Crowdfunding for music? Good/bad idea?
 

Things like Kickstarter let emerging artists raise money directly from people... pretty popular means of getting anything grassroots funded these days.

Just curious as to what everything thinks the future of this method is in the music industry? Any downsides? (I mean it seems like a pretty swell idea...)

This will pick up alot more if it hasnt already. I mean it gives your fans a chance to play a part in making something happen with the artist they are fans of. Back then fans couldnt even get that close to the artist lol

Well I would like to start one for my next cd. There's a lot of good things involved, like the buyers/fans, the exchange, and obviously the way you can start a project and get it done with the help of people.

People will do it because they're stupid.

If I'm paying for something before it's made and my money is what's making it happen that's an investment, not a donation that'll give me a copy of the product when it's finished.

I'd expect the product free and a percentage of the profits of what I put in

Agreed with above


Its basically an investment with no return and then u gotta buy the product anyways

...There's no "return", you buy it.
There's no investment in music when fans are buying music from other people.
And people who do it aren't stupid, they share and allow artists to exist and to spread their music.

that's not exactly true

i've done this three times times now

with Swans, tartar Control and with The Smut Peddlers

a $150 dollar investment to Swans got me a handmade, signed and numbered live cd, Producing credits on the new album, a copy of the double cd with a limited edition live dvd (which is said to arrive one week before release date)....and a large one of a kind signed poster

just having my name as a credit on an album by one of my all time favorite bands is well worth what i paid

the Tartar Control was a bit different....i gave them $50 towards producing a pilot tv show.....it failed for them unfortunately (but was funny as fuck)....but i got a copy of their album, a t-shirt and a personal in person thank you from both of them

i just recently gave The Smut Peddlers $50....they have not reached their goal yet....but still have over 30 days and it looks like they will.....they've already recorded the album and it will come out.....this is simply to cover the cost of pressing the vinyl....if they make the $3800 to do this....i get a copy of the lmt color vinyl and a copy of the black both signed by the band and including some stickers or something.....the take the money only if the reach their goal and either way i get free download of the album

not band in my opinion

Not a bad thing at all. At least you know that the album is funded by people who will actually listen to it and like the artists and not a group of Suits who are now really a bunch of number counters. However, there's one major setback if the finished product is very under-whelming so it is a bit if a heavy risk if one is willing to but a nice amount of a paycheck into something that's not really going to work out well on the artistic side even if the extras are still good bells to ring on the outside.