Previously, the elite of established and emerging songwriters and artists could do their job thanks to larger or smaller advances from publishers and record companies. Now that it is increasingly difficult to advance success, they can instead communicate directly with a circle of friends, acquaintances and fans, and hope for advances from them. Here, Christer Falck, Natalie Aldema and Kate Havnevik share their experiences and thoughts about crowdfunding.
/ 22/09/2015 / codex
The photo above is of one of Kate Havnevik's dedicated fans, American Sakis, here with a "mystery box" he was sent personally by her.
Text: Kai Lofthus
Since the establishment of the Dutch company Sellaband in 2006, a digital market has developed to receive financial contributions from people who want to finance music creators' record releases, touring activities and merchandise production.
The business idea is largely the same for the services in this market: Kickstarter, PledgeMusic, Indiegogo and the Norwegian alternative NewJelly. A goal is set for how much money is needed within a certain time, products are offered at different prices and if the goal is reached, the money is paid to the developer of the products. If the goal is not reached, the project is considered not to have the prerequisites to be realized and the contributions are refunded.
– For me, it's a wonder that more people don't use crowdfunding, says NewJelly's Christer Falck. He himself has had good results with a total of 25 products through his own service, including books about Motorpsycho and Prince, and a tribute box to Raga Rockers. He believes that there is a lack of desperation among artists, and because there are so many other alternative forms of financing in Norway, crowdfunding has not yet become a major phenomenon in this country:
– In theory, crowdfunding is just a web address, so who hosts it doesn't matter, but the incredible thing is not that it is so easy to get things done, but that people are so lazy and stuck in already trodden ground. Money is supported and distributed to everything and everyone: the Arts Council, the Fund for Performing Artists, the Fund for Sound and Image, banks, municipalities, county municipalities, music funds. The weirder the better, the more support. People don't have to stress about releasing a record. There are so many places to apply that many records released in the country are fully financed before they reach the Record Company, he says.
It is easy to think that only performing artists with established names can benefit from crowdfunding, but with a good dose of ingenuity, lyricists and composers who do not make recordings of their own works can also benefit from this. One example is joining forces with several parties on a production collaboration, perhaps through a jointly owned cooperative, as TONO is organized for its members. Fans can also enter into such a collaboration.
Christer Falck believes that there are two criteria that must be in place for crowdfunding to succeed: One is that the product you sell should appeal to a clear group of people, and the other is that you must be creative with "rewards", i.e. what buyers will pay for. Falck elaborates:
– If you are going to release a CD, and need 150.000,- for that, you have to sell 1000 copies to break even, if you are only going to pre-sell the album. But if you think a little further: What if I knit 100 covers, and release the first 100 in a limited edition for 250 kroner instead? And what if I bake in a mini-concert worth 10.000,- as one of the "rewards"? Or include a t-shirt, and charge 500 kroner for 20 packages? Or sign the first 100, and charge 200. Or say: whoever is willing to pay 20.000,- I will pay for a trip to Gran Canaria and sing night songs for you every day for a week! Then you don't need to sell 1000 copies. If only those things had been sold, we would have raised 85.000, - and are well on our way to reaching our goal, he says.
– The few of us who still buy records are happy with special versions. Anything that says limited edition gets ripped off, if it's attractive enough. The record industry is a few horse heads ahead of its friends in the book world, but if you're a well-known artist, it's a wonder that not everyone makes a small edition for die-hard fans with either bonus tracks, extra cool design, silver print on the booklet, signature, bonus disc or whatever makes us collectors' mouths water.
Falck has itself had success with crowdfunding:
– When I crowdfunded the Prince book, I sold over 100 books to people outside Norway. Germans, Dutch, Japanese and Americans were the most enthusiastic. All I had to do was post a message on Prince's website, and then it spread to die-hard fans all over the world. The great thing about crowdfunding is the logical mechanism that occurs when you get started. Let's say there's a German Prince book coming out. I'm the type of person who wants everything Prince, even though I'm not necessarily that good at German. So I pre-order the book. But it says that the authors are dependent on getting 10.000 Euros in order to complete the project. I want the book, so what I do is ask all my Prince friends on Facebook to pre-order as well. Then they do the same, and VIPPS, the project is finished. The nice thing is that the writers have all the fans' email addresses, and when the next Prince project comes out, that email list is worth its weight in gold.
Falck is now working on several crowdfunding projects simultaneously:
– I have collected almost 1,5 million kroner for the Raga Rockers tribute “Truth in a Box”, and I have already fully financed a new Norwegian book about Motorpsycho. It only took two days after I sent out an email to those who had bought the previous Motorpsycho book. The two Motorpsycho books will also be published in English, and I am well on my way to getting what is needed there too. Soon I will be starting new Raga Rockers projects too. Remastered albums, a new official box, and a Raga Rockers book. The advantage of Raga and Motorpsycho is that they have a large and stable following. Raga has 18.000 members in a Facebook group, and Motorpsycho about the same. If you have a clearly defined group that is easily accessible, then crowdfunding is perfect, he says.
Kate Havnevik has very good prerequisites for talking about fan relations. With a career that includes collaboration with Röyksopp ("Only This Moment"), touring with Air, several solo releases, and songs made famous through TV series such as Grey's Anatomy, the OC and the West Wing, she has fans all over the world. From October last year to March this year, she did a campaign on PledgeMusic to finance the album &i. She set a goal of 10.000 dollars (about 80.000 kroner) and raised 15.477 dollars (just over 123.000 kroner), in other words 155% of the goal, divided between 370 "pledgers", i.e. about 42 dollars (336 kroner) per contributor. She also did a campaign on PledgeMusic in 2011-2012 for the album You. She then reached 247% of her goal of $10.000: she raised $24.252 (approximately NOK 194.000), divided among 567 pledgers, approximately $42 – NOK 336 – each. (The story continues below the picture)
About the prerequisites for a good campaign, she says:
– You should have a well-developed mailing list, for example based on the audience at concerts. You don't have to be very well-known, but it is important to have a mailing list. It is important to get those who come to the concerts to like the Facebook page and leave their email address, otherwise only family and friends will be in the target group, and that is not enough. It is not really enough to just have Facebook either. You have to get them to want to take the initiative, and leave their card details on the page. There are many who say "yes" and then they never bought anything. The worst thing is to pester people. Some new artists forget to think about who is going to buy the record. It is important to find out who is in the audience and how they will want to support you, she says.
Kate has gained fans all over the world, including in England, the United States, Germany, China and Brazil.
– You get to know what kind of people the fans are, what they appreciate and what they find fun. Some you get to know a little bit over the years. I have a good memory, and there are a lot of people I know who they are. They have become like a cheerleader who wants you to continue making music. But it doesn't just work one way, the fans expect a personal angle. And it doesn't suit everyone. You have to like having contact with people, she says.
– And which products sold the best?
– Anything that was personal sold a little better. If it was signed, handwritten texts, written to a person or with a drawing. My surprise boxes were also well received, then a package was made especially for the person who bought it, she says.
The projects and products:
http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/andi#exclusives
http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/katehavnevik#exclusives
Natalie Aldema became familiar with the concept of crowdfunding during by:Larm and studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music, after previously studying at the jazz department at NTNU in Trondheim.
– In the administration and management program at NMH, we learned about the importance of innovation, and thinking new, commercially, and going outside the box. That we get rid of the Jante law, present ourselves, and network all the way. (The story continues below the picture)
The compositions she worked on in NTNU's basement have taken time to realize due to lack of funding. She has nevertheless performed her music at Dølajazz, Nattjazz and the Oslo Jazz Festival.
– It has taken a long time because I have not received support. Support schemes do not support projects that have already been started.
Aldema has a campaign on NewJelly where the goal is to raise 4.000 euros (about 35.000 kroner) to master a finished album – Dark Dew – and press it on vinyl. Those who contribute will receive a copy of the album and free admission to the release concert. Regardless of the outcome, she feels that the crowdfunding effort will help revitalize her as an author, artist and industry player:
– Absolutely, from standing and stalling I finally come through on the other side. When I go for a walk in the morning now I can record sketches on my phone, so it's creatively generative. I've made three sketches just during the campaign period. Now I've taken out student loans and graduated, so I just have to get out and drive. It's a way to be seen and heard, and maybe it can increase the chance of getting even more support later, she says.