Monday, April 8, 2013

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:

8 comments:

  1. i think you are awesome and i'm so excited to be a part of this with my small contribution. we can't wait to hear what you come out with!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Will you then be 'giving' your music away like Amanda Palmer does? Or are these lunches and lessons suppose to be the substitute for that?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am super excited for your new album and cannot wait to get my hands on it!!!! :) I pledged last week and have been checking in on site to see who has pledged what. I think you are so awesome for wanting to commit to your fans the way you are with this project. It's ashame that people have to be so negative. You're an amazing artist and I love following you on Instragram and Vine. You're a great mom and I think it's so cool that you share parts of your personal life with your fans!!! I'm so happy I stumbled onto your music a couple years ago on a random blog. Yay and THANK YOU for your beautiful music!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow. Her story and message was incredible and mesmorizing! What a wonderful way with words to express genuine love and hopes. Thanks for sharing! You are such a beautiful artist Mindy and this is a great way to let the fans in to wrap their love around you and say thank YOU.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is an amazing way to bring more music to your fans, Mindy! Thank you for letting your fans be a part of your magical process. We love you and hope you keep on creating beautiful music.
    Jude

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm that naysayer, thanks for the shout out!

    ReplyDelete
  7. The "one person"'s comment is lame! I think it's brilliant that you're doing this!

    ReplyDelete