From Sam

Maybe I was wrong to want to get paid.

  • July 28, 2017

Journey to Aktehi – Pledge at Kickstarter

Are we going to make it?

Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing proposition. Our project needs to reach the $7000 goal, or none of the backers are charged, and I’ve raised nothing. Not a penny goes towards creating the Journey to Aktehi CD / Cassette / Shirt.

The stakes are high this weekend!

We’re currently 68% of the way to the goal, 124 backers have pledged $4796. That means the campaign needs to raise $551 a day, for the next four days to make it.

Maybe I was overzealous? Maybe it was a mistake on my part to include a royalty payment to Mark and myself within the budget this time?

After doing eight crowd-funding campaigns, I thought it would be a cool idea to finally get paid for the work I do, creating art. That’s the thing: the budgets for my past Kickstarters have been for the manufacturing costs. The budgets never included a payment for the band or for me.

I thought this time, it would be a sweet idea to get paid. 

124 of you have pledged your support because you appreciate what I create. And that feels good. I know I write it often, but I **do** like knowing that when I take a day off work (Projekt) to create music, not only are there people that appreciate the music, but there are also people willing to put some of their money into the project to make it happen.

I know that in 2017, most people don’t pay for music and support art. My Pateron patrons have been very cool about helping me make work, and my Kickstarter backers have been very cool as well. But are there enough of you out there…. ?

To pull in that final $2201, I need 220 more backers at the $10 DIGITAL level, or 88 more backers at the $24 CD level, or 49 backers at the $45 CD & POSTER level, or 31 more backers at the $70 ALL THE PHYSICAL THINGS level….

It seems doable to me.

Remember that every pledge of $10 or more immediately gets a download of my Isotope album. It’s a 90-minute dronescape excerpted for the background of “Meditation on the Skeleton.”

I am really happy with the Journey to Aktehi album I created with Mark. I love the sound, the mood, the experience. I wish it didn’t have to be all about me asking for money. Alas, that’s the reality of the underground music business in 2017!

I hope we make the goal, but I must admit that this is a nail-biter!

Pledge at Kickstarter

thanks, Sam