This article walks you through how to connect Zoom to Patreon Live using a custom RTMPS streaming setup.
Who can use Patreon Live?
Patreon Live is currently available to creators who meet the following criteria:
- You've published your Patreon page
- Your Patreon page is Safe for All Audiences
- Your Patreon page is in good standing and complies with our Community Guidelines and Terms of use
While Patreon Live is not yet available to creators in the Adult/18+ category, we're working to responsibly expand access to more creators and ensure the product meets the needs of our community.
What you'll need
Before you begin, make sure that:
- You own the Zoom meeting or webinar
- You are the host of the Zoom meeting or webinar (co-host permissions are not sufficient to access livestreaming settings)
- You have Zoom premium
Steps to go live via Zoom
You can stream to Patreon Live using either a Zoom Meeting or a Zoom Webinar. The setup process is the same for both.
- Log in to Zoom on a web browser and go to your Zoom Meeting Settings
- Scroll to the In Meeting (Advanced) section and enable Allow livestreaming of meetings
- Check the box for Custom Live Streaming Service
- Create or open the Zoom meeting you want to stream
In the meeting, click on More → Live on Custom Live Streaming Service – A browser window will open, prompting you to enter livestreaming credentials — Leave this tab open — you'll come back to it after setting up your Live on Patreon - Open a new tab and go to Patreon. From your creator profile, click the Create button on the left-hand side and select Live
In the Camera source section, select Other Streaming Service. Your preview panel will load with a Server URL and Stream Key — these are unique to each Live session. - Copy the Server URL and Stream Key from the preview panel on Patreon and paste them into the corresponding fields in Zoom:
- The Server URL into the Streaming URL field
- The Stream Key into the Streaming key field
- The Live Streaming Page URL: This can be the link to your Patreon creator page (required by Zoom) – It should follow this format: https://www.patreon.com/cw/yourpagename
- Leave Resolution at 720p
- In Zoom, click Go Live!
Zoom will start sending the stream to Patreon, but your Live will not be visible to members until you click Start Live on Patreon - Mute your Patreon browser tab to prevent audio feedback
When streaming through Zoom, Zoom becomes your audio source. After clicking Go Live in Zoom, return to your Patreon tab, right-click the browser tab, and select Mute site - In your Patreon Live setup page, you should now see your Zoom feed in the preview window
- Add a title for your Live and choose your audience (All Members, Free Members, or specific Paid Tiers) – For eligible creators, it's also possible to sell one-time access to a Live. Note: Ticketed access is currently in beta. Creators can share interest by filling out this form
- Click Start Live on Patreon to begin streaming to your members
If you scheduled your Live in advance, you'll be able to enter the setup 5 minutes before your scheduled time to complete these steps - When you're ready to end your stream, click End Live on Patreon first
After your Live has fully ended on Patreon, return to Zoom and end your meeting or webinar. If you end the Zoom session first, your Patreon Live will continue running without audio or video until you manually end it on Patreon
Key Things to Know
- The Streaming URL for each live you create is different, meaning if you create a new live you'll have to go through this setup process each time for each meeting
- You can also create a scheduled event – you can complete this setup ahead of time, and check on the setup anytime before your Live by heading to Drafts in your Library and editing the post
- If you need to change the streaming URL when it's already been configured, you'll need to go to your Zoom Dashboard. Go to My Meetings and click on the meeting name you want to change. In the Livestreaming tab, you can configure or even preset the credentials before/while the Zoom is starting
- Screen sharing behavior: Whoever is actively screen sharing in your Zoom meeting will also be screen sharing to your Patreon Live. If a participant starts screen sharing in Zoom, their screen will automatically appear in your Live stream