Not that I expect anyone from this scene to pull down a cool $1.2M for their next Instro/Surf project, but man... talk about opportunity. Wondering why there isn't more Kickstarter activity

http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2012/06/crowdfunding-music

Crowdfunding music
Busking for millions

Jun 5th 2012, 12:18 by G.F. | SEATTLE

AMANDA PALMER learned everything she needed to know to raise nearly $1.2m for her latest album as a street performer. Ms Palmer says that six years of busking, often as a living statue called "The Eight-Foot Bride", led her to realise that people willing to toss money in a hat do so according to their means and interest rather than in response to a specific reward.

With that in mind, she structured a crowdfunding project on Kickstarter to recoup the production costs of the album, recorded in Melbourne earlier this year, and an associated tour, "Theatre Is Evil" by "Amanda Palmer & the Grand Theft Orchestra". She blazed past her $100,000 goal, and achieved her final total on May 31st with nearly 25,000 individuals backing the project. Ms Palmer hosted a street bacchanal countdown in Brooklyn that evening as the project hit its close. (Readers of a delicate nature should be warned that Ms Palmer's Kickstarter page features some images of exuberant nudity.)

Ms Palmer's project is not the first among musicians. Nor is it unique. But it is the largest by far to date. Most contributors gave $125 or less. Ms Palmer offered a download of the album for anything above $1, a CD for those who sent $25 or more and a vinyl for anyone who splurged $50. More generous donors could attend intimate art-gallery acoustic events connected with artwork created by Ms Palmer and many others for an associated art book.

Then there were 34 pledges of $5,000 each, enough to secure a private house party with her in the next 18 months. Some of those she will fulfill while on tour; others will require special trips. That carries costs, but lets her expand her fan base. Many of the house parties were self-organised by groups of as many as 50 people who each kicked in to a kitty.

Her effort—another in a series of million-dollar projects facilitated by Kickstarter since the start of the year—took years to plan. She experimented with self-releasing three boutique efforts first, and then she and her husband, the genre-bending novelist and comics writer Neil Gaiman with 1.7m Twitter followers, floated a more modest Kickstarter outing last October. Ms Palmer then met with Kickstarter to dissect that project and learn from the most successful efforts (like an electronic-paper watch, the Pebble, which passed $10m).

Ms Palmer is the latest musician to turn to devotees directly, disintermediating media gatekeepers. Ms Palmer and Brian Viglione started their group, The Dresden Dolls, a Weimar-styled "punk cabaret" act, in 2000 and signed with a subsidiary of Warner Music Group in 2004. Yet despite releasing a successful album and several singles, Ms Palmer felt constrained. When she approached her label with new ideas, drawing from a background in performance and art, they were slapped down. "I used to be punished for my enthusiasm," she recalls.

No longer. For the Brooklyn countdown she had her permanent staff of twelve find 60 telephone books and hire another dozen people to write the names of backers on the pages. These were torn out and the names held against the glass of a large, aquarium-like contraption during the event, which was streamed live over the internet, culminating with Ms Palmer nude beneath a dress of balloons that were popped by revellers as the deadline struck.

She has always pursued a close connection with her audience, staying after every show to sign autographs and chat. She blogs, tweets to over 500,000 followers, reads forum posts and responds to e-mail. Some wondered whether Ms Palmer really needed so much money to finance her endeavour. She responded with a salty but detailed explanation of where the dollars go in music production, and in Kickstarter projects. Success does not come cheap.

Fady

El Mirage @ ReverbNation

Scott, Dave, and John's new band, The Pynnacles, raised $5 grand in two months to record their album.

http://www.satanspilgrims.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Satans-Pilgrims/8210228553
https://satanspilgrims.bandcamp.com/
http://www.surfyindustries.com

Think I'm gonna use it to raise vacation money.

Radio Free Bakersfield--60 Minutes of TWANG, CRUNCH, OOMPH.
http://radiofreebakersfield.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Radio-Free-Bakersfield/172410279636
http://www.sandiegojoe.com/rfb.htm

How essential was the nude bit ?

Freshwater Surfin'

The Murray Basin
Australia

Restart post.
Q: Anyone care to share their experince with this program and those like it?
Q: what are the pros and cons of doing this kickstarter thing?
I will ask for your money later.

http://www.reverbnation.com/thegreasemonkeyz

@killbabykill34 I share similar reservations with Kickstarter (as a musician and fan). A CD can be made and pressed for $1000-$1500 these days with great results. I'm more opt to helping a band/musician if I know they are investing in themselves (e.g. with gig money or day job money) - there's lots of backlash against record companies - but they too wanted to see you invest in yourself first before they invest into you.

There's a few full time musicians in my area who do the Kickstarter thing as well as throwing "house rent parties" - these rent parties are held at the musicians house, you pay a $10 cover charge to get in and can jam/listen to records, etc THEN the musician who rents the house keeps the cash to pay his rent. I don't know but that does not rub me right. BUT I guess it doesn't hurt to ask. While I'm not a support of a kickstarter project for every aspect (e.g. merch, cd, tour money, van money, etc) this was an interesting listen Amanda Palmer: The art of asking

I still believe that you need to invest in yourself first - though some are successful with kickstarter (e.g. established artists) - maybe I'm too old school to fully accept it

Last edited: Mar 12, 2013 15:48:18

@killbabykill34 Thanks for the tip on Kuanki (I wasn't hip to them). I agree on the CD pressings, additionally with instant downloads (songs, graphics, etc) from an musicians website, physical copies are getting obsolete. I always had this thought that you can have a kisok (e.g. laptop) or something at a gig so fans can instantly download a song (e.g. from a computer or wifi connection) instead of purchasing a cd. (easier said then done)

Oh write the book, you can sell it at your merch table or make it downloadable

Last edited: Mar 12, 2013 16:35:30

I'm with you on this one KillBaby....If you can get $1 million bucks more power to you, but this is likely just a flavour of the month.
If you are smart and motivated you can press the right culture-buttons and folks will throw money at you. just call up the 20 most viral videos and meditate for a handful of hours on what society-of-the-moment values.
This stuff has not much to do with music or soul and lots to do with fashion. Focus on the spirit and you'll find immeasurable treasure.

http://blueruins.bandcamp.com

Last edited: Mar 12, 2013 17:34:48

killbabykill34 wrote:

We have attempted to avoid using Kickstarter for our own projects. Although we are part of a Kickstarter funded comp that we were asked to be on.

Yeah, whatever happened to that comp anyway?

Monsters Of Surf
Daikaiju

The producer of the album sent out an update about two weeks ago, as he and many of us bands are starting to get less than happy messages. He has apparantly been finalizing the tracking and was intending on sending it off for mastering over the past few weeks.

THE KBK ... This is the last known signal. We offer Sanctuary.

www.thekbk.com
http://www.deepeddy.net/artists/thekbk/
www.reverbnation.com/thekbk
www.facebook.com/thekbkal