We Want The Funds: A Crowdfunding Update

One of the most difficult things about crowdfunding is, quite simply, how much money you set your goal to be. While it might seem simple that you simply ask for the exact amount of money that you require to complete your project (and, yeah, that's the point of the whole exercise) the fear of not achieving that goal is massive.

A lot of crowdfunding operations won't pay out any funds if the goal isn't met, as this indicates there is not enough demand for the project, and this week we've heard from artists on both sides of this equation.

Name: MC Wheels
Project: Debut Album
Current Status: 102% of $3000 goal funded, 12 days remaining.

MC Wheels (real name Nathan Tessman) is a hip hop artist from Queensland's Sunshine Coast who has used PledgeMusic to source funds to finish recording and also for the manufacture of his debut album.

We looked past his case last week as he had already hit his goal, but his program manager Deb Gann got in touch with us last week and told us that they set a low goal as they needed something that could actually be achieved; the last thing they wanted was to embark on the campaign only to fall at the last hurdle.

Name: Toni Childs
Project: Citizens Of The Planet – Live Experience
Current Status: 61% ($68,191) of $100,000 goal funded, three days remaining.

On the other side of the coin is Toni Childs – a well-respected singer-songwriter who has sold a stack of records through her 25 years in the business and remains a very popular proposition around the world. She wasn't able to reach her goal of $100,000 by the time her campaign finished and, as such, did not receive the funds pledged.

Childs wants to “create an immersive music driven experience that uses images and motion in order to speak to the spark & intelligence of who we are” and has “enlisted 14 of the LA's best animators to create interactive visuals for our 16' by 30' interactive floor, and motion graphics and animations for a 3D Mapped set designed by Heather Shaw's - Vita Motus.” It's a big, immersive live show to go with her new Citizens Of The Planet album.

Thankfully for her, Kickstarter have given her an extra few days to raise the cash for her ambitious project. They are still a long way off though and it ends in two days. Apparently Rosie O'Donnell pitched in a thousand bucks, which is nice, but it won't mean much if she doesn't get fully funded.

She's offering posters, postcards, albums, hand-written lyrics and some more unique experiences.

Breakfast in Bed with Toni Childs: Two tickets to a Citizens of the Planet show and then breakfast the morning after with Toni Childs in her bed.

Stay in Toni Childs' home for two nights: Two nights at Childs' home in Byron Bay, kayaking, hiking, breakfast, barbecue…

Toni Childs paints your portrait: Pretty straightforward really.

Be in the show: Flights to LA, accommodation, have your face 3D mapped to be part of the show, receive concert tickets, CDs and a whole heap more.

Ride Into The Sun - Hunt LIke Wolves from RideIntoTheSunBand on Vimeo.

Name: Ride Into The Sun
Project: Vinyl pressing and Austin Psych Fest
Current Status: 66% ($1,334) of $2000 goal, 28 days remaining

Adelaide psych band Ride Into The Sun have recorded a mini-LP with The Black Angels' Alex Maas and their producer/sound engineer Brett Orrison. The band now need cash to press the LP onto 180 gram vinyl and help fund their trip to Austin, where they will launch the LP at the Austin Psych Fest.

They're offering downloads, records, postcards, DJ sets, live performances and free tickets to their shows for a year, to name a few incentives.

Name: Veronica Mars
Project: Movie
Current Status: 183% ($3,663,802) of $2,000,000 goal, 25 days remaining

Fans have jumped at the chance to make a film adaptation of the relatively successful teen TV drama happen and have scored some pretty incredible rewards as a result. One person has bought themselves a speaking role for $10,000, six people have named characters in the movie – three for $6,500 and three for $8,000 (they get to be an extra in the film as well) – and a stack of people have bought tickets to the red carpet premiere and after party.

This is another project where the crew behind the project have asked people to keep donating, saying that the special effects and locations that feature in the film will get better and better as they raise more and more funds.

This is the fastest moving Kickstarter project to date, reaching the $1million mark in just four hours and 24 minutes.

This way of funding projects is no longer just for the starving artist, but does having big Hollywood movies getting on board mean that crowdfunding is losing its way? And would it ever work this effectively again?