As you may or may not know, I'm an independent, unsigned musician. I shut down my website company and gave up everything this year to do what I love with my life, and my only sources of income now are: playing shows, selling merch, and getting donations through my website. Occasionally I will run an auction to try to raise money for an upcoming tour, or recording, or buying more merchandise, or paying bills, etc.
Well, I'm leaving for a 60-day solo tour in a little over two weeks, and I have to buy a car to tour in, plus pay for posters/flyers, ads to promote the tour, XS shirts that I forgot to re-order, a plane ticket for my tour assistant, shipping my equipment back to LA to start the tour, and a bunch of other random stuff before I hit the road (this shit is expensive, people -- especially when it's just one person in the band). I'm also trying to pay off a few outstanding invoices for G,NA shirts and hoodies for this year's tours, a $2,500 publicity campaign last year that got me one interview in two-and-a-half months (note: don't ever hire a publicist unless you're famous), and CDs for Warped Tour -- all while making sure my cell phone and health insurance bills get paid.
So, I'm taking a survey to find out what would be interesting and valuable enough that you would be comfortable donating $20+, $50+, or even $100+ to a band's tour fund. Some ideas I've gotten so far include:
1) A personalized video of the band playing an acoustic version of your favorite song, with a dedication at the beginning of the video (to you, or to your friend/gf/bf/etc). Worth: $100+
2) A full-color limited edition poster that is numbered (X of 50) and signed by both the poster artist and the band. Worth: $50+
3) A customized piece of merchandise (handmade shirt that says whatever you want, etc). Worth: $50+
4) A flash drive loaded with music videos, a live recording of a show, desktop wallpapers, and any other b-side music available. Worth: $20+
What do you think?
10 comments:
I would totally go for both the poster and the flash drive, that's super awesome. The video is an awesome idea too! :D when's the auction?
I like the poster idea, but I'm a sucker for lithographs. The flash drive is cool. What about autographed set lists or show laminates for $20-$50 each. Or backstage passes. Just tossing out ideas.
i like gabe's idea. and the poster idea. what about $100 for a brand commercial?
I would REALLY need to love a band to fork out money for one of these things, though I do think it's a much better idea than just asking for donations and getting nothing in return. I think if you lowered the prices (i.e. $20 for a video, not $100), you'd "sell" more of those. Few people are going to drop $100 for a video, where as $20 or even $30 seems more reasonable. Yes, potentially this means more work for you, but you also need to be realistic. Plus, more "work" means you're on more people's computers and you're the talk of more people's blogs, etc. With lithographs or jump drives, things you need to pay for, there should be a minimum, but something that you can do for little to nothing (aka for just your time) should be a minimum of something you're comfortable with, and perhaps a suggested donation. Yeah, some people will go minimum, but like I said, if it helps get people talking about you, it's all gain.
For you... I would buy all of it. I just want you out there on tour so I can go watch! However, I really personally like the custom CD at $100+.
I am so poor, but these are great ideas. I would totally save up for the video. Play lots of shows, push the merch.
You could do personalized post it notes for like 5 bucks for the people that can't afford more. That might be a cool way to get a few extra dollars here and there.
Post a ton of stuff on ebay? I have so much stuff to get rid of. Or your fans could sell one thing of theirs on ebay and you get the proceeds. Or you could do small art prints and sign them. I'd be willing to sell two of the dogs. Cheap. Especially the one that barks all day. Also, if anyone wants to buy some fantastic flower seeds from your mountain garden, I have ten thousand of those. I guess you could autograph flower seeds. ??? I'll bake cookies. This post was stupid. Now you hate me. Love, Mom (Looking for delete button)
maybe $100 gets you all of the above. To entice the $50 spenders to bump up.
a personalized, custom song (somewhere around the 2 minute range- short & sweet) for $50. just record it & email it- no shipping charges! woot! charge more for a longer song, or to burn it to a customized CD with the person's favorite G,NA songs (& autograph it of course).
$30 for a custom G,NA t-shirt with a short personalization (up to 10 extra characters or something). $50 for a custom G,NA hoodie with up to 15 extra characters (your hoodies are delicious!)
$20 for a customized postcard print with hand-written song lyrics (you could order these cheap thru vistaprint.)
I really like the signed poster idea, but what would it be of, exactly? Some possible ideas include, but are not limited to: the current album artwork, something original (i.e. an artist's interpretation of a song or the band), or of a specific concert event.
Personally, I'd ideally go with the gig poster because that's very special and it'd be a very unique artwork that someone could take home with them to always remember the show/experience. That would, however, seem to be somewhat expensive and time-consuming, but I'd be willing to bet there are fans who would pay extra for it (I know I would).
Best,
Nigel
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