Over the last decade or so, roots music has embraced more Southern and blues rock elements, with artists like Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and American Aquarium making electric instruments fit right into the roots mainstream. But sometimes […]
It’s the holiday season and, if you’re anything like me, you’ve left your gift buying to the last minute. Never fear. You won’t have to mine the gas station on Christmas Day this year. Crowdfunding makes a great gift. […]
Crowdfunding campaigns tend to be pretty similar. In addition to the album, common backer perks tend to be things like T-shirts, stickers, hats, and handwritten lyric sheets. But a perk I’m seeing more often recently is a custom written […]
One of the things I love about doing this column is introducing new artists releasing their debut albums. But I also enjoy revisiting artists who I’ve featured before. Some crowdfund their first album out of sheer necessity. Those who […]
Music is a very small part of the crowdfunding landscape. For example, the high-water mark for funding for a music campaign on Kickstarter (Amanda Palmer) is just over $1 million. Just last year, fantasy author Brandon Sanderson raised $41 […]
As the end of summer, and the summer outdoor touring season, heads toward its end, bands begin turning their thoughts toward their next album. As a result, there’s an uptick in crowdfunding campaigns this time of year. This week, […]
When I featured three smaller campaigns in last month’s column, I hadn’t intended to counterpoint it this month with three higher-profile (and higher-dollar) campaigns. It just happened that three artists who are well-known in the roots music scene, especially […]
Summer is the slow season for crowdfunding campaigns. With artists touring the festival circuit or just playing outdoor shows, most aren’t thinking about an album until fall or winter. But in some ways, summer is my favorite time for […]
I’ve done several columns highlighting bands from outside the musical hubs of America. One of the nice things about online crowdfunding is that it’s no longer necessary to pack up and move to the Music City or any “music […]
A quote, attributed to everyone from George Bernard Shaw to Oscar Wilde, goes “youth is wasted on the young.” I think that’s a bit unfair to my friends in Gen Z and whatever we’re calling the next generation now […]
