Most months, all three of my featured campaigns come from Kickstarter. That's because Kickstarter is, by far, the biggest crowdfunding platform around for music. But there are others, including some unconventional ones, which deserve attention as well. This month they get it as all of my featured campaigns comes from sites other than Kickstarter.
Bandcamp- Maya de Vitry- All My FaithBandcamp isn't a traditional crowdfunding marketplace. But in some ways it can act like one. It gives the option to pre-order new albums in various formats, feature your back catalog, and even offer merch sales. This month, I'm featuring the pre-order of All My Faith, by Maya de Vitry, which releases 7/24. De Vitry has been a favorite of mine since her days in Stray Birds and on to her solo career. She self-produced All My Faith and plays acoustic guitar on all tracks. I've had a chance to hear All My Faith and it's definitely worth a pre-order. On Bandcamp, you can get the album in digital, gatefold vinyl, and CD formats, as well as streaming through Bandcamp's app. Over at her merch store, you can get CD and vinyl copies of her back catalog as well as a lyric magnet. She has a number of shirts as well but all are currently sold out, so keep an eye out for those to restock as well.
Indiegogo- Rio Tripiano- New Album
Indiegogo is the closest competitor to Kickstarter in the crowdfunding world and the one I feature most outside of Kickstarter, because it offers the most recognizable crowdfunding model. I don't feature it often because it doesn't have as many music listings as Kickstarter. Rio Tripiano, a blues rock guitarist and vocalist, calls his music a “blend of Dylan, Beethoven, Petty and REK.” Having listened to his debut album, I'd throw some shades of Eric Johnson and The Allman Brothers Band in there as well. For his $40,000 Indiegogo campaign, he's offering the album in digital, CD, and vinyl formats. He's also got a number of other backer perks, including a t-shirt, a handwritten lyric sheet (limited to 20), a chance to join him in the studio, one of his guitars or, in one of the more unique perks I've seen, a pair of his pants.
Patreon- David Wax Museum
Patreon is arguably the most difficult crowdfunding model to master. I did a feature on Patreon campaigns a couple of years ago and had bookmarked a dozen or so choices that I eventually narrowed to three. Revisiting those for this month's column, I found that almost all of them had gone dormant. Unlike the sprint-like burst of work that is required for a Kickstarter campaign, Patreon is like a marathon, requiring an artist to post regularly to keep subscribers. The artists who do best on Patreon are the ones who embrace the personal aspect of it. Whether it be works in progress, photos from the road, or just blog posts about the life of a working musician, Patreon gives fans an inside look that they don't get from other crowdfunding sites. One duo who has found Patreon success, to the tune of 345 monthly subscribers, is David Wax Museum. Their music has been called “Mexo-Americana” and that's a pretty good description of it. Their Patreon feed is a mix of big announcements and the kinds of behind the scenes moments that keep subscribers coming back. Currently, they're answering questions from subscribers about their ambitious “100 Songs in 100 Days” project. You can join for free and get notified of their publicly available posts, and they make a surprisingly large number of them. Other membership options range from $3-$200, with paid tiers unlocking various posts.
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