My Hatred of Crowdfunding Campaigns and Why You Should Support Mine
People want things.
I was raised with a very specific mindset in regards to wanting things. Simply put, if you want something, you work to get it.
You don’t ask for handouts. You don’t beg for support. You work.
Because of this, the very nature of many crowdfunding campaigns has often left me feeling somewhat irritated. I understand that you want to buy a camera to create the short film you’ve been planning for ten years. I competely get that you want to fly to Italy to pursue your dreams of cuisine and fashion. I even understand the want to just buy that new flatscreen TV.
But what I don’t understand is 1.) why people believe others should pay for these wants, and 2.) why other people actually end up paying for these wants. I realize there is power in asking, but even still, it just feels wrong to me. I can’t help from mentally reducing many crowdfunders to the level of that one kid at the arcade that would continually ask strangers for more tokens. It bothered me when I was seven years old trying to win a lava lamp and still bothers me now.
Call me an asshole, blame it on my upbringing, but crowdfunding campaigns for personal gain just piss me off.
“Well then why the hell are you hosting one?”
What a great and well-timed question, random condescending voice in my head.
To be honest, I initially hated the idea of crowdfunding our tour. The last thing I wanted was for us to be a part of that severely selfish system.
And then we went to LA…
Somewhat on a whim, we took to LA for a week in May to film as many Single Sessions as possible in seven days. When our flight took off we had six sessions booked. When we landed, however, three had canceled, one was unsure, and we were left with two sessions scheduled. Needless to say, I was worried.
Something clicked with me after our first LA session. I am in no way a mystical person, but when an artist, an audio-engineer, and a videographer venture to the top of a mountain simply with the goal of creating something beautiful, suddenly something extraordinary happens. I had the joy of watching this artist discover a newfound love for his music that day. “This is exactly what I needed,” he told us as we were coming off the mountain. Little did I know at the time, but this would become somewhat of an unknowingly shared catchphrase among the artists that we worked with during our time in LA.
For seven days we ventured all across the city offering to be a platform for artists that needed it. Seventeen artists later, we flew back to Nashville.
On the plane ride back I began thinking again of my problems with crowdfunding our tour. It was here that I realized an important factor of our tour.
This tour is in no way ours.
This tour belongs to the artists that need it. This tour is for the kids in the small towns that are just waiting for their chance. It’s for the people who spend weeks pouring their souls into lyrics but have never been introduced to the correct avenues to share it. It’s for the artist with the songs that can silence a room but have come to personally understand that unfortunately, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. This tour is about empowering artists with the tools they need to share their talent with the world. It is for those who have performed for family, played at fairs, survived the false promises of one too many talent shows and wondered how their songs will ever be noticed. This tour will work to amplify the voice and song of those individuals waiting to be heard.
At Amplify, we believe true talent and real art deserve to be heard and appreciated. If you believe that and are able, please consider supporting the Amplify East Coast Tour at the link below.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/amplify-east-coast-tour#/
