Today I had a quiet day at work spending nearly the whole day at my desk. I had my headphones on and Nirvana's Heart Shaped Box came up on my playlist. I haven't heard that song for years and it made me incredibly nostalgic; I remembered how excited I was when I bought my first Nirvana album. I wasn't even a teenager yet, it was the first album I ever bought and by that time it was already over ten years old. I think if I remember correctly it cost me £8. I suddenly felt shocked as I realised I'd actually gone to the record store specifically to buy it. Music was only just becoming downloadable at this point and there was that whole thing with Napster going on and.....well you know what I mean.
Back then we had to wait to buy our music and I feel incredibly old saying that. I used that purchase to start a neat little row of thin plastic boxes that I kept next to my CD player. Not a day goes by when I don't listen to music and I own neither a CD player nor a single CD! I know it's a pretty petty way of arriving at this conclusion, but the world has definitely changed.
I wondered what it was like for bands back in Nirvana's day. Dave Grohl is still very much on the go and he's carved a life out of this industry. Trying to follow in his footsteps after the internet has made everything public property seems impossible.
Seeing as I was running down the clock until quitting time today (and it was Friday!) I ended up on youtube and just so happened to be looking when this newly released acoustic cover of Heart Shaped Box popped up. It's by some amateur and it has a few slightly ropey notes in places, but they've completely changed the instrumentation and it's a pretty clever take on a classic.
This is what brings me to crowdfunding and why I would recommend you stay clear of it unless you're 100% certain you're going to succeed. Under no circumstances should you take a "Suck it and See" attitude towards this type of thing and I'll explain why.
Some time ago, my band were desperate to release a five track EP. Every gig we'd play we were asked at least a handful of times if we had any CD's to sell. We didn't, so always referred people to our iTunes account. By the time they'd gotten home, they'd forgotten who we were, how to spell our name or that they even liked us in the first place. We worked out it would cost us roughly £6,500 to record, mix, master, promote, etc. As fate had it, we were contacted online by a company who were starting a new crowdfunding website and wanted us to be an endorsing act for the brand. They offered us free promotion for our campaign and said we'd be used as a success story when the company launched.
At this point, there was no need to be suspicious. Crowdfunding has been in the public eye since 2007 when Radiohead released their album "Rainbows" using a 'pay what you think it's worth' offer. Over 3 million people paid for the album and it was their biggest commercial success so far. I remember hearing about it and being captivated by the idea that I could buy an abum for a penny (not that I did, that would have been so mean!)
It wasn't an easy decision for us to make. Some of us were hesitant to use what could be interpreted as internet begging to fund our next release, and it wasn't the only option available to us. We were all talented musicians and quick learners and I firmly believed we could set ourselves up as a covers band for a few months and raise the money by playing weddings and other paid opportunities.
"The campaign bombed. Not only did it die a slow and painful death, it tore our reputation to shreds along the way. A failed campaign is not a promising indicator of your ability to sell your music."
We were all itching to get back in the studio and use the EP to take our careers to the next level, so in the end we agreed and set to work. The company advised us on how to set up our profile and asked us to make a video explaining why we needed the money. As with all crowdfunding platforms, we were to offer our 'backers' rewards that would correspond to varying levels of financial commitment.
This was hard to do. The only thing we could really offer them was a copy of the EP which didn't exist yet or perhaps a gig at a location of their choice for a bigger financial contribution. We copied the blueprint of a band who had previously run a successful campaign; hoping our rewards would appeal and we would draw in more backers.
The campaign bombed. And not only did it die a slow and painful death, it tore our reputation to shreds along the way. Family members of the band were supportive, chucking in about 500pounds between them. We were lucky enough to receive a minimal amount of small donations from randomers on the internet. After that, all we received was criticism; the constant updates on social media annoyed people and one person even went out of their way to contact us and verbally abuse us after we popped up on his Facebook wall somehow.
To make things worse, the company running the campaign made us do all the legwork, offered little support and harassed us if the total didn't move each day. They were taking a top slice of any money we received, so it was in their best interest that we kept harassing people and begging for their money. Worse still was that we started receiving reports that people attempting to pay online were being directed to some dodgy looking foreign website that they didn't understand.
A week before the deadline and the total was looking pitiful. We were again harassed by the company who suggested that the band should put our money into the campaign (allowing them to take their top slice!) as nobody wants to have an unsuccessful crowdfunding campaign on their hands and we would loose the little bit of money already in the pot.
What shocked me even more was that it was actually discussed at band practise as if it was a viable option. One member explained that it was money we'd spend anyway at some point down the line but when someone else chimed in that they refused to pay an external company money for nothing, I breathed a sigh of relief and the whole sorry incident was put to bed.
My advice to you is simple; please don't do this unless you're sure you're going to succeed. Through this process, we p*ssed a lot of people off and what hurt the most was that a failed crowdfunding campaign is a big black mark on a band's history. It shows that there is not enough support for your product to make it commercially viable and people really take note of this. If you can't sell your music outside of your circle of family and friends, you're in real trouble. All crowdfunding really does is highlight this in a really public way. There is no doubt in my mind that record label and industry scouts watch crowdfunding platforms like hawks, trying to smell what's selling and jump on it before someone else does. Bombing out on one of these sites will set you back.
The decision is yours. Please make up your own minds, but please be sensible and think it through!
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