I raised $5600 for my last CD project with fan funding, offering different packages for different amounts. Read about it here.

That said, I really dislike the Kickstarter all-or-nothing approach. How demoralizing to have to refund everything, especially if you’re close to your goal. I think it’s better to keep and use what you raise, even if you have to scale back the scope of the project (like, an EP instead of an album) or come up with funds on your own to fill the gap.

I just learned about a great alternative to Kickstarter – RocketHub.com – from American Songwriter – http://www.americansongwriter.com/2010/06/rockethub-for-creatives-by-creatives-2/

They are open (so no invites needed like on KS) and very supportive. Seems to be a bit more grassroots.

So rockethub.com seems to be a well-known alternative. There is artistshare.com, too. Why did the original article only mention kickstarter.com ? I really find this blog useful and I like it, but I have concerns about the authors’ objectiveness. Is it because the alternatives for some reason are not in line with cdbaby’s interests as a company?

By the way, does anyone have experience with live concerts based on fundraising? It might be a good way to deal with expenditures like concert hall and instrument rental, transport, etc. without the risk of losing money.

Feed The Muse (www.feedthemuse.net) is also a great option for Fan Funding. The artists get paid out at the end of every month, regardless if they achieve their goal. Feed The Muse feels that each dollar raised is another step towards the goal, and that the process should be a continuous campaign.
A small percentage is retained, and they offer basic and premium options (featuring a password protected area for premium content that fans can buy in to see!)

Check out http://www.feedthemuse.net/lucascarpenter to see an artist using the site.
You can also check out our video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5VxYRy8UAo
-Tom Laskas & Feed The Muse

My band (Sinch) has raised over $11,000 so far for our new album using a simple widget from ChipIn. We’re relaunching the project next month with a new service called ENJYN (in private beta now).

We’ve been a CD Baby artist for a while now and will be using some of the money raised to sell the new album here.

@Brian Meece

The crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter.com or RocketHub.com give credibility to the process.

Yeah, but so does releasing a creative project without trying its right-to-exist to a market demand.

Paraphrasing one of my bandmates: what’s wrong with actually saving up your own money to do a record? There’s a certain cachet that comes with NOT having to wholly rely on fan funding.

By all means, go ahead and raise funds, but don’t put yourself in a position where falling few bucks short by an artificial deadline enforced by a 3rd party means the project doesn’t get made. IMO it’s demoralizing for both the band and the fans who actually did contribute.

[crowdfunding] allows an artist to test viability of a project before sinking money into it.

I think this is smart, but also think this is served just as well by pre-orders before you even start.

No need to use any fundraising website and give up a percent of your fan’s generous donations. Keep it all DIY and let folks send in checks or donate direct to your Paypal account.

I’ve done fundraising for 3 cd projects now, the most recent raising just over $5,300, and with only about 700 people on my mailing list.

Tips:

-Put Paypal buttons on your website (terrifically simple to do for those who use Hostbaby), and create a password protected blog that only donors get access to. On your “backstage” site, you’ll post demos, videos of recording in the studio, and posts about the process all along the way. [I am using Tumblr this time and have been really happy with it: rachelsnewrecord.tumblr.com/ Password is thankyou if you want to have a peek.)

-Keep your fundraising window short and sweet, so you don’t pester folks and sound like a PBS telethon that goes on forever. I’ve found 4-6 weeks to be ample. A short deadline also gives people an incentive to act now. Also best if you can start fundraising when you actually start recording, or just days before -so that you’re posting stuff to the backstage blog – your newsletter or facebook can say, “Just posted three new demos on the backstage site today – donate now and get the password so you can come along for the ride!”

-Give people a variety of donation levels with incentives for donating at each level. On the other hand, don’t offer too many level options – it’s overwhelming. My most recent fundraising campaign levels were:

$25: Roadie
* A signed copy of the cd
* Password to access BACKSTAGE
* Your name listed in the cd booklet under “With generous support from”
* Entered in drawing to win a free house concert

$100: Tour Manager
* All of the above, and:
* An autographed CDR of the new cds songs, recorded as demos at home just after the songs were written.

$1000: Executive Producer:
* All above plus 9 more signed cds and a free house concert when touring in your area

$ Your choice:
(I created a Paypal button that allowed people to donate as much or as little as they wished – and was surprised at how many people used it to donate $50 or $200.)

Good luck!
Rachel

My fans BLEW me out of the water by donating over $21,000 (AFTER PayPal fees) in one month. (my goal of $4k was met in the first day)… I conducted the drive at shows and through my mailing list and facebook / twitter. Kickstarter takes about 7% or so. Operating my fundraiser on my website using PayPal seemed like a better option for me.

I’m planning to launch a kickstarter campaign on July 8 to raise funds to record a new CD of science songs for kids. I like the all or nothing approach. I have a budget all worked out. If I don’t raise my total, I don’t want to have to refund a bunch of money or downsize the project. If there’s a market for my concept, I’ll pre-sell enough CDs, and if there isn’t I probably shouldn’t do the CD at this time anyway.

I have just discovered this type of fund raising for artists and I’m excited about it. For years I have struggled just to make ends meet..I cannot ever seem to have extra money to save for funding an album. I do not think that it is demeaning in this day and age, when money is even more scarce due to economic forces that clearly work in favor of those who already have more than enough for a decent life.
If you put your heart and soul into being the best artist you can be, you use more time and therefore have less money to record. Even though technology has made it much easier for musicians to record high quality audio and release beautifully packaged product, there are still high costs involved. As most of you know.
I’ve been looking for backers for a while now, but until this fan funding thing came along I was feeling very discouraged. So if an artist cannot produce recordings because of poverty and then finally is able to via fan funding, does that take away from his/her dignity? That attitude is so last millennium. I’m proud of my work, I just need to get it produced. There are a plethora of ways to promote your album via the internet these days, but how the hell can you get to that point with no money to record… I’m stoked!

I raised $3,000 in 34 days from 65 backers at Kickstarter to help finance my new album. A few tips to help you reach your target if you decide to go for it:
1) Keep it real. Potential backers want to know the personality behind the pitch.

2) Don’t expect the host site to provide your support. In most cases, my backers came from people that knew me, or knew of me, outside of Kickstarter.

3) I introduced contests during my campaign. (ie. Anyone who pledges, or ups their pledge, in the next three days can win ___). I had donated studio time, even a private yoga lesson to give away. It’s fun and keeps the momentum going if you hit a wall midway through.

4) Host a house concert with a computer set up and ready to accept pledges.

5) Print up a postcard-sized handbill you can give out that explains in a nutshell what you’re doing. It can take too long otherwise to get it across in a noisy bar or on the street what it is you’re trying to do and how.

Besides the cash, I got pre-release buzz (the local media wrote up my quest to raise money), and a whole lot of supporters who feel like they’re now part of the project. It can be a crazy amount of work to reach your goal, but in my case, it was worth it.

John

Thanks for your fast reaction, Kevin.

Yep, I used kickstarter… my project goal was not met, sadly. I kinda found out who my friends were, too.
Yet I did contact those who pledged and they ended up giving me MORE money than they pledged…!
Folks, it takes money to make music; it’s a bottomless pit, to be truthful. There’s no shame in gettin’ some financial support to get that album made.
I will say this–perhaps a bit off topic–my take is don’t be too anxious to make that album/cd. There’s too MUCH music out there, too many choices.

…It’s why people really aren’t gobbling up all this new music.

Just look at all the new arrivals at the CDBaby home page! (or on page 147!!) For every artist that has medium success or a modicum of success (say, making back the ton of money you dump into your music) there are legions of people who lose their shirt and don’t make a dime, and they are perfectly talented, have extraordinary recordings, and deserve to be noticed.
For a young band, or for anybody really, my advice after recording NINETEEN albums is do it as cost effective as you can, do it as best you can, and get the least amount pressed, especially if you don’t tour or if you live in a small town.

(You can always get more, and if you think Discmakers is nice when you order a thousand, you should try ‘em when you’re doing a RE-order.
Too many artists have that 1000 cd’s (or more!) in their closet and no way to sell them.)

One more diatribe:
Marketing! Marketing! Relentless, self-promoting marketing! I’m OVER it. No really.

All these great “marketing tools” and internet ideas/sites can’t really break out a lot of artists. Please avoid dumping your hard earned dough into websites and or marketing companies that promise to “analyze” your music via a computer-music algorithmic program to find that “hit” song. It assures that all music will be homogenous, kills true originality and all they will most likely do is happily take your money!

At the risk of offending multitudes of generally mild-mannered people who are now enraged beyond reason, I’m going to suggest as a band or artist to get one of those nifty digital recorders, do it at your house, have it mixed by an engineer, duplicate it, sell it at shows and move on to the next one. And the thousands of dollars you save?
Put it in a savings account. Now that will be real money in the bank.

Namaste!

No one finds this arrogant, to ask other people to fund your record? I could never, ever do this. Why should people pay so your artistic dreams are realized? Doesn’t make any sense to me. If it’s good when it’s done, they’ll buy it.

Should working moms or dads get donations to be able to stay home with their kids? It’s more valuable for society. What about that vacation I want to take? Can someone help me out?

The other thing, it’s 2010 – who needs to spend 5 or even 10,000 dollars on a record anymore?

Just seems like the bar for entry should be set somewhere. If you can prove that you’re worth it to donors and they want to give to support you, I guess that’s one thing. If it’s your fans who you’ve mustered through your shows, they’re sort of invested. But, I don’t know… it just seems like begging to me. I get these emails from fellow musicians and it offends me.

I thought the whole idea of the new music business model and the communication revolution was that good stuff would finally be able to rise to the top. But anyone can ask for money to make a record and promote it, and certainly not everyone’s worthy, right?

I don’t mean to sound indignant, but I do feel strongly. At the very least, this approach is not for me.

Showbread used this method and were able to fund $18,000 of their $13,000 goal within a month!

I agree with Dan P:
“The other thing, it’s 2010 – who needs to spend 5 or even 10,000 dollars on a record anymore?”

I think perhaps he means recording, but I wholeheartedly agree: don’t spend a lot of dough on a recording or recordings, unless you’ve genuinely have a fan base that buys them.
My opinion:
You’re self-produced, expensive recording is really no more than a business card, albeit a very sophisticated one. It is a means to an end, granted, and there are compelling reasons to have a representation of your art, both for posterity and the potential to create more business.
However, given the sheer amount of people currently trying to do this type of business, I would offer that the more clever artist will produce his or her work with as little investment as possible, given the probability of ANY return on this type of business.
Thanks for the ramble.

I do like the “Single” concept CDbaby offers. Quite affordable. Haven’t we all be told “all it takes is one song?”

I am currently raising money to record my next project through a website called Sellaband and I am the #2 artist in the US behind none other than Public Enemy who is raising a much larger budget for their next album. I have to say that the biggest plus is that while I did not have a huge dedicated base of fans prior to joining the site (I am a newcomer to the music business), I have gained a lot of fans by being a part of Sellaband. People from all over the world come to the site to find new independent music.

I understand how it can sound like “begging for money”, but in all honesty, the fans that help fund projects on Sellaband really do much more than donate a couple bucks. It gives them the chance to be a part of the project in a way that they wouldn’t be able to before. A lot of my Sellaband “Believers” (as they are called) have been integral in helping me find new ways to expand my fan base, get my music out there, etc. It’s a very cool way for everyone to be involved in the process.

And I disagree with always spending as little as possible on recording costs, especially for someone in my genre – Pop/R&B. Unfortunately, for the demographic that I am trying to reach really wants to hear the production as well as my voice. I have had “demo” versions of songs done on the cheap that didn’t do much in terms of generating a following, but my fully produced tracks (self funded) really made the difference. And for me, it is not about the return on investment. I want to put out a great record that people will love. I spent a lot of my own money on a fully produced EP and know that I will likely not make it all back, but a lot of people enjoy the music and thats what matters to me.

Hey all. Kickstarter is a good one. But as far as musicians are concerned I think SliceThePie.com is a better place! Our band The Funeral Honors is in the Top 3 bands there!

I wonder if one should do this on only one platform or on different ones. How did the other bands/musicians manage that?

I’m trying it for my first big record. I developed a plan, using the “Patron of The Arts” theme from CDBaby, and emailed my fan list a couple weeks ago. I got a good response, better than I expected.

I think this is the way to go for Indie artists in the current environment.

As for the Fan Funding sites, I am curious about those, and would like to use one, but I see problems with each.

1. Kickstarter: I don’t like the all-or-nothing approach. I don’t want to turn down any offers just because I’m short of the goal.

2. Artist Share: I went to the website but couldn’t figure out how it works. When you click “About Us” and read the text under “Artist Shared Explained”, it’s vague. Same with the tab “Projects”. There are 3 sentences. When you click “Learn More”, there’s a popup, but all vague. How do you submit a project? How much does it cost? What’s their cut? Is it all-or-nothing? None of this is explained.

3. Rocket Hub: the website was unreadable, the text was off the left side of the screeen. Since I can’t read it, I don’t know how it works. But don’t want to use a site where readers won’t be able to read what I write. They need to improve their web design.

-Rob

Hi all.
I wrote a story about the sustainability of fan-funding in my free online music magazine Modern Acoustic.
Check it out at http://www.modernacoustic.com

Rich

I just read this article about how to reach your goal with an online pledge campaign. Some good tips for how much to ask for, and how to publicize your campaign, etc.

http://craigmod.com/journal/kickstartup/

John

I am a London student,and a citizen of federal republic of Nigeria,West AFRICA. I am a young artist,I compose and write songs.My first four track single master would be ready by friday next week.But I do not have enuogh fund to do the marketing of the album; getting a copy right license for my songs(protection from piracy),getting a cd label for the face, and cover,promotion, and distribution.I do not know how possible these would be; to be accomplished I would be pleased to receive any advice on what to do.
Yours Sincerely,
EBOH SOLOMON OGBONNAYA