After less than four months, sub.club, a fediverse creator monetization tool, is closing down. The feature, which was launched in late August, worked by allowing users on ActivityPub-based platforms like Mastodon.
Specifically, the tool enabled creators to offer paid subscriptions and premium content. According to The Verge, the tool took a 6% cut in revenue along with payment processing fees.
A Mastdon post by sub.club said that creators who use the tool will be “fully paid.” However, the post also reports that the tool will stop working by the end of January.
Moreover, The Verge also reports that the BLVD, the group that built sub.club, has effectively run out of money.
In a statement to the outlet, Bart Decrem, the BLVD’s founder, claimed that there were 150 creators using the tool. He also said: “Unfortunately we were not able to quickly achieve sufficient traction with product-market fit/adoption for sub.club, or to attract investors, partnerships, etc.,”
Meanwhile, sub.club adviser Anuj Ahooja told The Verge that “[a]s we see more users onboard to platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Threads and the open ecosystem grows, the need will eventually arise for a subscription service that isn’t tied to a single platform, is protocol-based, and allows for user portability.”
“Hopefully, sub.club, or a service like it, can fill the gap at that time.”
