Crowdfunding is a strategy that involves raising money for a project, and it has become an increasingly popular alternative finance vehicle for people or groups who either would not qualify for funding from traditional channels or would simply prefer not to go that route. For the crowdfunding process to work, there needs to be a person or group to initiate the project, people or groups who like the idea and consequently want to back it with funding commitments, and a platform to facilitate the process. According to CrowdExpert.com, crowdfunding worldwide raised an estimated $35 billion in 2015 ("Massolution Crowdfunding Industry 2015 Report"). Meanwhile, the average successful money raise via crowdfunding is approximately $7,000, and the average campaign goes for approximately nine weeks ("Crowdfunding Statistics"). One popular crowdfunding site is Indiegogo. It has helped many musicians to raise funds for various projects over the years. Tis will be demonstrated by one, looking at the company’s practices and by, two, looking at specific examples of musicians who have use the site successfully.
According to the site itself, it raised more than 950,000,000 across all project types, has south of 7,000 campaigns on the go at any specific time, has thus far been used to launch more than 275,000 campaigns, and has seen a 1,000% hike in the funds raised on the site over the past 24 months (“Indiegogo is a launchpad”). Using the Indiegogo platform, musicians and other users get to select whether they want to raise funds for a project or for a cause. After choosing which platform their project falls under, users have to set up an account. Indiegogo promises to help users to get from concept stage to market stage. At the pre-launch period, users can build up an audience using an Indiegogo Coming Soon page. When they are confident that they are ready, they can pursue the actual crowdfunding part of the process to raise funds from their audience they have built. The company has put together expert resources that users can leverage to tell their story compellingly enough to attract investors. After the crowdfunding part, users move on to the Indiegogo Marketplace where they can sell their service or product. The company offers fulfillment tools and, for certain types of projects, can connect users to logistics and manufacturing professionals. As can be seen, Indiegogo does provide a platform that people can use to raise the money require for everything from albums to studio repairs.
In terms of the potential benefits for musicians, there are numerous examples of musicians using the platform successfully. For instance, a new album from Protest the Hero, a band out of Toronto, Ontario in Canada, was a big winner on the crowdfunding scene in 2013. In set out with a goal of raising $125,000 but ended up bringing in $341,146 in pledges via Indiegogo (Smith, "Top 10 Music Crowdfunding Campaigns Of 2013”). Those who donated $10 were permitted to download a digital album, those who donated $25 got a CD digipak that was exclusive, and there were other perks for those who contributed more ("Protest the Hero NEW ALBUM"). Meanwhile, George Clinton, regarded by many as the Godfather of Funk, used Indiegogo in 2012 as part of a project to raise $50,000 in a bid to fix up and renovate his studio as well as to repossess the rights to songs he wrote previously (Moore, "George Clinton Needs Your Help"). The musician also used a number of incentives to encourage supporters to become donators. For instance, donators who gave $75 were rewarded by having their names listed in credits of P-Funk projects and those who donated $200 got a t-shirt that Clinton and numerous band members signed. The Indiegogo site says that Clinton's crowdsourcing campaign was "very successful" with 600+ contributors (“Top 12 Music Campaigns of 2012”).
Indiegogo has definitely proven to be a successful platform for helping musicians to raise funds for their projects. And given that the site continues to attract musicians as well as people willing to fund them, it is reasonable to assume that the site will for the foreseeable future remain a primary vehicle for connecting musicians and people willing to fund their projects.
Works Cited
“Crowdfunding Statistics." Fundable. n.d. Web. 4 August 2016.
“Indiegogo is a launchpad for creative and entrepreneurial ideas of every shape and size.” Indiegogo. n.d. Web. 4 August 2016.
“Massolution Crowdfunding Industry 2015 Report.” CrowdExpert.com. 2016. Web. 4 August 2016.
Moore, Jack. "George Clinton Needs Your Help!" BuzzFeed. 2012. Web. 4 August 2016.
"Protest the Hero NEW ALBUM." Indiegogo. 2013. Web. 4 August 2016.
Smith, Clyde. "Top 10 Music Crowdfunding Campaigns Of 2013." HypeBot.com. 2013. Web. 4 August 2016.
“Top 12 Music Campaigns of 2012.” Indiegogo. 2012. Web. 4 August 2016.
