> mean, you take people's money upfront and then distribute it monthly, taking a cut.
I don't think they do that for all creators - there's a bunch who work on an "$N per item" basis and I'm assuming those are charged at the end of the month once those items have been distributed to patrons (otherwise how would you know what to charge?)
They definitely get the money before distributing it. They will also pass any payment processing delays onto the creators, which just happened at the beginning of this month.
I don't think they do that for all creators - there's a bunch who work on an "$N per item" basis and I'm assuming those are charged at the end of the month once those items have been distributed to patrons (otherwise how would you know what to charge?)