Crowdfunding

Our Lord and Savior, Steve A.

   I should preface this post by saying that I'm not anti-Kickstarter at all. I think it's a wonderful, inventive tool for musicians, especially those who want to answer more to their fans than to the music industry. I should also say that while I've supported projects, I've never actually been the person requesting funding on the site. However, that isn't going to stop from being judge-y and mean to some of the people that do, obviously, because here I am.

   If you follow Pitchfork or Stereogum, then some of you may remember a couple years ago when legendary producer Steve Albini called out Amanda Palmer for the way she was using Kickstarter, or rather, for the way she wasn't using her Kickstarter. Palmer decided to crowdfund her album Theatre Is Evil as well as the tour in support of it, and ended up getting over a million dollars. For each date, she asked local musicians to play in her band for nothing more than a thank you and some time back stage. Steve thought this was a little unfair, writing, "It should be obvious also, that having gotten over a million dollars from such an effort that it is just plain rude to ask for further indulgences from your audience, like playing in your backing band for free."Amanda relented, and ended up paying her performers for each gig, and the spat died away after that. 

   Unfortunately, I've seen this happen with the Kickstarters of people I've known personally. Just because you're crowdfunding your project doesn't mean that you can skimp on paying the people involved. If it's an album, then don't just raise the money for the recording and expect that someone will donate their time to doing artwork or whatever else for it. If help is offered, great, but remember to be fair with your fans. Make sure it's worth their while.

   And of course, always make sure you follow through with your gifts. I supported a really cool punk band from Corvallis a couple years ago. I couldn't believe how much I got in return for donating 5 dollars or the lengths they went to make sure it got to me when I moved back to California. I don't listen to punk music much these days, but I still think about those guys sometimes and check up on what they're doing. That's the power of showing your appreciation. I've said this in a previous post, but I'll reiterate it here because it's important: fans want to feel a personal connection to the artist. They want to feel like they are helping a friend. Give them that. Be personable, and within reason, make sure that you're being a friend to your fans, especially when they're the ones funding your project.