New Jersey Stage August 2014 | Page 65

INSIDE MUSIC by Rosemary Conte Crowdfunding the Arts Zak Danger Brown, Columbus, Ohio, an Internet jokester, ran a Kickstarter campaign to raise $10 to make a bowl of potato salad. Four days into the month-long campaign, he had raised $32,000. It ended at $44,000! Another Kickstarter campaign was for promoting rape-based card game that has players rape their way through an allgirls school. It raised $30,000 before it was cancelled by Kickstarter for being too sexy. Reading this, a serious singer/ songwriter, author, or painter might think that if stupid and depraved can attract great sums of money, surely an attempt to drop something beautiful upon the masses could do as well. But---as the song says, “It ain’t necessarily so.” I’ve supported and followed some Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns, and have done some research. I’ve found that the crowdfunding craze has grown a pioneer mentality. Campaigners are eager to share lessons they’ve learned, to help others succeed. An Internet search will find such pioneers as well as many crowdfunding sites that feature tutorials and offer strategies for a successful campaign. Filmmaker Jack Ballo is running Visit us online at http://www.NewJerseyStage.com pg 65