Are you a musician, artist, or band looking to raise funds for an upcoming project with crowdfunding?
If so, you’re not alone. Every year, thousands of musicians are turning to crowdfunding platforms such as:
Why this momentum shift?
Because the music sector of the crowdfunding industry means huge opportunity.
On Kickstarter alone, more than $262 million dollars have been raised by musicians from the crowd for 65,000 campaigns — no small chunk of change.
And further, more than 50% of those campaigns reach their funding goal, making it the third most successful category on the platform (behind only Dance & Comics).
When you consider that the average funding success rate on Kickstarter for all projects is just 38%, it’s clear that backers are extremely willing to support music ventures.
In this article, we’ll be laying out some of the pros and cons of crowdfunding for musicians so that you can get a better idea if this strategy might be right for you.
We’ll primarily be discussing traditional crowdfunding for platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. If you’re looking to learn more about Patreon in particular, head over to this page to discover helpful articles or watch this video.
Whether you’re looking to raise money for an album, EP, concert tour, or another project you’re passionate about — crowdfunding can help you get there. It’s just important to be aware of some of the drawbacks, as well. Let’s dive in!
Pros of Crowdfunding For Musicians
It’s always important to start with the positives, right?
Crowdfunding for musicians provides a unique opportunity for you, the artist. In the past, artists have been largely dependent on record labels and self-funding to bring projects to life, making access to funds inherently difficult.
But crowdfunding changes all that. On platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, you’ll have the opportunity to:
- Raise thousands of dollars for whatever project you choose
- Acquire new fans who are interested in your work
- You don’t have to give up a share of your profits or property rights
At the end of the day, what we’re talking about here is freedom.
Freedom to pursue projects that matter to you. Freedom to be unconstrained by “the man.” Freedom to get the money you deserve to bring your art to the masses!
Cons of Crowdfunding For Musicians
While we certainly believe that the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to crowdfunding for musicians, there are some things that you’ll need to keep in mind.
- It’s a lot of work: You can’t just throw up a campaign and expect backers to show up. You’ll have to execute some form of a pre-launch strategy, build a compelling campaign page with a video, images, and copy, and mobilize your fan base through social media and press outreach. Overall, this process can take months.
- There’s no guarantee of success: So, you’ve just put months into building your campaign, and you’re ready to watch the dollars roll in. However, as mentioned at the top of the article, half of all projects meet their funding goal. And on Kickstarter, if you don’t meet your funding goal, you don’t keep any of the money. This can be avoided on Indiegogo which provides an option for flexible funding, meaning that you keep the funds you raise even if you don’t reach your goal.
- Provide something in return: When you make a crowdfunding pitch, you don’t just receive dollars from backers for charity. They expect something in return, known as rewards or perks. This could be in the form of an album download, merchandise, or insider access to your creative process.
- Upfront Costs: Depending on your funding goal, you might have to put in money up front to get enough qualified leads and put together your creatives. For a $2,000 campaign goal, you could probably get away without spending much up front. But if you’re trying to raise something like $20,000, you’ll have to put at least 10-20% of your funding goal into marketing to generate interest.
There’s no doubt that there’s an element of risk when it comes to running a crowdfunding campaign. But it’s about taking that leap of faith, and of course, applying tried and true best practices to increase your likelihood of success.
Best Practices For Crowdfunding Musicians
So — you think that maybe crowdfunding is right for you. What’s it gonna take to actually pull off a successful raise and meet your funding goal to bring this project to life?
You should expect to:
- Pre-launch: The process of raising funds for your campaign starts before it even goes live. This will allow you to generate leads that are primed to back your campaign on Day 1 and help you to trend better on the platform — attracting new, organic backers.
- Market: We know that this can sometimes feel like a dirty word for artists and musicians, but it’s vital to the success of any campaign. This means mobilizing your social media presence, cross promotion, press outreach, and potentially running paid ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram for larger funding goals. To learn more about a Kickstarter marketing strategy, read this article.
- Create a compelling pitch: At the end of the day, the difference between a conversion (someone who backs your campaign) and someone who clicks away comes down to your project page. You’ll need to spend a good amount of time making a killer video, creating your page, and coming up with desirable rewards. Make people an offer that they simply can’t refuse!
- Research: This article is a great start for you, but additional research will be key to your process.
Additional Resources For Your Research
Here at CrowdCrux, we’re all about providing you with the resources you need to be successful. Check some of these out:
- 7 Effective Crowdfunding Tips for Artists or Musicians on Kickstarter
- 5 Crowdfunding Tips for Musicians
- Essential Crowdfunding Tips for Musicians
Importantly, you should take time to research campaigns in the music category and try to emulate their strategy — in crowdfunding, much like music creation, it pays to be inspired by those who have come before you.
There is also a great book that we recommend you read, written by Kickstarter expert Ian Anderson: The Artist’s Guide to Crowdfunding Domination. That book will take you A to Z as to everything it’s gonna take to smash your funding goal and bring this project to life!
Looking for more personalized support?
Book a coaching call with the founder of CrowdCrux Salvador Briggman. Our team loves working on music campaigns!
We hope that this article was helpful for you. Good luck!
