish to avoid Tipeee.
[ANNONCE] @Backseat_en goes from Utip to KissKissBankBank!
Following Monday’s announcement of the closure of the Utip platform, many of you were legitimately concerned about the future of Backseat funding. Thank you for this mark of support ? https://t.co/AKG5BJ3JY3
—Jean Massiet | BACKSEAT! (@JeanMassiet) April 6, 2023
Similarly, other alternative platforms are not without risk: “For KissKissBankBank, their payment partner is Mangopay, so we will remain vigilant», acknowledges Valentin Levetti. Eventually, Stupid Economics and their collective Stupmedia hope to be able to develop their own funding platform. A solution too expensive for Backseat and Jean Massiet, who despite this common service provider, says he is nevertheless reassured by the solidity of the company present for 13 years.
Advertising as a more stable income?
However, the end of the platform could send the wrong signal to content creators, according to the co-founder of Stupid Economics: if he noticed a drop in the number of product placements for some time, “between the Tipeee affair two years ago and the closure of uTip, it is possible that the creators will return to sponsorship while being sure that it pays off and that it does not disappear“.
An opinion that Jean Massiet and Maxime de Spline LND do not share. For the latter, “it’s not crowdfunding that isn’t stable, it’s the platforms that aren’t necessarily. uTip was a start-up, so it was a potential risk that we were more or less aware of.»
Even if he does not recover the amount he had on uTip, this videographer categorically refuses to do product placement in the future so as not to “restrict [sa] freedom of content»… without foreseeing an alternative for the moment.
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