The front page of Pozible, the Australian-based crowdfunding website
Somewhere in the world, there’s a giant, inflatable version of Lionel Ritchie’s head, and it owes its existence to the recent popularity of crowdfunding.
There are more than 500 crowdfunding sites online these days, helping artists, musicians, charities and even scientists fund their work through the generosity of fans willing to donate to the cause.
But how can crowdfunding work for you, as both a funder and a young creative who’s dying for some cash?
Ryan Oliver, front man of local band Olivers Army, recently used crowdfunding to help pay for the band’s first full-length album.
While he “wasn’t surprised” they bettered their target of $5,000, he hadn’t expected individuals to give as generously as they did.
“There’s a lot of expenses that go into an album. We’re still gonna put a lot of our own money towards it, but it’s just really helped to get the whole show on the road.”
Oliver chalks up their success to having lots of different donation levels which allowed people to be “part of the process”.
“Don’t treat it like people are donating to you. Treat it more like they’re getting involved in the project. They’re investing their trust that the project will work.”
Not fully funded
However, it’s not all sunshine, rainbows and cashflow in the world of crowdfunding.
Barely half the projects listed on Pozible, the biggest crowdfunding site in the Australian market, end up fully funded, and the overall success rate at Kickstarter, a world leader in the field, is just 42 per cent.
Of those projects that do drum up the cash, current statistics suggest over 75% deliver their products later than promised.
Pozible co-founder Alan Crabbe says his company’s education and support of crowdfunders “makes a dramatic impact to the success rate of projects”.
“We’re definitely much more hands on with projects. We try to encourage people to think of other ways to engage their audience and cater for different budgets.”
Million-dollar album
Amanda Palmer became the first musician to break the $1 million mark on Kickstarter, when she went public to fund her album, ‘Theatre Is Evil’. (Her goal had been $100,000.)
@amandapalmer, retrieved 26th March 2014
Oliver says it’s good to see musicians “connecting more to their fanbase” in this way.
“Crowdfunding takes out the middle man. If you release an album, you can release it straight to your fanbase and share it around on social media. It’s in no way a bad thing.”
Crabbe agrees, citing Australian band Eskimo Joe’s successful crowdfunding campaign as an indication that “times are changing” in the music industry.
“For some artists, it’s quite frustrating to lose that creative control for their work. [For this reason,] Eskimo Joe went back to their roots of going into the studio and being very much fan dependent, and they probably enjoyed it a lot more.”
