The Do’s and Don’ts of “Crowdfunding”

The Do’s and Don’ts of “Crowdfunding” Your first Album

December 2013 was an exciting time for me and my band Six Mile Station. We’d just gotten home from a few successful days out on the road and were ready to start the process of recording our first full length record.  After much deliberation and talk amongst ourselves, it was decided that in order to cover the cost of recording, mixing, mastering, producing, and marketing we would have to get involved in the growing world of “crowdfunding.”  At this point in time I think it’s safe to say that most people are at least aware of sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, as well as what their purpose in the world of DIY art and entrepreneurial design.

For those that may not be familiar:

A band or artist that would like to produce their work in the form of an album or otherwise might turn to Kickstarter as a platform to raise funds for that project by offering rewards for “backers” in exchange for money up front.  Rewards can be almost anything you can imagine.  From private shows to the legal ownership of a band member’s mustache, anything the project creator feels people might give them money for could be up for grabs.

 

Back in the day artists and bands had a very limited reach as to who they could make aware of their project, therefore making it much harder to convince those interested to back it monetarily. Luckily, we’ve entered the digital age!  This means that with the help of the internet our project could be seen by just about anyone anywhere in the world.  With great power comes great responsibility however.  Just because you’re fishing in a larger pond for funds doesn’t mean you can skimp on the bait though.  Let me assure you, a poorly planned project will end in one of two ways: It will get no attention and you won’t meet your goal in time OR by a stroke of luck you might reach the goal and then nearly keel over when it comes time to collect and fulfill your backer’s orders.

 

With that said, here are a few Do’s and Don’ts of crowdfunding on Kickstarter.com

DO

·         Make sure to check out the successful projects of other artists in your area to get a feel for your audience might be expecting to see.·         Set a realistic funding goal.   ·         Title your project in a specific manner.   ·         Spend time, time, time, on creating an interesting video.   ·         Make that video interesting, don’t sound desperate.   ·         Keep the video less than 3 min.  No one wants to see a 10 min video.  Statistically, only 35% of people will finish your video to the end anyway.   ·         Offer interesting, thought out rewards for your backers.  Make sure to have a range of at least $1-$1000.   ·         Be honest.  Don’t promise something you can’t deliver.   ·         Have a plan from the start as to how you’re going to produce and distribute your rewards/product.   ·         UPDATE your backers.  The update function allows you to engage with your backers that have already pledged or are thinking about pledging.  Make an interesting update video.   ·         Keep in mind that the first and last day of your campaign are the most important.

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DON’T

·         Make your reward tiers tooComplicated.  Simplify where you can.  ·         Forget about shipping costs of your bigger rewards.  Typically 15-20% of the contribution will go to shipping.   ·         Keep hitting up the same circle of friends/family members for funding.  Your “crowdfunding” not borrowing money from mom.   ·         Launch a Kickstarter campaign in the middle of summer.  Every year Kickstarter traffic slows around this time.  Everyone is outside enjoying the weather.  Duh.   ·         If you’re campaign is centered on the creation of a new product.  Don’t forget to patent, or copyright your concept.   ·         Beg for money or use phrases like “I’ll be surprised if this project succeeds”   ·         Ask for money immediately. Take the time to explain yourself and your story first.  Then ask for funds.

Creating a successful Kickstarter campaign shouldn’t be like trying to navigate a minefield.  Avoiding the “don’ts” shouldn’t be your primary objective.  It just takes a little common sense and consideration to put up a quality project.  When it comes down to it a good campaign needs three things:  a strong project page video/description, strong networking once the project is launched, and quality rewards that people are interested in receiving.  If you take the time to plan your campaign’s course of action and do your homework, there is no reason your project should fail.  Keep networking and keep engaging with those who’ve already pledged.  Promote your campaign like it was a full time job. Hustle.

Relevant Links:

Here is the Six Mile Station project page I created to fund the production of our first full length album.  Notice the video, text, and reward tiers.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sixmilestation/six-mile-stations-debut-album

This video of Michael Paeck, Co-Founder of Cliffhanger Productions provides much insight into how he was able to successfully raised more than $558,000 in less than 25 days on Kickstarter.com.

http://www.visionlaunch.com/dos-and-donts-of-kickstarter-crowdfunding/

This is the Kickstarter project page of Zack Danger Brown’s potato salad campaign that raised over $55,000 with a simple goal in mind.  Zack wanted to fund his making of a bowl of potatoe salad.  It’s the wackiest campaign ever successfully crowdfunded.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/324283889/potato-salad

Create a Creative Practice Regimen

Beating the hell out of my drums today feels much the same as it did when I took up the instrument a decade ago.

As a kid learning to play the drums, I was always experimenting and trying to imitate everything I heard other drummers doing.  My early years of drumming had no agenda, no practice regimen, NO METRONOME.

I would often find myself far outside the curriculum given to me by my drum instructor when practice time came around.  Eventually I dropped the instructor all together and devoted my practice time to endless replaying of Youtube drum instruction videos.  I learned a lot in those six months.

As I grew older and my drumming…we’ll say, “matured,” I developed a fairly strict practice regimen consisting of the same four warm-ups followed by a run through of my band’s set list.

After about a year and half of practicing the same old stuff every single time I got behind the kit, it isn’t surprising that I found myself resenting practice.  I was stuck in a rut.  No longer did the creativity or the experimentation find a way into my practice time.

Today, I became aware of this fact. Determined to shake the dust off my practice sessions, I put in my headphones and jammed along to album after album of my favorite artists.  From Tom Waits to Tyler, The Creator my practice session spanned a swath of genres.

For those three or four hours I was reminded of why I chose to play this wonderful instrument.  The way it makes me feel just letting go and improvising, experimenting in whatever direction I choose.

Don’t get me wrong, a good practice routine is always a good idea. But don’t let that routine stifle your creativity and experimentation behind the kit.

Here are a few Interesting Ideas for Creative Drumming, written by Cody Byassee for Dixon Drums.

Engineer’s Guide To Tuning and Damping Drums

Check out this great guide to drum tuning by Matt Seymour.  

Engineer’s Guide To Tuning and Damping Drums.

After getting a few tips and tricks from Seymour’s article, I couldn’t resist replacing the heads on my own kit.  It’s amazing how much better things sound when the drums are in tune. Sound on Sound is a great resource for drummers, it’s filled with informative articles.

Jeff tunes snare drum. Resonant head.

The Wikidrummer … Environment Makes all the Difference

In this video, Wikidrummer a.k.a. Julien Audigier, demonstrates how different environments affect the sound of his drum kit.  Not only is this video a beautiful piece of drum art, it’s also a great lesson in drum sound.

Oh, Hey there!

Blog Post 2/10/15

Back in 2013 I started Back-Stick Beat so that I could blog about a topic I was most passionate about. For the latter half of that year I enjoyed all the research, time, and energy it took to maintain a blog and post exciting new content.  Even more so, I loved adding my voice to the immense online conversation already taking place around the world of drums and drumming.  However, because I was writing for a grade in class I feel like some important things slash topics fell by the wayside in my attempt to satisfy the rubric.  I was no longer excited about my blog and ultimately I shifted my attention completely away from Back-Stick Beat.  Well, I am happy to announce that the fire has been re-lit and I’ve found my drum blogging voice yet again! The site has been cleaned up and only a few of my favorite posts remain. For now that is.  Because my hope is to fill Back-Stick Beat with interesting, original content so that it becomes the blog I always knew it could be.

Thanks for following and keep on drummin’ on.

-Jeff

 

P.S. Here is a sneak peak from Six Mile Station’s latest photo shoot with the ever talented Mr. Anthony Contini.