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Pros & Cons of the Kickstarter Model
Who Needs a Label When Fans Fund Your Recording?
F or most musicians,
the funds invested in
creating a record usu
ally come from a record
label, money made from merch
sales or out-of-pocket. Yet,
as the Internet evolves, so
do money-making ideas. With
so much competition out
there, musicians are at the
behest of their own interests
for new ways to raise funds.
Kickstarter is one way that
DIY music is keeping itself
afloat, even in hard economic
times.
Kickstarter.com is a fund
raiser website devoted to
creative projects in need
of financial support. First
the artist must submit his/
her project for approval by
Kickstarter. Once the project
page goes live, the project
creator sets a goal for the
amount of money needed
and the deadline by which
those funds must be accu
mulated. It's up to the artist to promote the
fundraiser and direct people to the project
page. Most artists offer incentives to entice
funding, promising things like limited editions
of songs, invitations to BBQs or a mention
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in the liner notes, depending on the amount
donated. Supporters pledge their donations
on the website, but Kickstarter.com will only
collect those funds if the goal amount is met
before the predetermined deadline.
A strange phenomenon to follow in its
progression, online fundraising websites such
as Kickstarter.com and the similarly structured
Fundable.com present both new solutions
and new quandaries in the already tumultu
ous music market. At their best, these sites
provide a simple way for broke, right-brained
thinkers to toss out the nets to those wishing
to support creative projects. At its worst, it's
a faux not-for-profit without any account
ability to its supporters. Whether Kickstarter is
supporting artists, musicians and the like, or
a form of cyber begging has been created, is
entirely subjective.
While Kickstarter is not only for musicians,
some of its most recent and notable suc
cesses have been Athens bands. In fact, many
Athenians first heard of Kickstarter when local
acts Allison Weiss, Chris McKay and the Critical
Darlings and Venice Is Sinking signed on to
fund the recording and/or production of their
albums.
Superficially, Kickstarter and other web
sites like it appear to bring DIY to a new
level. So far, the model seems to be successful
because the concept is entirely accessible.
Most creative projects need funding. People
want a chance at philanthropy which they
can afford. Fans want to show their loyalty to
their favorite bands. Plus, with the advent of
MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, bands have
already become acclimated to interacting
directly with their fan base and keeping them
informed as quickly as possible (lest their fans
forget them). Bands are now expected to be
self-promoters and frequently turn to their
fans for support—whether it's inviting people
to a show, recruiting extras for a music video
or even making decisions about their creative
direction. So why not tap that market for
financial backing as well?
When it works, it works well. Paste maga
zine, like most print magazines across the
nation, recently ran into some harsh economic
times. Its remedy was to ask for online contri
butions from Paste supporters. In return, Paste
offered the donor, based on his/her contribu
tion, unreleased songs and the chance to win
autographed merch from various high-profile
bands. Paste's fundraising
turned out to be incred
ibly successful, collecting
$250,000 from over 10,000
donors.
It sounds like a cut-and-
dried way to raise money
for individual projects, but
creative works are often
unpredictable and bad things
can and do happen. Hope
for Agoldensummer's Claire
Campbell knows all too well
the potential drawbacks of
collecting donations to fund
a record. Although her band
didn't use Kickstarter specifi
cally, Hope for Agoldensummer
did solicit "pre-orders" from
fans so the band could afford
to record Ariadne Thread.
After what seemed to be a
successful fundraiser, the band
began recording at the pricey
studio of its dreams. However,
in the midst of recording, two
members chose to leave the
band and insisted that their
contributions be erased from the sessions. The
remaining members had to start the recording
process all over, and a year's worth of work
was lost. "It took another year plus going into
credit card debt to get the album finished,"
says Campbell. "We were able to placate some
folks by releasing an EP that was free to those
who- had pre-ordered. But, towards the end of
two years, many of our fans were pissed, as it
had been years since most of them first con
tributed." Worse still was the fact that after
all of that time, some of the fans' addresses
changed and the final product couldn't be
delivered. "Though we sent out emails before
hand asking for address changes," Claire con
tinues, "many people who had moved did not
respond. So, for months afterward we would
get returned-to-sender CD packages." Claire's
hard-earned advice to bands: "Wait. If you
can, hold off taking money until you are abso
lutely sure you can give a product."
It is through supporters that projects come
to fruition on Kickstarter and other fundrais
ing sites, but how are these fans considered?
Kickstarter and Fundable projects do not
have to disclose how each dollar helps fund
projects. This leaves donators vulnerable to
loss should the project they help fund fizzle
out. CEO of Kickstarter, Perry Chen, believes
that the site is self-regulated. He goes on to
say that in relation to Kickstarteris long-term
goals, he believes that "this is where com
merce is heading. Real connections between
people."
Perhaps the fate of online fundraising is
all in the hands of laissez-faire capitalism.
This model is still in its infancy (Kickstarter
was just launched in April of this year) and
will surely evolve through a series of trials
and errors. Whether or not the idea of online
fundraising is appealing, it's a force to be
considered. What does resonate is the spirit of
philanthropy that sites such as Kickstarter and
Fundable seem to inspire. It can certainly be
said that there are idealists out there trying to
fund their dreams, somehow. That, in itself, is
inspiration for the creative force.
Kristen Strezo
SEPTEMBER 2,2009 • FLAGPOLE.COM 17