I have yet to use this blog to fund a Kickstarter or Indiegogo or PledgeMusic campaign, but that’s about to change. I initially had mixed feelings about fan-funded projects. When a musician friend first did it a few years ago, it felt like a cheat to me. Just go get a day job and earn the money to pay for the studio time.
I later realized that was a bit harsh. Another friend and I were talking about how it’s really just asking fans/friends to pay in advance for something they would normally buy, but just pay for later. I still don’t like it when someone like Amanda Palmer raises more than $1 million. I understand that no one is twisting anyone’s arm to give, but that just feels like a slight misuse of the power. The recent “Veronica Mars” movie campaign, which raised more than $2 million in less than 24 hours, felt like a great publicity campaign, but Warner Bros. should have just kicked in the money itself.
I have contributed to some Kickstarter campaigns, mainly to help out friends, but I still have a few unresolved feelings about the whole process. I do like the idea of the different rewards for the different level of donations. It’s like a PBS pledge drive.
A New York-based publicist that I’ve occasionally worked with over the years has a Kickstarter campaign for a poetry book. Her campaign, as much as it is to help pay for the publishing of her book, The Leighton Explosion, is to fund her readings in five markets.
The most interesting part of the story here for me is that Anne is recovering from agoraphobia, which is a part of her life I never knew about and, from what I can tell, happened after I moved from New York to Los Angeles. I’m not really able to judge her poetry and prose, but I find it remarkable and want to support someone’s journey to go from being unable to leave her house to progressing to being able to walk out of her home, albeit with panic attacks, to being able to walk down the street, to getting over her crippling fear of crossing a street to now believing she can go on a five-city Northeastern tour. That definitely seems worth $10.
March 20: The Leighton Explosion
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Thank you, Melinda.
ReplyDeleteI just read this and some of your journeys, and it looks as though you're having fun, too, and going through lots of reflections.
On behalf of everything and everyone you're discovering--thanks, and the writing you're doing is making a difference!
Anne