28-03-2017

Up Coming Shows:
·         April 1st
o   Batavia will be playing their debut show at the Starbucks in Prinecrest Mall for a fundraiser for Camp Quality
§  10am-2pm
·         April 7th
o   Endless Oceans, Noi Ya, Milk Jive, FoOlish and Nessie at Avant Garde
§  7pm doors open
§  $10 tickets in advance, bands have tickets
·         April 27th
o   Nighttime In Kansas, Forest and Hawking at Live! On Elgin
§  E.P release for Hawking


Crowd Funding:
Should you use it to fund your album/E.P
Kyle Stumpo:

Crowd funding platforms are becoming a very popular way to raise money for new products, services and music. There are many websites to use such as GoFundMe and Kickstarter. Kickstarter is mostly used for new products in the science and technology department and has some pretty strict rules that users need to follow to qualify for the service. GoFundMe is used for more art stuff such as movies, YouTube channels and music.

Both sites take 5% off your income from the site. If you don’t reach your goal then they will not take the 5%. The income from crowdfunding is taxable so always take that into account when you make your goals.

Artists also need to create rewards for those who donate to entice people to donate. Some common rewards are:
  • ·         Keychains
  • ·         Signed albums
  • ·         Free downloads
  • ·         T-shirts
  • ·         Hats
  • ·         Promo USB’s
  • ·         Free tickets to shows

Always take these costs into account when you want to use crowdfunding. If you don’t deliver people will probably be angry.

Crowd funding has other uses as well. It can drive your social media presence through the roof if it is done correctly and it can also garner media attention for your music. Always contact the media BEFORE you start your campaign. With enough notice the media can help you drive more traffic to your crowd funding page. Also, if you use crowd funding it means you don’t have to borrow money from a bank. Borrowing money from a bank can be a pain as you need documents; a good credit score; and depending on the amount you may even need collateral. Another issue with dealing with a bank is that you are the in debt which is not a good place to be.

How Can I Convince People to Donate?
The best way to get people to donate is to offer rewards that would be appealing to your fans. As listed above they can include many inexpensive products that you can buy in bulk. Another thing you should always do if crowd funding is to create a promo video. This video should:
  • ·         Tell people what your cause is
  • ·         What rewards you’re going to offer
  • ·         WHY they should donate to your cause
  • ·         What your stretch goal reward will be.
    •         Stretch goal is an amount over your goal that can help fund something extra. Common reward is a tour
  • ·         Some videos are samples of the music  
  • ·         Campaigns with videos are more likely to succeed 

The short answer to whether you should use crowd funding is yes. Crowd funding is a great way to connect with fans and make them feel like they are part of the process in creating your music. It also helps you stay out of debt. Campaigns also keep you in control of the creative process and keep record labels out of your hair if you don’t want to deal with a label changing the sound of your music.

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