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that engages their fans and gets them to donate to their project. This can prove difficult for any artist to create a campaign that does not come off as " shrill and desperate-modern-day pan-handling by entitled go-getters." While fan-funded platforms are accessible for any musician, they have become over-crowded with both artists and anyone with an idea. "For every legitimately exciting pitch there are dozens of musicians, filmmakers and designers pleading for funds to complete ill-conceived projects."
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finance their initial album but then get signed to a record label. Major labels are signing artists with successful fan funded campaigns using the campaigns as a filter before investing in them. Other, more well-known bands have used fan funding to distance themselves from their label contracts and manage their own music. There has yet to be a band that has used fan funding to fully finance their career. In 2001,
259:. Kickstarter is a crowd funding website that has successfully funded everything from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. Project creators choose a deadline and a minimum goal of funds to raise. If the goal is not reached by the deadline, no funds are collected. The platform is open to backers from anywhere in the world and to creators from the US or the UK. Kickstarter takes a 5% fee and
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is successfully met. The site is staffed by people in the music industry and maintains partnerships with major players in the digital and physical music spheres allowing for numerous options to help record, produce, manufacture, market, and distribute artist's music, merchandise, and tickets. The site charges a 15% fee. PledgeMusic operates on two types of artist campaigns,
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a large recording studio that houses oversized equipment. This increase in accessibility that the everyday musician has today has made it possible for artists to record their own albums from their homes. Since there are no restrictions for what artists can ask for, it is not unheard of for artists to inflate the expected costs and then keep the extra money as profit.
366:. Amidst a dissolving relationship with their record label and management team, the band calculated that they would need 5,000 fans to order the album to finance the project. However, they needed the money up-front, before the record was released. They turned to their mailing list and asked fans to pre-order the album in what was later described by the
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Running fan-funded campaigns cost bands a large sum of money. They must pay for video production for the video that every campaign has, a producer and an engineer to mix and master their album, and fulfill all of the rewards promised to their fans as well as the shipping on them. Often the money made
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Some claim that artists overestimate the cost of recording an album and dishonestly solicit more money than they need via fan-funding. With advancements in digital technology, recording equipment has become increasingly compact and more affordable. It is no longer a requirement for an artist to need
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to his own fan-funding scheme. Paul set up a tiered donation hierarchy, ranging from the $ 15 Street Busker level, up to the $ 10,000 Woody
Guthrie level. Fans received different perks based on the tier at which they donated. The project proved to be highly successful, with total donations exceeding
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platform open to anyone including musicians. Project holders on RocketHub have the option to keep raised proceeds even if the fundraising pledge was not successful. RocketHub is a completely open platform, meaning that anyone can create a fan-funding campaign and there is no screening process before
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Critics also point out that the fan-funded music model has turned bands into marketers and sales personnel. Artists must be able to develop personal marketing strategies in order to get the money to even begin working on their music. Artists must invest much time and effort into creating a campaign
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platform geared specifically toward musicians. Users (pledgers) receive exclusive content in exchange for their contributions to artists fundraising campaigns. PledgeMusic does not retain any ownership or rights to any music created through the platform. Funding transactions occur only after a goal
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was scathing of
Marillion's pioneering efforts to continue their career without a label by dealing directly with their fans on the Internet, writing: "They have, they explained, decided to eschew the machinations of the record industry in order to be closer to the people. (One suspects that their
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As a business practice, fan-funded music is not without its criticism. Fan-funded music has gained popularity in the past few years however, money raised through these platforms still is only estimated to make up 1% of the amount spent on albums and tours. Many bands start off with fan funding to
181:
ArtistShare is documented as being the first fan-funded website for music. The service lets musicians fund their projects utilizing a "fan-funding" model. In exchange for funding on a particular project, contributors receive various benefits. ArtistShare emphasizes on their website that for each
27:. Often, fan-funded music occurs in conjunction with direct-to-fan marketing. Fans of music have the option to donate and collectively raise money with the goal of jump-starting the career of a given musical artist. The fan-funding of music occurs primarily through web-based services using a
215:
and similar platforms. The site takes a 4% fee for successful campaigns. For campaigns that fail to raise their target amount, users have the option of either refunding all money to their contributors at no charge or keeping all money raised minus a 9% fee. Unlike similar sites such as
220:, Indiegogo disburses the funds immediately, when the contributions are collected through the user's PayPal accounts. Indiegogo also offers direct credit card payment acceptance through their own portal. Those funds are disbursed up to two weeks after the conclusion of a campaign.
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is another group that has seen some success in the way of fan-funded music. In 2004 they offered a "Samurai 100" package, which gave fans the opportunity to secure "guest list for life" status. The package cost £100 and the band raised £10,000 by selling 100 such packages.
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is another important case study in the field of fan-funded music. His 2010 release, The Day After
Everything Changed, was funded completely by fan donations. Instead of using a traditional crowd-funding platform, he adapted the online merchandise platform
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and pre-order campaigns. In a pre-order campaign, fans are charged immediately upon pledging. This type of campaign is designed for labels and artists who have already completed a recording, and are looking for a strategic way to pre-sell and market it.
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as "a unique funding campaign". Pre-sales exceeded their 5,000-unit target, reaching about 12,000 pre-sales total. Marillion have since released several other albums based on a fan-funded model, receiving a £360,000 advance for their 15th studio album
395:. By the end of May 2012, Palmer had amassed almost $ 1.2 million, ultimately receiving donations from nearly 25,000 individuals. By comparison, the average successful project on Kickstarter at the time raised about $ 5,000.
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as a means of music distribution and direct contact with fans, which began with setting up a website in 1996 and raising $ 60,000 to help finance a 1997 North
American tour. They have also been described by
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Corite collects five percent of the funding fee provided to an artist, and then another five percent of the royalties that are paid by streaming services. The company has raised $ 6.9m from investors.
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is an example of one of the most successful fan-funded music campaigns of all time. On 30 April 2012, Palmer ran a campaign on
Kickstarter, with a goal of $ 100,000 to fund her newest studio album,
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project itself. Artists such as Palmer have huge fan bases to appeal to for money, but for the average artist raising that kind of money isn't a reliable method.
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413:$ 100,000. Paul is putting his fan-funding to the test again; he is currently in the midst of fan-funding a new studio album set to release sometime in 2013.
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off these projects ends up going to paying the costs of running a successful fan funded campaign. For example, a large portion of the $ 1 million that
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Chaney, D. (2010). "What future for fan-funded labels in the music recording industry? The cases of MyMajorCompany and ArtistShare".
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as "the undisputed pioneers" of the fan-funded music model, beginning with the distribution of their 2001 release
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approach to finance albums or concerts. Artists will pledge an amount, the minimum funding target being
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project, the artist is in no way required to relinquish ownership of copyright, as this model is not a
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3000, and the maximum funding target, €250,000. Artists may also choose if they want to integrate a
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decision occurred round about the time that the record industry decided to shun
Marillion)."
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portal that allows users to create a page for their funding campaign, set up an account with
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570:. Wharton Innovation and Entrepreneurship. 8 December 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
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are considered to be one of the first artists to have truly harnessed the power of the
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568:"Can You Spare a Quarter? Crowdfunding Sites Turn Fans into Patrons of the Arts"
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the project goes live. The site takes an 8% commission off successful projects.
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207:-based publicity effort. Users publicize the projects themselves through
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948:"Behind the music: The fan-funded model that led to a major record deal"
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738:"Would You Invest Your Own Money Into Your Favorite Artist's Music?"
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The
Marillion story and what we can all learn from it - Music 4.5
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option into their funding. The minimum incentive is a download.
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844:"Amanda Palmer Takes Connecting With Her Fans to a New Level"
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Enables fans to support and engage with artists and creators
918:"Wanna Go VIP? Electric Eel Shock'll show you the way..."
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Takes 8% total funds accumulated. No screening process.
966:"How fan-funding is changing the face of music finance"
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Often described as the most successful and well-known
880:"Musicians and fans join together to get albums made"
616:"When 'Friending' Becomes a Source of Start-Up Funds"
829:"Amanda Palmer: The new Record, Art Book, and Tour"
533:"SlicethePie Unleashes Its First Fan-Funded Album"
309:platform that allowed registered artists to use a
385:Unofficially dubbed the "queen" of Kickstarter,
91:Takes 5% flat fee, Stripe takes additional 3-5%
674:. Music Think Tank. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
117:Can donate profits to charity. International.
1056:"How Much Does Crowd Funding Cost Musicians?"
8:
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233:platform, Kickstarter has been featured on
785:"This song was brought to you by ..."
661:. PledgeMusic. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
642:. PledgeMusic. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
582:. ArtistShare. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
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552:International Journal of Arts Management
164:Distributes via digital music platforms
1038:"The Good, the Bad and the Crowdfunded"
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946:Lindvall, Helienne (21 January 2010).
672:"Musician's guide to Fan-Funded Music"
7:
614:Needleman, Sarah (1 November 2011).
531:Van Buskirk, Eliot (10 March 2008).
489:Comparison of crowd funding services
1017:"The Problem With Fan-Funded Music"
670:Ostrow, Jonathan (16 August 2010).
783:Petridis, Alexis (18 April 2008).
65:First crowdfunding site for music
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999:"An Argument Against Fan Funding"
272:PledgeMusic was an international
979:Gareth McLean (13 August 2001).
403:Boston-based singer/songwriter
29:business model for crowdfunding
1036:Sofge, Erik (18 August 2012).
767:"Marillion fans to the rescue"
736:Ingham, Tim (19 August 2019).
1:
470:raised went into funding her
842:Sisario, Ben (5 June 2012).
765:Masters, Tim (11 May 2001).
291:RocketHub is an established
78:Disburses funds immediately
981:"In the realm of pretences"
713:. SellaBand. Archived from
687:. Sellaband. Archived from
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968:. BBC News. 12 July 2012.
685:"How it Works -- Artists"
263:takes an additional 3%.
1042:The Wall Street Journal
815:9 November 2012 at the
620:The Wall Street Journal
341:The British rock band
171:Additional information
657:14 April 2014 at the
374:Happiness Is the Road
906:. 26 September 2012.
1062:. 23 November 2012.
927:on 18 October 2012
848:The New York Times
717:on 23 October 2012
691:on 16 January 2013
433:Electric Eel Shock
417:Electric Eel Shock
240:The New York Times
184:work made for hire
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929:. Retrieved
925:the original
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900:"Ellis Paul"
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862:"Ellis Paul"
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789:The Guardian
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715:the original
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689:the original
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623:. Retrieved
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593:"Learn More"
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931:30 November
769:. BBC News.
721:30 November
695:27 November
595:. Indiegogo
558:(2): 44-48.
509:Kickstarter
472:Kickstarter
449:journalist
268:PledgeMusic
225:Kickstarter
218:Kickstarter
177:ArtistShare
110:PledgeMusic
84:Kickstarter
58:ArtistShare
1091:Categories
904:Ellis Paul
866:Ellis Paul
625:5 December
580:"About Us"
520:References
405:Ellis Paul
399:Ellis Paul
261:Amazon.com
149:SoundCloud
954:. London.
440:Criticism
343:Marillion
337:Marillion
301:Sellaband
287:RocketHub
191:Indiegogo
136:Sellaband
123:RocketHub
71:Indiegogo
813:Archived
747:28 March
655:Archived
499:Freemium
478:See also
347:Internet
209:Facebook
795:16 June
640:"about"
599:16 June
424:-based
213:Twitter
97:Patreon
42:Website
426:garage
410:Nimbit
325:Corite
201:PayPal
157:Corite
52:Notes
49:Launch
987:. UK.
652:"FAQ"
538:Wired
431:band
429:metal
422:Tokyo
256:Wired
25:music
933:2012
797:2015
749:2022
723:2012
697:2012
627:2011
601:2012
253:and
246:Time
161:2019
140:2006
127:2010
114:2009
101:2013
88:2009
75:2008
62:2000
45:Year
23:for
1060:NPR
1022:NME
368:BBC
251:BBC
235:CNN
19:is
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