FanSupported music models?

[charmian]

petronia has made a survey about the concept of "Fansupported" in the music biz, and she needs 100 people to take it. It's a very short survey.

I'm not a big music buyer, nor do I really follow any bands. If I like music, I'll... listen to it, but in my entire life, I've never gone to a concert or bought musician merchandise. So I answered the survey in extremely hypothetical terms.

Nevertheless, the concept behind it is intriguing: we all know the music industry is troubled as a result of the collapse of their economic model in the face of technology. But, bands need start up capital to make recordings. So, how can they get it? One model which has developed is the concept of fans giving money to the band towards the recording of their album. The fans give a certain sum, and are proportionately rewarded with something. Sometimes, this may be legal d/ls or copies of the CD, or other things like merchandise, autographs, discounts, etc, or it may be revenue sharing.


I answered that I would participate, but contribute a low amount, like $10 or so, and that I would probably also prefer getting things/merch rather than receiving revenue sharing. Why? Because viewing it as an investment would make me want to confirm that it really would be successful so I could make my investment back, and simply because I LIKE something does not mean that it will sell gangbusters, you know? In fact, given my track record, the fact that *I* like something seems to argue that it will be unloved by others and hardly paid any attention to.

Therefore, I would prefer to receive tangible, preset extras, if there are any, such as downloads, merchandise, content, etc.

Music in some ways is much better off than other art forms when it comes to these things. I look forward to seeing what online models evolve in fiction publishing.

Comments

[troisroyaumes]

I didn't leave a particularly thoughtful response but that's how I answered the survey too, for many of the same reasons.

[petronia]

Last night I ate with a friend at a new vegan/raw food restaurant, and they had a poster up on the wall advertising what were essentially bonds in the restaurant to cover their startup costs. (In the range of, give us $370 now get $550 a year later.)

[charmian]

Whoa... Personally, though, I would never invest in a restaurant, especially since I don't know much about the industry except that it's insanely risky.