Kickstarter

Kickstarter is an amazing resource for any band or manager who does not have a lot of money to start out with.  The concept is known as Crowdsouring, and makes fund raising feasible in a whole new way.

Here's the idea...

1. Set a goal: say you need to raise some money to finish recording your album.  Go to the website, and create a new "project," here to raise money to finish your album.  Next, set the amount you seek to raise, say $2000.

2. Set the amounts: Here's where the genius of the website really begins to shine.  Now, you set different pledge amounts that your fans, friends and family can contribute.  $5 and they get a letter from the band thanking them for their involvement.  $25 gets a free copy of the album.  $50 gets a photo with the band (to post on the facebook) and a shout out at the next gig.  All the way up to $500 for a private show.  Sure, it's a hustle, but that's the music industry today, and you're building a serious relationship with your fans at the same time.

3. Reach your goal: Kickstarter easy to use because no money is actually collected until you've gotten enough pledges to reach your goal for two reasons: First, contributors will be offered some guarantee that you won't waste the money, since you won't see any of it until you get all of it.  Second, it makes finishing the goal easy because you can drop the "we're almost there!" on everyone and shake a few more dollars out.

For up and coming bands, and artists beginning in any field, money can be hard to come by...especially in 2010.  But by using this tool, you can simultaneously raise the money you need while making an everlasting connection with your hard core fans.  Remember, people love being involved in what you do...it makes them feel like they're apart of something special!