Haley Reinhart's funky a$$ reality project

[mercfan3]

I won't lie..this concerns me a bit.

If Haley's looking at fundraising from fans, that means she probably doesn't have a label that is interested. (I don't understand why..)

[Miguel]

Info from an article about PledgeMusic: http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalin...ledgemusic

PledgeMusic sets itself way above Kickstarter and IndieGoGo with its success rate of 90%. Kickstarter claims nearly 55% of their music campaigns reach their goal and IndieGoGo is much lower than that (but would not release these numbers when asked).

A comment made in response:

I think the biggest thing that makes Pledge different from the other guys is that you have to apply and be accepted to use their system. They only accept artists who have the right prerequisites to ensure a successful campaign.

The cool part about working with bands that already have a following and some success is that Pledge can afford to give them each special attention – as the payback on time spent is virtually guaranteed. i.e. the model works.

I guess the downside (if there is one) is that the vast majority of the readers of this blog post won’t be accepted by Pledge and allowed into the system. In a sense, Pledge is one of the new gatekeepers in the industry.

Pledge Music founder responds:

Thanks for the comment.

Re most bands not being accepted I’d like to point out that it’s not so much that we refuse anyone. We just tell them honestly if what they are trying to achieve is possible. For example every band may want a $50,000 recording budget. (Who wouldn’t!) But if you look at how many people the band or artist can actually reach with their existing fan base and do even the simplest of maths on it you’ll see that the chances of success at this level are extriemly small.

So rather than a flat out “no” we say – based on your email, facebook and twitter we estimate that you can hit a goal or a pre-sale # of “x” would you like to proceed? Or would you like to use our datacapture widgets to see if you can get more people on your email list before the campaign launches.

We have allot of data which shows us what we think is achievable for our artists and so we share an honest assessment. Artists can and do argue with us, and there are sometimes circumstances which will alter our position, but at heart our projects teams are tasked with making projects work.

These campaigns are amazing when they work but heartbreaking when they fail.
So it’s rarely a “no” but it’s more like a “not now” or an adjustment of expectation. It’s a question of asking the artist – would you rather shoot for a goal of 50,000 and fail or shoot for a goal of 10,000 and exceed it? What’s the least you need to make the project happen? Can we start there and go over the top. Remember that once the goal is hit it keeps going until release. Not until an arbitrary time frame is over.

It’s a process but it’s one that we are committed to make work for all involved.

Note the article says:

...the biggest difference is that PledgeMusic does not list dollar amounts.

“When you show a financial target you either look desperate or needy. One of the things we found is that if you hide that financial target fans spend more,” Rogers explained.

[rmd1064]

This has been tweeted about and even posted in the comment section at MJ's, but there's no funding mechanism in place to build off the initial buzz? That's not a good start.

In my opinion, this effort does not look like it was ready to be formally announced, as there is no information on the IndieGoGo site about it. I think once it is ready for a formal announcement with info for all the incentives that she noted, Haley will send out a Twitter message to her 200K+ followers, and also message out on Instagram, Facebook, etc.

This should be interesting. It appears that the site is very successful in getting significantly more than $25K for a lot of different bands I have never heard of, so hopefully Haliens will fund this effort. I plan on pitching in what I can...

We have talked about this model for funding independent artists in this forum, and perhaps this is Haley sticking her toe in to see what happens.

[Miguel]

If Haley's looking at fundraising from fans, that means she probably doesn't have a label that is interested.

On the other hand, if Haley's crowdfunding effort is successful it could draw the interest of a label.

Believe it or not, a great way to attract label attention is to start your own label. The role of the modern record label is primarily to finance the production of your record, and then promote it. There are many other things labels do, but we won’t get into that. Ask yourself if you can crowdfund your next record, and do your own marketing and promotion online via social networks, YouTube and other digital platforms. Labels want you to demonstrate a certain level of success anyway, and a successful crowdfunding campaign is one way to show the marketability of your music. The point is, you’re not going to get “discovered” out of the blue (it’s a music industry myth). You need to establish yourself and your fan base to be considered for a record deal, so the first step is to forget about the record deal and focus on building value around your music.

http://www.songhack.com/hacks/get-signed...ord-label/

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In my opinion, this effort does not look like it was ready to be formally announced, as there is no information on the IndieGoGo site about it. I think once it is ready for a formal announcement with info for all the incentives that she noted, Haley will send out a Twitter message to her 200K+ followers, and also message out on Instagram, Facebook, etc.

I agree. I'm concerned though that the preview will lessen the impact of that effort. Particularly if outlets like MJs were to pick it up as a story before people can donate.

[Tusk]

Its up, top prize, 15k get's you an in house concert

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/haley-...usic-video

Song is called, "Show Me Your Moves"

[Swansteel]

I've wanted hand-written lyrics ever since she offered them at that StageIt show. I could dig that. But should I donate bigger? Hmmm.

[Tusk]

The site asks for 30k, not the 25k she said in the video

1K to be in the video
$250 to have credit

[Swansteel]

I'm wondering, if you donate at a certain level do you get all the items below that as well or just the one thing? Some donation sites I've seen give you the high gift as well as the ones at lower levels. I'm not saying this to sound greedy, but although I would like to bid higher I would like to get those hand-written lyrics.

[Miguel]

although I would like to bid higher I would like to get those hand-written lyrics.

I imagine it's possible to contribute more than once. I contributed a higher amount and it appeared I could choose any of the items below it. I don't know if you can choose more than one as I did not think to try.

[Swansteel]

although I would like to bid higher I would like to get those hand-written lyrics.

I imagine it's possible to contribute more than once. I contributed a higher amount and it appeared I could choose any of the items below it. I don't know if you can choose more than one as I did not think to try.

Ooooo, that sounds cool, Miguel. Thanks!