Sarah McLeod no longer has to sing for supper

After more than 20 years as a working musician, Sarah McLeod has only recently begun to enjoy the rare luxury of a consistent income thanks to the support of her most devoted fans.

Singer-songwriter Sarah McLeod in her home studio in Teneriffe, Brisbane. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

After more than 20 years as a working musician, singer-songwriter Sarah McLeod has only recently begun to enjoy the rare luxury of a consistent income thanks to the support of her most devoted fans on a website named Patreon.

For McLeod, who emerged in the 1990s as frontwoman of Adelaide rock band The Superjesus, the artistic and financial freedom offered by the tight-knit group she dubs her “wolf pack” has been astonishing, as about 130 fans now fund her work at $2836 a month.

“The most wonderful thing about this is that, as a musician, I’ve never had a regular income in my life,” said McLeod. “Never. It doesn’t matter how much money you make; banks hate you unless you have a regular wage. We musos might go six months without making a cracker, and then we’ll go on tour, make a stash and then have to budget it.”

“To have something that’s regular, that just keeps coming in, the same amount — it’s quite mind-blowing to me. I feel like I have a job, and I really enjoy that.”

While McLeod has quickly become the most successful Australian solo performer on Patreon after launching her wolf pack in March last year, once live bookings evaporated due to COVID-19, her achievement is dwarfed by the sum a little-known Melbourne group has managed to amass.

Melbourne progressive metal band Ne Obliviscaris while on tour in Tokyo in 2019. Picture: Ekaterina Gorbacheva

Across nearly five years on Patreon, six-piece progressive metal band Ne Obliviscaris earned $712,085 directly from a global fanbase of about 800 patrons, some 80 per cent of whom are based overseas.

“We create niche music; we’re never going to be the biggest band in the world whatsoever,” laughed violinist and vocalist Tim Charles. “But there are some people that really care about what we do. For a band our size, I really do think that we’re probably the highest-paid band in the world per fan.”

Launched in 2013 by a US musician and his tech-minded university friend, Patreon has allowed filmmakers, writers, podcasters and other creatives to earn more than $2.6bn directly from the people who care most about their art.