Here’s Why I’m Crowdfunding (Again)…
At the time of my writing this, I’m 9 days into a 21-day all-or-nothing Kickstarter campaign to raise $15K to go on tour with my backing band and finish up our live album, Peace and Power Planet. So far this year I’ve written mostly about my entry into web3, and the balancing act between that entry and the maintenance / growth of my web2 presence. Focusing on the latter, this time I want to give some insight into my decision to utilize crowdfunding as a way to build. So here are 7 reasons why I’m employing this model.
1. My History with The Model
7 years ago I completed my first crowdfunding campaign to produce my album Guavamatic Space Dream. 194 people contributed $11,340. During that crowdfund and subsequent period of music creation I learned a lot how to be independent in a space that required me to be so if I wanted to see even a fraction of my artistic vision come to fruition. I officially began to identify as an “artist-entrepreneur” whose record label was the people. And the success from that campaign gave me confidence to use the model again.
2. I Want to Pay My People
Over the years I’ve had people graciously and courageously join me in not getting compensated as I pursue visibility, expansion, and increase. Even my backing band at one point agreed to play without being compensated for pure belief in my vision. For morale’s sake, that’s not ideal. For integrity’s sake, that’s not fair. And for reality’s sake, that’s not sustainable.
In the same token, creating production budgets out of pocket has been a challenging feat I’ve painfully pulled off for the better part of the last decade. Crowdfunding campaigns aim to ease the burden that comes with out of pocket coverage in the name of creating quality work and fairly compensating the people with whom I’ve partnered to bring my music to life.
3. It Gives People a Chance to Support Me
One thing I learned from my first campaign is that supporters and fans aren’t always the same people. But it’s best to provide opportunities for them all to show up.
There are people who just want to see me win. They may not actually stream my records or come to my shows or buy my merch. But they’re always looking for a way to support the journey because they honor the courage it takes to live a dream, even if they don’t actually listen to my music. They’ve shared links. They’ve sent money. They’ve prayed for me and held me in light.
And even for fans who love my music, in today’s (independent) music climate it can be relatively difficult to support your favorite artists. Maybe they live in a city I haven’t been able to perform in yet. Maybe the algorithms don’t feature my content on their feeds. Maybe the marketplace is too noisy and competitive for them to see me or hear me as much as they’d like. They’ve added my songs to their playlists. They’ve hosted or attended one of my kitchen sessions. They’ve bought my merch.
Because I approach crowdfunding as a deeply entrenched and personalized campaign, the model provides an intentional, concentrated, and tangible way for people to show up as supporters and/or fans.
4. It’s a Promotional Tool
Success in crowdfunding has required me to be loud in a way that feels pretty uncomfortable — I have to be in people’s faces, feeds, and inboxes with a request as opposed to an offering. But as much as I’m bringing awareness to a campaign raising funds for a project, I’m also bringing awareness to the project itself. And once people become a part of the process in such a crucially impactful way, they’re even more invested in the completion and elevation of a project they helped bring to life.
5. Self-Accountability
In my experience as an independence artist, my projects have mostly been self-derived and self-driven. There are no labels requiring that I turn in any album(s). There are no institutions expecting routine output. So I’m always open to methods of remaining accountable to my call and pursuit. What better way to remain accountable than to publicly proclaim the experience/project I want to build, attach dollar amounts to that experience/project, and then mobilize people to sow financially into the overall vision. As an artist who cites integrity as a core value, the social nature of these campaigns forces me to be accountable.
6. “Friends and Family” Round
By my estimation, a crowdfunding campaign is an artist-entrepreneur version of a “friends and family round,” which is fundraising language for super early stage investment from people who believe in a product or idea before it gets a chance to scale on the wider marketplace. I approach this “round” with consideration of future conversations with potential partners and larger investors.
There’s a lot more to this, which maybe I’ll write about in another article. But for now I’ll lean on Luke 16:10 to shed light on how I’m manifesting more robust and sustainable investments based on my track record and receipts: “Whoever is faithful in very little is faithful also in much.”
7. I Believe in People Power
From the fact that I’ve only been able to create thus far because of community to the fact that my maximized live show feeds off synergy created by sharing the stage with other musicians to the fact that my music platform has been built by a rotating team of creatives and strategists, my existence as an artist is an example of people power. I want to propel forward. I want to go further. I want to take it higher. And whatever opportunities may present themselves, my foundation will have always been people power.
There is a lot more I want to share on this topic. Should this campaign reach its goal by August 15th I want to share more tips on how to crowdfund successfully. Stay tuned. And thank you for joining me on this journey.
