Do you trust Crowd-Funds?
I'm going to be talking about crowd-funded music here (nothing else - like video games, etc.) In this day and age, it all honestly depends on the band. There have been so many bands that have ripped off fans with this strategy. I guess you just have to be cautious with who you are really giving your money too.
Have you ever given money to any form of Crowd-Fund?
I have. I like crowd-funding a lot. Like I said, you just have to be cautious. In all my experiences with crowd-funding I have had much luck. My first was in 2013 I helped crowd-fund deathcore act Arsonists Get All the Girls most recent album 'Listen to the Color'. My last was last summer with hip/hop artist K.Flay with her full-length album. When her crowd-funding campaign ended, come the release of the album, I was sent a link to the digital album and in a few weeks, I received the physical CD.
What band`s do you think you would support if they had a Crowd-Funded project?
Honestly, I would crowd-fund a lot of bands if they went this route. To name a few - Enter Shikari, Atreyu, baroque, Fear and loathing in las vegas, Frankmusik, Kesha (pka Ke$ha), and Senses Fal.
What do you think your donation range would be? (Be honest, you don`t have to worry about being seen as a cheap-skate, and don`t have to be Mr. / Mrs. Moneybags.)
I usually donate within the $10-$20 range. That is enough, in most cases to receive both a digital download copy and a physical copy of the album once funded and that's all I really want. The digital because it's efficient and I can listen to it whenever and the physical copy to show proof that I helped fund the campaign (and place it somewhere like on a dresser or something).
Are special awards or gifts valuable to you? (Early access to tracks, special messages from the band (or whoever), other perks, etc...)
Yes. This is one the biggest things that draws me in. With K.Flay, if you donated a certain amount, you had access to a VIP section. There she gave video updates on the campaign along with a message board to talk directly to her as she was working on the album. It was a neat perk to basically be there as she worked on the album. Some cases, bands give you access to songs early on before they are even released - like early demo cuts, etc.
Do you think crowd-funding is a sustainable practice (can it be used often or only on occasion), and that many bands can use it at the same time, or does it present an even greater price-tag to fans?
I would honestly only help crowd-fund a project if the need be. I like the practice a lot but in my cases they've only been for certain reasons. Example, with Arsonists Get All the Girls, they were not on a label - they kicked out their last shitty vocalist and went back to their roots. This made me happy and the fact that they were doing this again all on their own with no help from an independent label I felt obligated to help them. In K.Flay's case - this was her first full-length and practically first release since leaving a major label. I know she needed the help and it was successful and now she's been on a tour funded by herself too. I would never help a campaign with a band or artist if I knew they truly had the funds to do so by being backed by a label or just for quick money.
If Crowd-Funding became more popular, would that create a greater wealth gap in the music industry, where more popular bands can sustain more releases and advertisement, while smaller bands can not succeed or compete, and labels are not as profitable so fewer bands can actually exist on a visible level?
It's already becoming quite popular because it's easy for fans to donate and receive "their prize" after funded. If this continues and crowdfunding will, no doubt, I feel labels will take advantage of this and use it for their own causes. I'm already seeing this happen as I type this.
What do you think of Alice Nine`s project so far?
I don't know. I don't keep up with them and I don't know what they are up to, so I can't comment on this.
Any notable musical crowd-funds you want to mention (worldwide or Japanese, though they are different markets)?
Not that I can think of. I mentioned two that I have donated to above.
Should a Crowd-Funded release be free? Or should it only be free for those who donate? Does crowd-funding affect your view on downloading a release?
No, it should not be free. For those who have helped donate, that is basically your way of paying for the release. They release should not be designed to be free for those who haven't. That wouldn't make any sense. If a band or artist sets up a campaign to begin with, I highly doubt their release would end up free anyway. It does not affect my whole view on downloading to say - not right now anyway. I'm still poor as fuck all the time so I do download a lot (even when I have a Spotify and Google Play Music subscription). However, if more artists and bands take advantage of crowd-funding, I would probably take advantage of them more and may, in the long run, keep me from downloading. If i'm getting this question right?
