Audience funding brings flexibility and uncertainty

Audience support through Patreon, YouTube, Ko-fi, Twitch, and similar platforms can provide all of a historian's research funding. Monthly income varies, so research plans must adapt to money that has already come in rather than rely on a fixed budget. Some colleagues accuse this approach of chasing popular history, although most do not object. Popularity may also indicate that people want to learn about the subject. The freedom to follow work on one topic with a book on a completely different subject is part of its appeal.