Micro-patronage 2.0
JA
September 25
The practice of artistic patronage is experiencing a revival of sorts on the web through a new crowdfunding site called Kickstarter.com. In the same way that John Reed provided generously for Sidney Nolan and Albert Tucker, and Lorenzo de Medici became official patron of Leonardo da Vinci, Kickstarter enables everyday users to give small amounts to fledgling creative types in exchange for artistic benefits. This is sponsorship reinvented for the Web 2.0 generation. Supporters can give as little as $1 in return for things like a copy of the finished book, balloon rides, exclusive video updates, podcasts or even access related blogs.
A case in point is Earl Scioneaux III, a musician and audio engineer from New Orleans, who wanted to make a CD of jazz and electronica. He didn’t have the means to pay the $4000 required for production costs, so he logged onto Kickstarter instead. Scioneaux offered a variety of privileges in return for financial help: patrons who pledged $15 would receive an advance copy of the album, those who gave $30 would also receive a one-on-one music lesson. Those paying $50 or more got both of these, plus a chance to listen to some of Scioneaux’s personal studio recordings and a dinner of homemade gumbo (a kind of Louisiana stew). ‘I didn’t expect people to be all over that one,’ Scioneaux said of the last in an article in the New York Times, ‘but it sold out almost immediately.’ He has since raised $4100 for the CD.
The idea for Kickstarter began in 2002, when one of the founders, Perry Chen, was unable to raise $20,000 for a jazz concert in New Orleans. ‘Money has always been a huge barrier to creativity,’ he said. ‘We all have a lot of ideas we’d like to see get off the ground, but unless you have a rich uncle, you aren’t always able to embrace [them].’ Three years later, Chen met Yancey Strickler, a former employee of online retailer eMusic, and the two decided to put the idea of networked micro-patronage to the test.
Kickstarter is currently free and the founders choose each project that gets uploaded. Eventually, though, they plan to open up the site to anyone. Chen is keen to ensure that the website provides a particular model for networked funding. It is, he maintains, neither a charity nor an investment portal, instead referring to Kickstarter as a kind of ‘sustainable marketplace, where people exchange goods for services or some other benefit and receive some value’.
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Comments
25 Sep 09 at 7:22
This is an interesting idea and very practical for pop culture. The problem being that a culture built on personal patronage is also one built on nepotism which results in an environment in which artists are restrained from one of their primary tasks, challenging orthodoxy. Hmmm sounds familiar,
...25 Sep 09 at 9:21
"In the same way that John Reed provided generously for Sidney Nolan and Albert Tucker"
Probably not in the same way as the former, unless Kickstarter is requiring artists to sleep with someone's wife.
...28 Sep 09 at 12:40
Also to note - that while kickstarter.com is a US only service, kickstartme.com.au is the Aussie version!
...28 Sep 09 at 15:15
Cheers for the link to the Aus site, Vicky - that's great, I didn't know one was in the works.
...30 Sep 09 at 10:52
Not a problem Jess.
After briefly reviewing their business model - they are going to open the system by invite only. Invites will be sent, once live, to those who register their interest now.
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