Christmas album Kickstarted
Artist raises funds for album through fan support
SURREY, BC—When singer songwriter Carolyn Arends decided she wanted to write and produce a new Christmas album this year, she took to the internet to rally up some monetary support. Little did she know that her goal of $11,000 would be more than doubled before her Kickstarter campaign came to an end. To date she has raised $28,691 for her year-end project.
“I did a form of crowd-funding on a project back in 2009, where I put the names of everyone who pre-ordered the album in the CD liner notes. That was before I was even aware of Kickstarter or any other crowd-funding platforms. I discovered I really enjoyed collaborating with fans to make the music, so this time out I decided to do a more “official” campaign through Kickstarter,” says Arends.
Kickstarter and other crowd-funding campaigns work by the artist/inventor/creator selling the audience on a particular project. As an incentive for consumers, the creator of the project will usually offer fun perks that increase in value based on the increasing amount of money pledged.
Crowd-funding is often used by independent artists who, without large record companies to market their material, choose to reach out to fans in more personal ways. By appealing directly to fans, artists foster a much more personal relationship with their audience.
“Crowd-funding is a way of allowing the people who value the music to be a part of making it, and it makes raising the capital achievable by spreading out the financial burden over a large group of people,” says Arends.
For Arends, more than the money raised, what has been most touching has been the encouragement she’s received. “Collaborating with fans this way, and having so many of them tell me how God has used my music in their lives, has turned out to be one of the real highlights of my career.”
Visit carolynarends.com for updates on the upcoming Christmas album.
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