John Elefante on Kickstarter

I received this email yesterday:

Quote :

Dear Friends,


I have so many new song ideas and I think it's time to make a new CD, but...Times have changed and rarely are record companies willing to fund projects such as mine. Things are really different in the music biz and there is no new normal like the old days. What hasn't changed is your support and encouragement!!

For an artist like myself, it has become impossible to make a CD without outside funding. There is no way around this. I'm so thankful that you guys kindly introduced me to Kickstarter.

Kickstarter is a funding platform for artists, filmmakers, and musicians. It's the world's largest online pledge system for funding creative projects. The public pledges money to help make a project happen. If the needed amount is reached, then the pledges are taken, and rewards are given out. If the amount is not reached, no one is charged anything, and no rewards are sent out.

Kickstarter seemed a great fit for me, and I submitted my project to them. I am happy to announce they have accepted me. I will truly need your help in this process, and am asking you to be my partners. I will need to raise at least $35,000. Please spread the word. I will be offering some very cool rewards as thanks for your pledges. Some rewards will include being the first to listen to my record and demo's, dinner with me and my family, singing background vocals on one of your songs as well as a whole lot more. More than a fundraiser, I want this to be a fun, rewarding experience for everyone involved.

If you are not yet a part of my facebook page, I invite you to 'like' it at this link:
www.facebook.com/JohnElefanteMusic.

I will be updating often and will post cool stuff on it. I'd love to have 3,000 friends and fans on board for my fundraiser. I'm very excited about this new venture in my life and career. I know that together, we can make this COME ALIVE!!

Stay tuned for more info

Sincerely,

John Elefante

I didn't see him on Kickstarter yet (or any mention of this on his website or FB page) so I guess you better Like his FB page if you want to keep up to date with this.

Are we in the time that we have to support bands to give money to release CDs?
More bands/artist did this before.

I might be inclined to kick in for this kickstarter compaign if I was assured that the new material would be like the last "Mastedon 3" album he did. But if it sounds like any of his other solo stuff I would likely just pass.

If it's more in the Mastedon style, that would be great. However, if
it's more laid back like his last effort, I might skip it. I probably
haven't played that one more than a dozen times. It just left me kinda
cold.

I agree that it would be great to see another solid Rock effort in the vein of Mastedon.

I have been pledging donations to all of the Christian oriented Rock and Metal bands/artists going the Kickstarter route and felt very fairly compensated thus far. I do not mind at all that albums are being financed this way. The times are changing and...well...I am just rolling with it. Heh!

A new CD in the vein of Mastedon would be great.
His solo stuff has not my interest.

He made it super fast...

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/81972862/john-elefante-come-alive-a-kickstarter-project

I didn't kick in. I just don't think I am going to do these anymore as it now seems that every artist, signed or not, is sticking their hand out for....well.....a handout. It may be the model of how music gets made now, but I don't have to contribute. I will support the album after it releases and only then if I check out clips and decide to buy it.

icon_red wrote:

He made it super fast...

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/81972862/john-elefante-come-alive-a-kickstarter-project

And he still has over a month to go on it. Just means he will be able to put more into it.

More than likely I will get Mastedon 4 as well as Lofcaudio (remastered).

I didn't kick in this project.
My support is buying the CD.
I'm not sure what to think about the kickstarter project.

icon_red wrote:

He made it super fast...

[url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/81972862/john-elefante-come-alive-a-kickstarter-project

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/81972862/john-elefante-come-alive-a-kickstarter-project[/quote[/url]]

Holy cow man, he has just over $40,000! That's more than many people make in a year.

I'm excited to see him coming out with a new album. I've been a fan of his since I first heard "Pass The Flame" years ago, and was disappointed when Pamplin Music shut their doors and his promised followup to Defying Gravity never happened.

I really don't have a problem with Kickstarter - it's giving creators an easy way to encourage donations from their fans, and I haven't seen any signed artists using it.

So far the fastest-completed project I've seen is Five Iron Frenzy, who got fully funded in less than 55 minutes.

I really dig the extra demos/bonus tracks he gives out on Mondays to those who support...I gave enough to get the LOFCAudio and new album, that was all I could afford. So far the bonus tracks have made it worthwhile...

Staybrite wrote:

Holy cow man, he has just over $40,000! That's more than many people make in a year.

More than me, certainly...

I've only contributed to one Kickstarter project, and that was a film, not an album. I think it's a good thing, though.

On a related note, Guardian has decided to jump on the Kickstarter bandwagon now... http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/guardian2012/guardian-the-cat-starter-project

Not sure if I'll pledge to this one or not. I like their music, but I can't afford to pledge to every artist I like that does this (I've already done Hark The Herons, Oats, Five Iron Frenzy and John Elefante, and am holding out for The Waiting...), especially as I can't help but go the $15 route (gotta get something good for my money you know )

That's the thing--now that this has become the industry standard, we are EXPECTED to shell out some $$$ while we wait for the artist to record. Sure, it helps the artist, but why should I have to finance these projects? I bought my own gear to try to do my own projects. Why couldn't they do that and not have as much overhead?

I have a feeling people will start getting sick of the whole kick-starter thing in a while.

Maybe, or till the time comes they have payed for a kickstarter project and they never see a CD.

That could happen as well. While there are not any reports of Christian artists ripping off their backers, it could happen. Once the target amount of pledges is reached, the money then goes to the artist. What they do with it is their prerogative. If they decide to keep it, then you could lose your money.

Personally, I'll just keep to my "No Kickstarter" mantra.

I still have the same thought.
No Kickstarter project.
When the CD is released, I will buy it.

alldatndensum wrote:

That's the thing--now that this has become the industry standard, we are EXPECTED to shell out some $$$ while we wait for the artist to record. Sure, it helps the artist, but why should I have to finance these projects? I bought my own gear to try to do my own projects. Why couldn't they do that and not have as much overhead?

Then again, I guess a lot of that money goes to production (mixing, mastering, studio time) as opposed to the rest of the process. I could make an album at pretty much no cost, but it wouldn't sound very good.