To Tennessee - Hitting the Road with Crowdfunding
The thought of fundraising had never entered our minds when we began planning this tour. Originally the tour started out as a brief and very low budget trip through Tennessee where we would book a few shows, work with local musicians (we couldn’t afford to take a full band down) and eat a lot of barbeque. It's always been a dream to perform in Tennessee as our music is so deeply influenced by the various musical traditions of that state with the Appalachian mountain music influence in Knoxville to the east, the country music tradition and recording legacy of Nashville in the center of the state and the fundamental impact of the blues in Memphis as the first stop up the Mississippi river from the delta. The idea of playing music in these cities started out as not much more than an exciting trip.
As we started planning our trip, bigger and better opportunities kept presenting themselves and what started out as a brief, low budget tour turned into an important chance to take a big career step forward. Pretty soon it became clear that in order to make the most out of these opportunities we would need some serious funds to make it all happen. We were able to book some amazing venues and concerts, from a live radio performance, to some very hip clubs, to a supposedly haunted dive bar/performance space. In order to appropriately promote these gigs we needed funding. We were also put in touch with some incredible musicians across the state and, while it was still much cheaper than bringing down a band, in order to pay them appropriately we would need a significant budget. The chance to work with these amazing musicians in great venues seemed like an unmissable opportunity to try to get some important press coverage for the tour and the music and to make the trip a career move in addition to an great experience.
We quickly realized that funding this project out of pocket wouldn’t be possible, yet the opportunities seemed too important to pass up. After (unsuccessfully) racking our brains for a rich uncle it became clear that fundraising via crowdsourcing was our best option.
This was our first time doing any kind of crowdfunding, so it felt like we were pioneering throughout the whole process! However, right away we realized that this particular campaign was going to be a challenge because it wasn't a product based project. We were very wary of asking fans and friends to contribute to a project that didn't have a direct gain for themselves. It was very different than, say, crowdsourcing to fund an album or film or comic book, where donors contribute to a product that they will ultimately receive.
Our solution was to mix tour themed incentives with some “non-Pete Lanctot” related ones. We’ve designed tote bags and stickers (logo to be released soon!) specifically for the tour to give out as thank you gifts to backers, as well as offering personally written postcards from Tennessee, and personal thank you videos shot from the tour. We also will be raffling off an iPad and offering free music lessons and our services playing classical/jazz music for special events (we’re both music teachers and play in a lot of weddings on the side). We are also sending out signed copies of the album, “The Best of the Bantam Years” which we handmade to look like 45s for any contribution of $10 or more, which seemed like a nice personal touch.
So far the support has really been amazing. We’re just around 60% of the way there with a few weeks left. We are blown away and so grateful to the fans that have contributed. One of the most surprising things we've experienced is that a number of old friends that had fallen out of touch have not only contributed to the project but have also reconnected with us. It’s been great to catch up with some old friends and many of them have been turned on to the music. It’s really been an exciting campaign so far and we’ve had our first few viral contributions in the past few days. People off of our mailing list and non-facebook friends have started to contribute. We’re trying hard to take this process one step at a time.
For success, be genuine, personable and humble. Spend the time to contact your fans and supporters directly to let them know what’s going on. Send a personal email to let them know what you are trying to do and how they can help. Even if they can’t donate, maybe they can pass the project on to someone who can.
Be very clear about why you need the support and specific about what the funding will go towards. For us, this tour is an amazing opportunity to gain new fans, work with some amazing musicians and get some really important press, and we’re really hoping it will be a big career step forward. It’s been extremely important to us since we first decided to crowdsource for this tour that it be very productive and not come off as a vanity project. I hope that the emphasis we have placed on articulating that has been a big asset to this campaign.
Choose good incentives. Your friends, family and fans support you because they like you (and hopefully believe in you). If they wanted a car wash, or a new iPad, or a taxidermy prairie dog or a trip to Bermuda they could go out and buy it for themselves. The prizes are probably not their main motivation for support. That said, good incentives certainly don’t hurt. Be creative about your prizes, make them personal, but most importantly, make sure that they are useful. You don’t have to offer a new Corvette, but it’s important for your thank you gifts to pass the “would anyone actually want this?” test. That being said, since writing this, the taxidermy prairie dog seems more and more enticing. Stay tuned, a new prize level may be on the way...
- Pete Lanctot & Ginger Dolden, Musical Innovators