Back in September 2006, I came across a site called Sellaband as a result of it being mentioned in several Yahoo news articles. I didn't actually take a really good look at the site until October though, when I got a friend request on Myspace from an artist who was actually signed up to the place.
Even in those early days, it was a common sight to see people wondering why some artists seemed to find it easy to get money and others with seemingly better music (or better quality of music) would get completely ignored. With the introduction of incentives, this situation has not only remained, but in many ways become more pronounced. Why do some artists with incentives as good as (or better than) others seemingly get ignored, while some of the "worse deals" make their targets?
Sometimes the location has a lot to answer for e.g. if an artist is trying to raise funds on a third party site, then how much the fan trusts that site can come into play. But if we ignore location and concentrate on the incentives side of fundraising, what really does influence this target raising ability?
Novelty has a lot to answer for. In the case of Sellaband, there have been two obvious situations that I can think of where novelty resulted in funding.
The first of these is the album thankyou. Quite simply, as well as getting a CD, the idea is that your name will be listed amongst those who are thanked in the album notes.
In the early days of Sellaband, this was quite a popular incentive. Some artists even offered it as default rather than incentive, meaning you didn't need to buy any extra part(s) to get it. Just think for a moment - when was the last time you read the album notes and found the artist thanking you? Such artists landed up taking cash away from others as a result, but the novelty has pretty much died since. The reason? Largely because a) a lot of artists started doing it so it quickly became repetitive after you'd funded a few and b) when you need a magnifying glass to pick out your name among several hundred others crammed into something the size of a CD cover it doesn't even feel that special - you're just another name in the mass.
Compare that to another experience I had. When Nearfield were raising funds for their album on Sellaband, they produced another CD called "Black Board" and were using it to promote their fundraising in Portugal. Now I don't even like Nearfield's music, yet I am thanked in the album notes for "Black Board". And I had no idea that had happened until I actually saw a copy of the album! The reason for me being thanked is immaterial, rather what matters is the fact the artist had done it because they wanted to not because they were paid to do it. That's the kind of special your fans want to feel. Some may be happy to go with the incentive if it's a novelty for them, but a genuine sentiment like I had from Nearfield is worth at least a thousand "mass thankyous" in the long run any day of the week.
The second case of novelty that happened on Sellaband hinges on the idea of communication. Genuine conversation, rather than an endless stream of "listen to me" or "fund me" posts got more than one artist funded, even though there were better artists musically on the site. Don't underestimate its power, especially on the "passive" passers by you won't even be aware of.
"Passive" fans rarely go for incentives unless they are good value for money in the strictest consumer sense. "Active" fans who will readily share their opinions and talk to you via mail or social networking on a regular basis are much more likely to be persuaded into an incentive, providing you listen and respond to them. Even better, some of the "passive" are likely to join in occasionally if they can follow you communicating with others. And even better if they can see fans posting about you or talking about you with others on their own initiative and not as a result of a request from you. When others are showing signs that they get on with you and trust you will do what you say it makes it that little bit easier for a stranger to test the water and do the same.
And after all, if you aren't talking to other people now, what makes you think anyone will ever be interested in a communication-based incentive (e.g. skype performance, chance to meet the artist etc.) unless they really are a die-hard fanboy (or girl)?
If you want to escape novelty there really is only one thing to offer which has good constant appeal and that is more music. This is one incentive which can really work, but it also depends on a few different things.
Are you offering music you already have?
In this case, it's likely your existing fans will only go for this if it's something rare or something they don't already own. And for the second of these it likely means they are a recent fan, as those with a limited income probably can't afford to pay the extra for the incentive - if they had the money, there's a good chance they'd already own it. However if a stranger happens by and likes most or all of what they hear, there is a chance they'll go for this if they think the amount of extra music you're offering is worth the extra price you want for the incentive and they can afford it. The chance of a stranger going for the incentive also improves if they know of somewhere to listen to at least some of that music first. Basically you're looking at someone who is confident they'll like your music enough to want to increase their collection of your music faster and you just offered a convenient way for them to do that.
Are you offering music nobody has heard yet?
This one appeals a lot more to existing fans than it does to the random stranger who just stumbled across you. Whilst you might get a few strangers going for it anyway, the vast majority still need to make up their minds as to how "into" your music they are - they may be prepared to take a chance on an album they haven't heard before, but to pay extra (even for more music) before they've made up their minds as to how much they really like you is usually pushing it a bit too far.
Aside from "more music", incentives often don't have general appeal. They may appeal to a few people you encounter, but they usually won't appeal to the majority, regardless of whether they are existing fans or not. Something like the free backstage pass can work with existing fans, but it may also depend on country. In other words, if you have a willing fan, but you are not already a regular tourer in the country they are from, or likely to visit there any time soon, it's likely that fan is going to hold onto the extra money they would have paid you for the incentive. Likewise a DVD to go with your CD may work, but often that may come down to its contents or perceived extra value which will vary between individuals (existing fan or otherwise).
But is there a hidden jewel in the crown? Is there something a large number of fans want that artists can provide but which those fans never really mention? I think there is, but equally I believe it's something which doesn't generally work as an incentive.
Many artists I encounter seem to think the ultimate incentive is the custom song. The artist you love listening to will write a song just for you. Sounds feasible, doesn't it? But you'd be wrong. Whilst it's kind of on the right lines, the reality is something very subtly different.
You see, the big problem with this is the fact you're paying for it. And that makes it lose its shine and have less meaning. Just as with the example I gave you earlier about names in the album booklet, there is a certain novelty with the idea of a song written for you. But when anyone with the money can do it, what meaning does it have? The custom song does work when it's a gift for someone else, but in that case the emotion tends to go back in the direction of the sender rather than the artist.
So what do I think is the real jewel in the crown? Actually yes, I think you'll find a lot of people harbouring the hope that you'll write a song for or about them. But as an artist you need to understand it has to be something you want to do, not something you want people to pay you to do. It has to be done as a genuine, from the heart sentiment. And you know the really great thing about this? A lot of the time you'll find this is one of the songs your other fans like a lot, even when they don't know anything about the story behind it. Genuine sentiment transfers beyond the person it was aimed at. But this is also why the custom song doesn't work as an incentive.
This ad campaign has run in different currencies in a number of countries and it demonstrates what I'm trying to say very clearly.
And this is why you're worth less than you think. The consumer just wants their purchase and to be on their way, but for those prepared to stick around you are priceless. The former group aren't that interested in your incentives, because they haven't made a connection with you (yet), and, let's face it, there is plenty of other music around, much of it free. Why would an incentive they have to pay more for stand any chance of grabbing their attention against that, particularly if it's something they have to wait to get? As for the latter group, well, both the size of their wallets and what they already have comes into play. Chances are they may already have, or not be able to afford the incentives you're offering. Over and above that, what they're really after are the kind of things that (just like the ad) money can't buy. You can't put a price on emotion.
Whether it be number of friends on Myspace or number of "Likes" on Facebook, you as an artist need to come to terms with the fact that at one end of the scale those people just aren't into you enough to want to give you money, whereas at the other end you'll either find people who'll give you the money anyway without caring too much about the incentives (after all, like I said in my 1000 true friends post, they are your friends), or more usually can't afford to give you (as much) money. Chances are that you've overestimated your monetary value as a result by at least a factor of 10 because you have no idea of exactly how many real fans you have and/or have formed no connection with them, so have no idea of their circumstances or what really makes them tick. Incentive based funding really isn't the draw you might think, unless you are already well known and/or have a good track record that can be easily traced on the Internet when you might just stand that bit more of a chance of getting it to work.
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