Musicians finance their dreams through Kickstarter

When Brooklyn, N.Y.'s April Smith and her snappily dressed backup band took to the stage at the South by Southwest Music Festival last year, her brash, catchy, foot-stomping folk pop style, informed by the aesthetic of '30s and '40s ragtime, attracted positive attention from magazine and blog writers, including celebrity gossipmonger Perez Hilton.

Despite the media attention and a coveted spot in the Lollapalooza music festival lineup, Smith still had no record label — and thus no advance to pay for the recording of her sophomore album. The unsigned artist wasn't sure she wanted that to change.

"It seems like a real crapshoot to go with a label and take a chance that they're going to love you so much that they're going to be with you every step of the way," Smith said shortly before traveling to Austin to perform at this year's SXSW Music Festival, which kicks off today. "I just felt like if I could do it on my own, I could make the record I wanted to make and not have to answer to anyone."

So she turned to Kickstarter.com, a Brooklyn-based startup that pairs aspiring creators with financial backers, using the Internet to democratize the patronage system that's long financed works of art. Call it crowdfunding or call it micropatronage — either way, it's a new method for would-be artists, athletes and journalists, among others, to finance creative endeavors and adventures, gauging interest in their work and negating the financial risk.

Kickstarter turns 1 year old in April, making this the first SXSW where the new venture is an active player, and bands, films and events across the festivals bear the platform's distinctive boot print. Kickstarter has funded SXSW movies such as "Beijing Taxi" and "1 1/4/08" and recordings from SXSW performers including Smith and the Rural Alberta Advantage.

It's also been used to underwrite the traveling expenses of bands visiting the festival, including Sgt. Dunbar and the Hobo Banned and Lost Coves. It's facilitated several events, including the New Orleans bounce music showcase and Datapop, a two-night celebration of 8-bit video game-inspired electronic music at the Highball. And both of Kickstarter's founders are addressing panels during the conferences.

A Kickstarter creator sets a fundraising goal — in Smith's case, $10,000 — and a deadline, with a maximum of 90 days to raise the money. Each project gets its own page, where the creator keeps in touch with contributors — called "backers" — with text updates, videos, music or links. If a project hits or exceeds its goal by the deadline, all backers are simultaneously charged through Amazon Payments, and Kickstarter takes 5 percent off the top. If a project fails to meet its goals, no backers are charged, and the creator doesn't receive a penny.

Within three months, drawing on the power of social media such as Facebook and Twitter to promote her project, Smith raised $13,100 from 224 backers who contributed an average of $58 each. She's now touring behind the final product, "Songs for A Sinking Ship."

With the advent of digital music distribution — legal and illegal alike — leaving the record industry in a lurch, eyes are on services like Kickstarter for a possible way through the fog.

"Some people may look at supporting a project through Kickstarter as patronage, some may look at it as commerce, and a lot of people look at it as a little mix of both," said Perry Chen, 33, CEO and co-founder of the site. "When you're involved in a project early on, you get to, especially with the Web, see it grow and know that you are a part of its growth."

Artists offer different levels of funding incentives, in the style of a PBS pledge drive. For $50, Smith gave backers a signed copy of her album. For $100, she'd include the name of the contributor in her liner notes. For $1,000, she'd write a song about the backer — or a subject of his or her choice — and send the person five copies.

Incentives like that foster a personal connection and attract backers like Will Weider, 47, chief information officer for a chain of hospitals in Wisconsin. He was turned on to Kickstarter through a podcast and has backed seven projects, including Smith's.

"She did a really nice job personalizing her appeal. It was very noncommercial, which is really something I like about Kickstarter, that so many of its people are still getting started. It's a way to participate in a meaningful way and not just have my $11 participate in iTunes," said Weider. "And if I was being honest, there's a bit of a fantasy involved that you're maybe at the ground floor of helping out somebody who might be kind of big someday."