Patreon royalty fees question

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#1

I have a question about Patreon and royalties. I might be making this more complex than it really needs to be but this is what I’m thinking:

If a patron joins in January and pays $5 towards access to a “game demo” but they continue to pay monthly $5 after that for 2 months without getting any extra game updates or content during those months, does the 2 x $5 extra they paid count as a donation and therefore royalty free?

I guess what I’m saying is does every month of a patrons subscription count towards royalties even if that month got them nothing extra or are those months royalty free?

I’m probably over thinking this! But I’d be really grateful if someone could clear it up for me please.

#2

Patreon payments that are “associated with Product access or in-Product benefit” are subject to royalty. So if the monthly $5 is required for continued access to the game demo (or updates thereto), then those will be subject to royalty.

#3

Ok thanks. I wasn’t sure because you could argue that the first pledge is for game access and repeated pledges are a donation, as they get full access and can download the game for a single $5 pledge. Any more $ on top of that is not required for access unless there’s an update. That would have been pretty confusing to calculate though so I don’t mind, it’s easier to work out if all pledges are subject to royalty.