Crowdfunding has absolutely exploded in popularity over the past few years and has generated enough money to fund some really cool ideas and projects.
Not only does this help fund the projects, but also helps to create a personal connection between the fans the music.
Last week we featured this project that’s looking for investors to help give back to the creator of the Amen break, a beat that’s been used substantially in many genres of music in which the creator has seen little to no payment for.
We thought we’d put together a list of some other interesting crowd funding projects that are either awesome, or have generated an absurd amount of funding.
Be a part of Asa’s debut album and live band
Bristol, United Kingdom
Target: £20,000
Help Bristol-based musician Asa fund his debut Album release and bring his new live band on tour. Everything from £1 for some unreleased tunes and £6 sticker packs all the way to a £5000 investment, which will get you an all expenses paid trip to Bristol to hang out with Asa in his studio while creating the album. There’s something for everyone in these investments. Some for those who just want to show support and some for those who choose to be involved in the album and creative process. After one day he’s 13% completed so there’s no doubt in my mind he will complete his goal in the next 45 days.
Culprate – The Experimental Album
Bristol, United Kingdom
Target: Reached (and the album’s awesome)
A hugely successful experiment by Culprate. £35 got you a download the album in full, then receive the Limited Edition physical copies (that’s both the vinyl and the CD Digipack.) £100 gave you guestlist to Culprate shows for LIFE and for £250 he even promised to name a song after you! As well as including options to come hangout in the studio with him, these investments are all bits and pieces that appeal to a wide range of fans. The album was released in December, we got the whole story here.
Savant – Kali 47 Music Video
Los Angeles, California, USA
Target: Reached
In this fundraiser is the option of investing $5 to get a track that no one else will receive ever and is available nowhere and for $5000 one lucky investor was flown to a Savant show to hangout with him all day. The end result was this insane video which we hosted!
Meow The Jewels
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Target: Reached
This is absolutely fantastic. These guys did a Kickstarter so Killer Mike and El-P, would remix Run The Jewels 2 exclusively with cat sounds. Yes, all cat sounds. Meow. Being such a ridiculous request clearly worked for them since they raised $20,000 OVER what they needed to finish the project. For $2,000 you could even produce one of the tracks yourself, using your own cat.
TLC is BACK
Los Angeles, California, USA
Target: Reached
Holy crap. TLC asked for $150,000 to produce their final album and raised over 400k! I wish I had known about this earlier because I would have for sure invested in the SLEEPOVER WITH CHILLI! She could have taught me how to watch out for scrubs and stop chasing waterfalls.
Burning Man: The Musical
NYC, USA
Target: $5,000
Burning Man the musical…. Really? The first $5,000 is going to be used to create a short YouTube film introducing the musical, after that it’ll be funded into a full-blown production. For an investment of $2,000 you can even be IN the Burning Man: The Musical YouTube video. Please form an orderly queue…
AMPY
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Target: Reached
This invention is pure genius so it’s no surprise they tripled their asking pledges and raised well over their $100,000 goal to the tune of $309,323. AMPY is a wearable device that captures energy from your motion, turning it into power to charge your phone or any USB-powered device. Imagine taking this to a music festival, dance your ass off and charge your phone with the energy you’re exerting. Pure. Genius.
Introducing the Artiphon INSTRUMENT 1
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Target: Reached
This MIDI controller that allows you to strum, play or tap any instrument has been one of the most successful crowdfunding projects electronic music has seen… Reaching it investment of $75,000 in no more than six hours. They now sit at over $500,000 and they still have a month to go. Talk about a million dollar idea! The investments that come in above target are all worth it as you get a discounted prices of the product.
Pono Music
San Francisco, California, USA
Target: Reached
Over six million dollars were pledged for this device… The goal was only $800,000. Created by Neil Young, Pono is a device that increases the quality of music you play contrary to the original sound deviation that an MP3 provides. Investors could receive things like honorable mention on the device’s website, all the way to dinner with Neil himself.
Axent Wear Cat Ear Headphones
Berkeley, California, United States
Target: Reached
These headphones shaped like cat ears have raised over three million dollars. They’re not just headphones, they also have speakers in the ears so everyone around you can listen to what you’re listening to. I don’t personally think that’s an attractive quality but the 20,000 people who have funded this campaign seem to think it is. Would you wear them?
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