What Is Crowdfunding?

Last Friday, I did the most vulnerable thing of my entire music career to date: I launched a PledgeMusic campaign.  What is that? you ask.  PledgeMusic is a platform for crowdfunding, much like Kickstarter, but specified for musicians. And what is crowdfunding? you ask. Crowdfunding is where you involve the people who support you in the creation of your product—in my case, my new album.  It's actually a brilliant way to pre-sell your music, but even more than that, offer your listeners some truly unique ways to be involved.  For example, in exchange for my fans' contributions, I will send them my album a week before it releases, I will call them and sing them to sleep, take them to lunch, teach them how to write songs via Skype or in person, take them shopping for a day, invite them to sing a duet with me on stage, and so much more. These are things that I normally wouldn't have available for purchase. It's also an incredible way to create momentum and awareness surrounding a new album release.  Additionally, I've made it so that 30% of my campaign will go toward funding the Rooftop Concert Series to support my local music scene. 

Any time you put yourself out there, there will be naysayers.  Trust me.  I live in a world of putting myself out there.  One person commented:

In my opinion if Mindy wanted to record another album she should have had the money upfront, not beg from her fans for it.

For those of you who may be confused about what this campaign is all about, allow me to spell it out a little more clearly and be vulnerable, yet one more time.  I have paid for the recording of my album, up front, with my own money that I have set aside for three years.  (Although, I do not see anything wrong with bands raising money to pay for an album up front if they don't have it). I am an independent artist. This means that I fund my entire career. I pay for the recording, I pay for CD duplication, album design, web design, my band members' pay checks, travel costs for touring, music videos, and the list goes on and on. The contributions of my fans will go towards all of the extra expenses beyond the album recording, that it takes to thrive as a musician.  In a beautifully symbiotic way, my fans will allow me to have a wider reach by making more videos, touring more and meeting them face to face through this very campaign.  Don't think for a minute that I'm not deeply grateful for this or that I'm not working my tail off to create new music to share with all of you.  I'm really proud of this music and I stand by it unapologetically.  I can't wait to see how it brings us together. Thank you so much for allowing me into your lives through music.

Pledge HERE.

Watch this amazing TED talk by independent artist, Amanda Palmer, who raised 1.2 million dollars for her music through crowdfunding: