Last week, Denver punk band Reno Divorce unveiled an $8,000 Kickstarter
project to fund their next album. That is the most money I’ve seen a Denver band try to raise through Kickstarter. It got me thinking about the Kickstarter model of raising funds for music projects and whether it is ultimately a good thing. As I wrote about in last week’s review of My Body Sings Electric’s new single, I have participated in a few music-related Kickstarter projects. For the most part, it has been an enjoyable experience. I like the feeling of contributing to hard-working musicians in return for personal appreciation and material rewards. But, Kickstarter projects are also prone to unsatisfying outcomes, and both project “organizers” and “backers” should understand the potential risks of participating.
In the days before Kickstarter, bands had to save their pennies, stretch their credit cards to the limit, snuggle up to mommy, daddy, or Mr. Record Exec to raise the funds needed to enter a recording studio. Now, they can just ask their fans to “invest” in new music. Typically, project backers receive anything from a high-five to a signed CD to a lifetime of being on the guest list – depending on the size of their contribution. If the project reaches its funding goal, the project organizers send out the advertised rewards to the backers and get started working on the project. Other than that, there is very little accountability happening. It’s impossible to know whether the band used all of the money for the intended purpose.
For example, let’s say a band needs $500 to fund the recording of a single. Plus, they have $500 worth of old merchandise that they would like to move. They could start a Kickstarter project for $1,000 to “fund the recording of a new single”. As rewards for backing the project, they offer combinations of band merchandise. If the project gets funded, the band effectively makes enough money to pay for the single and dumps $500 worth of merchandise at the same time. Now, you might say this is a win-win situation. The backers get merchandise for their investment and a new song from a band that they like, and the band gets a return on their merchandise investment and some money to pay for studio time. But how do you know if the band used any of the money to pay for recording the single? What if they used the money for a down payment on a new van, and instead recorded the new single in their practice room for free? Do you care?
Bands have a lot to consider with this model as well. The funding phase of the average Kickstarter project lasts 45-60 days. After that, you’ve got about a month to start delivering the rewards before your backers get annoyed. Then you actually have to complete the project you said you were going to complete. There are a lot of things that can go wrong during this period of time, and you can end up alienating your fan base as a result. For example, The Epilogues funded the filming of a video for “The Fallout” through a $4,000 Kickstarter project. They debuted the video for those who were in attendance at their Video Premier shows at the Bluebird Theater on March 30th and April 1st, 2011. After that, it was nowhere to be seen. Around the time the video was being completed, The Epilogues entered contract negotiations with a 3rd party and it was in their best interest to stop releasing new media. They did it to protect the value of the video – I get that. But, they are still constantly hounded about the video’s whereabouts by fans. Keyboardist Nate Hammond announced that the video will finally be released publicly “this month”.
Shit happens – it’s a fact of life. The Epilogues aren’t guilty of anything malicious here. But, outcomes can get much worse. I donated $25 to help fund this Summer’s “Titwrench Festival” in Denver, which showcases “queer-friendly art and music”. That project was funded on July 16th. Although I did not attend, the festival took place the weekend after UMS and by all accounts a good time was had by all. However, I haven’t received any of my promised rewards. Kickstarter will do nothing to help you in this situation other than suggest you leave comments on the project’s message board and/or send a private message to project organizers – both of which I did. I heard nothing for the longest time, and ultimately stalked the project organizer on Facebook. She explained that festival organizers underestimated the costs of fulfilling the Kickstarter rewards and needed to raise more funding before they could send them out. The fact that I still haven’t received what I was promised leaves a bad taste in my mouth and I doubt that I will support this festival in any way next year.
Then, there’s the dirty little secret about Kickstarter’s renumeration. Five percent of a successfully funded project goes back to Kickstarter. If the Reno Divorce project gets funded, $400 of fan pledges will go into Kickstarter’s coffers instead of directly funding the new album. I realize that Kickstarter is providing a service, but I’d prefer if bands could find a way to fund their projects without having to divert fan pledges to pay the costs of fundraising.
Fans: Do you think a band does better work when they are “hungry” and scraping to get by for their art? Bands: If someone wrote your band an $8,000 check in exchange for a new album, would you use that money to its fullest? Or would you spend $1,000 on pizza, beer, and clothes, and make an uninspired album for $7,000? If I hire someone to build a deck, I don’t pay him up front because it would decrease his incentive to do a quality job in a reasonable amount of time. I’m not picking on Reno Divorce or suggesting in any way that they won’t put the full $8,000 towards recording a great, new album. But, is $8,000 too much to ask your fans to pay? I’m curious as to whether the $8,000 they are asking for represents 50% of their total estimated expenses or 100%.
In conclusion, “Caveat Emptor” – May the Buyer Beware. If you go into a Kickstarter project with the intention of helping out a band you like and getting some cool stuff in return, you will be happy with the results most of the time. But also, “Caveat Venditor” – May the Seller Beware. Unless you execute the project flawlessly, you may subject yourself to the ill will of your most ardent supporters.
Everyday (in the Mile High) 