No one needs to tell Casey Sidwell that the music industry is being rocked to its core.
As a veteran local musician, Sidwell has witnessed how blogs and MP3s have created opportunities for small artists, even as major labels lag in adapting to new technologies.
“The way the numbers break down, a band can actually make more money selling 30,000 copies of its own record than a million copies on a major label,” Sidwell said.
His band, Future Jazz Project, recorded and released its last album independently. Although it sold only a few thousand copies, the disc quickly recouped its production costs. At a major label, the band would have first paid back a team of dozens, including in-house promoters, managers and a road crew, before seeing a penny from album sales.
But majors also sport deep pockets, which helps when your band is dropping $10,000 to engineer that follow-up hit. To avoid paying for its new album alone, Future Jazz Project turned to a time-tested version of arts funding: patronage.
The band’s Feb. 18 concert at Herman’s Hideaway encouraged fan donations to defray recording costs. Locally and nationally, more acts are following suit, providing incentives with VIP fundraisers and custom-written songs – all in exchange for cash.
Momus, a.k.a. Scottish-born Nick Currie, released “Stars Forever,” on which each song was commissioned at $1,000 apiece. Bands like Of Montreal and Marshmallow Coast sold personalized songs and poems to fans.
Denver-based indie-folk artist Joshua Novak held recent shows at the Larimer Lounge and Hi-Dive to raise money for his album, promising patrons liner-notes credit for bequests ranging from $1-$100. The results exceeded his expectations.
“Between the last two shows and various e-mails we’ve made about $800,” Novak said. “That doesn’t count CD sales or the cover at the door.”
Though it’s only a small chunk of Novak’s estimated $5,000-
$10,000 production costs, he sees the experiment as a creative way to connect with audiences.
“A lot of people become passive observers when it comes to music,” he said. “Not only is this a good way to make money, it’s a good way to get people actively involved.”
When a fan is emotionally invested, a financial investment isn’t far behind. Independent artists can’t afford to ignore this, says John Kellogg, assistant professor of music and entertainment-industry studies at the University of Colorado at Denver.
Kellogg noted that the trend toward fan fundraising is simply a logical extension of buzz and word-of-mouth marketing.
“You’re passing the collection plate,” he said. “Usually when you see artists you really like, you want to support them, and that’s what these artists are letting people do. It’s a brilliant idea.”
Kellogg should know – he’s seen the guts of the industry firsthand as an entertainment lawyer and former member of the ’80s pop group Cameo.
He said the declining cost of home-recording software and the Internet’s level playing field make today’s patronage trend different than in years past.
“It goes back to the last century, when a lot of musicians were making money playing music in people’s homes, but it compromised their art,” he said. “It’s interesting now that the artists have more freedom since their supporters have already bought into what they’re doing.”
Chis Pearson, a founding member of Denver indie titans The Czars, got sick of paying for his band’s albums out of pocket. Since he didn’t trust his record label, Bella Union, to follow through with its part of the funding, he brainstormed.
Offering incentives from a $500 “guest list for life” pass to a $2,000 private Czars show, the band raised most of the $10,000 recording budget for its album “Goodbye” through donations. Vancouver, British Columbia-based admirer Jason Ross bequeathed the rest.
“We put a posting on our website saying we were looking for donations, so (Ross) contacted us and gave us an interest-free loan for $3,000,” Pearson said. “We never met him, but he did eventually get paid back.”
Still, there are pitfalls, said Future Jazz Project’s Sidwell.
“You have to be really careful about what you ask your fans for,” he said, noting the band’s Herman’s Hideaway fundraiser raised only $100. “They’re obviously already helping you out since they’re at the shows. Everybody’s pockets are pinched right now.”
CU-Denver’s Kellogg agreed about the need for caution, especially when fans don’t have a clear sense of what they’re getting for their investment.
“People need to know that they don’t have any equity participation in the profits from the sale of the album,” he said. “If the artists are smart, at some point they might want to have some kind of waiver outlining what people are getting.”
Sound complicated? Welcome to the 21st-century music industry, where you can have an entire album named after your family, for a price.
Staff writer John Wenzel can be reached at 303-820-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com.
