MemberMe
Type of site | Membership platform Creator monetization platform |
|---|---|
| Available in | English Korean |
| Owner | Tagster, Inc. |
| Created by | Fatkat (later MeSquad) |
| Website | memberme |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Required for memberships and creator functions |
| Launched | March 11, 2019 |
| Current status | Active |
MemberMe (Korean: 멤버미) is a South Korean-founded online membership and content platform through which creators and influencers offer paid subscriptions to their followers. Members can receive access to creator posts, photographs, videos, private messages, online discussions and other benefits established by individual creators.[1]
The service was created by the Seoul start-up Fatkat, which later used the name MeSquad. It was developed as a Korean alternative to international creator-funding services such as Patreon.[2] MemberMe's current terms of service identify the service provider as Tagster, Inc., a company with an address in Los Angeles, California.[3]
History
Development and launch
Fatkat was established in South Korea in August 2018 by a group including Go Chang-won, Kim Do-hyun, Choi Ji-young and Kim Hee-won.[2][4] The founders had experience producing online content while studying or working in South Korea, China and the United States. According to Go, the group became interested in developing an alternative revenue model after observing that advertising income was inconsistent for all but the largest online creators.[2]
The proposed service used recurring memberships rather than advertising or one-off viewer donations. Creators could establish subscription levels and provide members with unreleased or advance content, individual messages, group-chat access, discounts and opportunities for online or in-person interaction.[1]
Fatkat announced that MemberMe would launch on 11 March 2019. Before the launch, it had formed a partnership with the children's dance channel Awesome Haeun and was preparing pages for approximately 15 other influencer channels whose combined subscriber count exceeded ten million.[1][2] A later company profile described April 2019 as the platform's launch period and identified Aran TV, pianist Yohan Kim and dance group Waveya among its initial partner creators.[5]
Early operation
At launch, Fatkat said that it intended to charge a five-percent intermediary fee on transactions processed through MemberMe. The company described its aim as providing creators with predictable income while allowing them to retain most of their membership revenue.[2]
A company profile published on the Korean employment site The Teams stated that Fatkat received a ₩70 million investment from venture-capital firm SpringCamp in January 2019. The same profile claimed that MemberMe had processed payments from approximately 50 countries by May 2019 and had generated ₩200 million in revenue by August of that year. These figures were presented by the company and were not identified as independently audited.[6]
In September 2019, MemberMe partnered with Interstyle Dining Project, a South Korean organization that arranged cultural events in houses and other private spaces. Under the partnership, MemberMe creators could organize fan meetings, concerts, classes, markets and other offline events for their members.[7]
The MemberMe mobile application was released for iOS in February 2020. Later versions added in-application membership purchases and changes to creator feeds, posting, notifications and other functions.[8]
MeSquad and Tagster
Fatkat subsequently adopted the company name MeSquad. A 2022 Korean start-up profile continued to identify MeSquad as the operator of MemberMe and listed Go Chang-won as the company's chief executive.[4] The profile described MemberMe as one of MeSquad's products alongside ONDI, a service through which fans could request personalized short videos from creators.[5]
By February 2023, MemberMe's terms of service identified Tagster, Inc. as the contractual service provider.[3] The platform's Google Play listing also names Tagster as the application developer and gives a Los Angeles business address.[9] The United States App Store listing similarly identifies Tagster as the seller and copyright holder.[8] Publicly available sources do not describe the corporate transaction or other arrangement through which responsibility for the service moved from MeSquad to Tagster.
Platform
MemberMe permits creators to establish membership pages and publish material for paying members. Its original design emphasized private interaction between creators and relatively small groups of supporters rather than public distribution to a creator's entire social-media audience.[1]
Creator benefits may include:
- member-only photographs, videos and written posts;
- advance or previously unreleased content;
- private or group messages;
- polls and discussions;
- online broadcasts;
- discounts and commercial benefits; and
- access to fan meetings, classes or other offline events.[1][7]
The mobile application is distributed as an entertainment app and supports in-app membership purchases. The Google Play listing states that the app allows users to join creator and influencer memberships and communicate with them through dedicated membership areas.[9]
Business model
MemberMe generates revenue by deducting platform and payment-processing fees from transactions. The service initially planned to apply a five-percent intermediary fee.[2]
MemberMe's subsequently published Pro service plan lists a platform fee equal to ten percent of the total payment amount, with a separate five-percent payment-processing fee. The plan includes access to MemberMe's website and application, unlimited posts and tools intended for interaction with fans.[10] The terms of service state that the platform fee may vary according to the service plan selected by the creator.[3]
Users and geographical reach
MemberMe was initially marketed to Korean YouTubers and social-media influencers, particularly creators whose content attracted international audiences.[2] The company stated in 2019 that payments had been received from users in approximately 50 countries.[6]
A MeSquad profile updated in 2022 claimed that its creator services had accumulated approximately 400,000 members in 180 countries. The profile did not provide an independently audited breakdown of how many of those users belonged specifically to MemberMe rather than other MeSquad services.[4]
The Google Play application had exceeded 10,000 downloads by July 2026. Its most recent update displayed by Google Play was released on 12 October 2024.[9]
Content and privacy policies
MemberMe maintains rules governing the content and benefits that creators may distribute through the platform. Its guidelines address potentially harmful or unlawful material, medical claims and other categories of restricted content.[11]
The platform's privacy policy applies to creators, members and other users. The mobile-app listings state that information associated with use of the service may include email addresses, payment information, photographs, videos and other user-generated content.[12][8]
See also
- Creator economy
- Crowdfunding
- Fan subscription platform
- Membership platform
- Patreon
- Subscription business model
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Cho, Jin-su (3 March 2019). 팻캣, 유튜브 크리에이터 수익화 플랫폼 출시…론칭 전부터 '인기' [Fatkat launches YouTube creator monetization platform, attracts interest before launch]. Kuki News (in 한국어). Retrieved 8 July 2026 – via Daum.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Kim, Seung-kwon (18 March 2019). "억대 연봉도 마다하고 크리에이터 후원 플랫폼 올인" [Giving up high salaries to focus on a creator-support platform]. Bridge Economy (in 한국어). Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Terms of Service". MemberMe. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 미스쿼드 기업정보 [MeSquad company information]. NextUnicorn (in 한국어). 3 August 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 미스쿼드 서비스/제품 정보 [MeSquad service and product information]. NextUnicorn (in 한국어). 3 August 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 팻캣 [Fatkat]. The Teams (in 한국어). Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lee, Seok-won (6 September 2019). 멤버미 “크리에이터‧팬에 문화 공간 제공을…” [MemberMe seeks to provide cultural spaces for creators and fans]. VentureSquare (in 한국어). Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "MemberMe - 멤버미". App Store. Apple. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "MemberMe 멤버미". Google Play. Google. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ "MemberMe Service Plan". MemberMe. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ "Benefit Guidelines". MemberMe. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ "Privacy Policy". MemberMe. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
