Fan-Funded Recording: Bigger Budgets For Smaller Bands

By Tripp Underwood

Fan-funded recording is a fairly simple concept that works exactly as its name implies: artists solicit donations from their fans in order to record, produce and distribute an album, all without the help (or interference) of a record label. Fan-funded records have already been successful for larger acts like Jill Sobule and the U.K. band Marillion, both of whom raised tens of thousands of dollars directly from their fans to make high-quality albums within the past year.

Based on that kind of success, the concept of direct fan-to-artist payment is gaining attention among lesser-known musicians as well. Mia Kim is an indie artist who was inspired by Sobule’s success and opted to fan fund her sophomore album, Who is Sukey Rose, in a similar way, just on a smaller scale. “We looked at every part of [Sobule’s] site and tried our best to see what would work best for our project,” said Kim, who took what she could from Sobule’s design and modified it to fit her needs as a performer with a smaller fan base and less ambitious recording budget.

Fan-funded projects often use the term “donations,” but in most cases they’re not charities. Usually, the donation works like a presale, where in exchange for the donated money, the fan receives a copy of the CD upon its completion. For smaller acts, presales of CDs alone are rarely enough to cover all costs, so some artists will offer extra incentives to try to solicit bigger donations. Neil Carswell, a Southern rocker who is fan funding his next solo project, is offering house concerts and even giving fans who donate enough money the opportunity to play on the record with him.

Those that have been successful using the fan- funded method stress the importance of being able to present a realistic sales pitch to their audience. Kim made sure that before attempting to get financial assistance from fans she had a definite idea of her goals that she could clearly explain. “You’ll look disorganized and unprofessional when you ask people to contribute and they ask, ‘What’s your target budget?’ and you have no clue,” she said. According to Kim, people are more inclined to give

money to an artist who has a realistic vision and a defined outcome. For this reason, Kim’s website states her goals, like her target recording budget, what producer and studio she is working with and lets fans monitor her progress through blogs and video updates.

For many indie artists, the concept of fan funding is more than just collecting donations and making albums, it’s a real connection between performers and an audience that is truly passionate about music. “We wanted this project to not merely be a fundraising one, but more a grassroots community project in which many people were involved in creating this album,” said Kim. “I wanted it to be a place I could communicate and share with indie fans the process of making an indie album.”

Fan-funded albums often let the audience play a more active role in the creative process instead of just being a passive consumer. Both Kim and Carswell have forums on their websites that allow fans to vote and voice opinions about album art, track listings and other production details. ”I really like the idea of this album not being made just by me for me, but by a group of people collaborating together to make something that couldn’t be done alone,” said Kim.

For more on Mia Kim and the Sukey Rose Project

visit www.sukeyrose.com