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ted.com

10

Mar

2010

Crowdfunding for Creativity

By Maria Popova

Success via strangers, or what Transylvania has to do with an 8-bit tribute to Miles Davis.

One of the most exciting things about the social web is its tendency to democratize the creative industry, allowing creators — artists, musicians, publishers, filmmakers, writers, entrepreneurs — to bypass the traditional industry distribution model and self-publish their creative output by crowdfunding it through platforms that connect them with their audience. Today, we look at three brilliant platforms for funding creative projects, plus a few more options specific to narrower creative fields.

KICKSTARTER

We’ve already featured Kickstarter extensively, but suffice it to say this brilliantly simple yet remarkably slick platform makes it as easy for creators to bring their visions to life by collecting pledges — promised donation amounts — from supporters. Creators set a donation period for each project posted for funding, then people begin pledging money, committing to donate the promised amount if the project reaches or exceeds its funding goal before time expires. If it doesn’t, no money is collected at all and the pledges simply don’t materialize. If the project does get funded, Kickstarter only takes a 5% fee* and project owners keep 100% of creative ownership.

Kickstarter has funded anything from the brilliant 8-bit map of NYC, which we raved about on Twitter, to the The Obama Timecapsule project, which we featured in our curated gift guide to books last year, to a grassroots effort to save 10,000 Polyvinyl records from destruction, a project that resonated so much with the community that it was overfunded by 1563%, raising over $15,000 after an initial goal of just $1,000.

The only drawback: Kickstarter, still in Beta, is currently invite-only and requires a US bank account and mailing address. But we suspect the platform will open up significantly as it reaches Alpha.

ROCKETHUB

While we don’t generally support replica projects — which RocketHub seems to be of Kickstarter — this relative newcomer in grassroots crowdfunding does have a couple of advantages. Projects aren’t limited to the US — so long as you have a verified PayPal account, you can live anywhere and fuel your project with RocketHub. The platform is also open to anyone, no invitation needed.

But this extra liberty comes at a price — at 8%, RocketHub’s fee is significantly higher than Kickstarter’s, partly due to PayPal fees, which account for 3.5%.*

*Correction: Kickstarter charges a flat fee of 5%, but also passes along the Amazon Payments transactional fees (3%-5%) to the artists who use the platform, for a total fee anywhere between 8% and 10%. RocketHub charges a flat total fee of 8%. We apologize for the mix-up.

INDIE GOGO

Though limited to film only, IndieGoGo offers a promising platform for filmmakers, animators and web video entrepreneurs to fund their projects. The online social marketplace connect filmmakers and fans to make more independed film happen, giving filmmakers the necessary tools to make the elevator pitch for their porjects and allowing fans to contridubute directly to the films and causes they believe in.

IndieGogo is free to sign up and open to anyone. Unlike on Kickstarter, projects don’t have an expiration date and funding is ongoing until the goal is reached.

One of IndieGogo’s winning points is that it’s not US-only — it’s available in 90 countries and counting. And though it’s designed for film, anyone can use it — musicians, app developers, miscellaneous entrepreneurs.

The downside: It takes a 9% fee, almost double that of Kickstarter.

BONUS

Here are a few more options for funding projects in specific creative disciplines:

  • Society6 matches visual artists — designers, painters, illustrators, photographers — with grant-givers. We interviewed founder Justin Wills about the platform last year, and have been delighted to see it blossom into something quite substantial.
  • SellABand allows fans to microfund the recording and distribution of their favorite artists’ albums.
  • Kopernik, which we featured last week, offers a microfunding platform for product design with a humanitarian focus.
  • Spot.Us is a nonprofit experiment in communitiy-funded journalism, where freelance journalists can pitch story ideas and readers can pitch in money to bring them to life.
  • Authonomy is an effort from publisher Harper Collins, using the wisdom of the crowd to spot — and sign — the next big bestseller.
  • BuskerLabel, another crowdfunding venue for musicians.
  • microPledge helps developers fund software projects.
  • DonorsChoose offers microfunding for public schools by matching donors with specific classroom needs.

Psst, we’ve launched a fancy weekly newsletter. It comes out on Sundays, offers the week’s articles, and features five more tasty bites of web-wide interestingness. Here’s an example. Like? Sign up.

You may also enjoy:

  • Kickstarter: Crowdsourced Culture-Funding A brilliant new platform for funding ideas and creative endeavors for artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists, inventors, bloggers, and other creative explorers....
  • Kopernik: Crowdfunding World-Changing Design Revolutionary new social platform connects breakthrough technologies with those whose lives they will better the most, harnessing the power of crowdsourced microfunding....
  • Invisible Children + La Blogotheque + You Invisible Children partners with La Blogotheque to end the child soldier epidemic in Uganda...
  • Meta-Vinyl Creativity We love vinyl. And we love people who channel their love for vinyl into something tremendously creative. Here are 3 such vinyl visionaries we just can't get enough of....
  • The Creators Project A new network celebrating global creativity and culture across media, spotlighting over 80 of the world's most compelling creators across a wide range of disciplines....

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 5:21 am in art, culture, film, free market, software and was tagged , , , .

83 Responses

  1. Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain http://url4.eu/1jZhZ

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    sponso_RING on March 10th, 2010 at 5:38 am

  2. RT @brainpicker: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms for microfunding creative projects http://ow.ly/1gqeL

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    amalucky on March 10th, 2010 at 6:30 am

  3. RT @brainpicker: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms for microfunding creative projects http://ow.ly/1gqeL

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    CrisUy on March 10th, 2010 at 6:34 am

  4. Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms for microfunding creative projects http://ow.ly/1gqeL (via @brainpicker)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    tsevis on March 10th, 2010 at 6:35 am

  5. RT @tsevis: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms for microfunding creative projects http://ow.ly/1gqeL (via @brainpicker)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    jellygr on March 10th, 2010 at 6:41 am

  6. RT @tsevis: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms for microfunding creative projects http://ow.ly/1gqeL (via @brainpicker)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    ThirdEye3 on March 10th, 2010 at 6:44 am

  7. RT @juliaxgulia RT @brainpicker: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms for microfunding creative projects http://ow.ly/1gqeL

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    MoHDI on March 10th, 2010 at 6:45 am

  8. Pretty groovy–>> RT @brainpicker: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms for microfunding creative projects http://ow.ly/1gqeL

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    KammieK on March 10th, 2010 at 6:45 am

  9. RT @brainpicker: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms for microfunding creative projects http://ow.ly/1gqeL

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    ciberesfera on March 10th, 2010 at 6:59 am

  10. RT @ciberesfera: RT @brainpicker: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms for microfunding creative projects http://ow.ly/1gqeL

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    ptgirlgeeks on March 10th, 2010 at 7:17 am

  11. These are just 2 of my favorite things. Brainpickings covering Kickstarter. If you’re unaware of either, check’em out! http://bit.ly/aM7Cm4

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    LenKendall on March 10th, 2010 at 7:26 am

  12. LOVE LOVE LOVE Kickstarter. I’m so happy they are gaining visibility.

    Len Kendall on March 10th, 2010 at 7:26 am

  13. RT @juliaxgulia: Nice! RT @brainpicker: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms for microfunding creative projects http://ow.ly/1gqeL

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    5easypieces on March 10th, 2010 at 8:11 am

  14. RT @brainpicker: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms for microfunding creative projects http://ow.ly/1gqeL

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    HeidiMcCulloch on March 10th, 2010 at 8:21 am

  15. Crowdfunding for Creativity http://ff.im/-hhzPx

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    photosynth on March 10th, 2010 at 11:29 am

  16. Crowdfunding for Creativity http://ff.im/-hhzPx

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    CrowdfundingBot on March 10th, 2010 at 12:02 pm

  17. RT @tedsv: RT @brainpicker Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms for #microfunding #creative projects http://ow.ly/1gqeL #socent

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    ricardopeach on March 10th, 2010 at 12:28 pm

  18. If you missed it earlier: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms to microfund your creative endeavors http://is.gd/a9W6q

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    brainpicker on March 10th, 2010 at 2:08 pm

  19. RT @brainpicker If you missed it earlier: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms to microfund your creative endeavors http://is.gd/a9W6q

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    piscosour on March 10th, 2010 at 2:10 pm

  20. Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms to microfund your creative endeavors http://is.gd/a9W6q ( via @brainpicker – thx. AGAIN)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    edwardharran on March 10th, 2010 at 2:10 pm

  21. RT @edwardharran: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms to microfund your creative endeavors http://is.gd/a9W6q via @brainpicker

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    kaskadia on March 10th, 2010 at 2:11 pm

  22. RT @brainpicker: If you missed it earlier: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms to microfund your creative endeavors http://is.gd/a9W6q

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    rafaeleminero on March 10th, 2010 at 2:12 pm

  23. RT @edwardharran: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms to microfund your creative endeavors http://is.gd/a9W6q ( via @brainpicker …

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    lozz on March 10th, 2010 at 2:13 pm

  24. RT @brainpicker: If you missed it earlier: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms to microfund your creative endeavors http://is.gd/a9W6q

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    The6thMyth on March 10th, 2010 at 2:16 pm

  25. RT @edwardharran: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms to microfund your creative endeavors http://is.gd/a9W6q ( via @brainpicker …

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    Mia_Will on March 10th, 2010 at 2:16 pm

  26. Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms to microfund your creative endeavors http://is.gd/a9W6q via @brainpicker #crowdfunding

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    mokpovia on March 10th, 2010 at 2:26 pm

  27. @adamforslund Crowdfunding options that arenKickstarter… maybe. http://bit.ly/d4b8uw

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    TheCulprit on March 10th, 2010 at 2:32 pm

  28. RT @brainpicker: If you missed it earlier: Crowdfunding for Creativity; 11 platforms to microfund your creative endeavors http://is.gd/a9W6q

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    BlackEyeDesign on March 10th, 2010 at 2:36 pm

  29. RT @edwardharran: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms to microfund your creative endeavors http://is.gd/a9W6q

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    beaney on March 10th, 2010 at 2:45 pm

  30. @NurtureGirl @juneholley @kanter will research these, too: Crowdfunding for Creativity http://is.gd/a9W6q HT@edwardharran via @brainpicker

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    CDEgger on March 10th, 2010 at 2:45 pm

  31. RT @CDEgger: @NurtureGirl @juneholley @kanter will research these, too: Crowdfunding for Creativity http://is.gd/a9W6q HT@edwardharran v …

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    kanter on March 10th, 2010 at 2:59 pm

  32. RT @brainpicker: If you missed it earlier: Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms to microfund your creative endeavors http://is.gd/a9W6q

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    sickonthenet on March 10th, 2010 at 3:02 pm

  33. Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms for microfunding creative projects http://ow.ly/1gqeL (via @brainpicker)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    loopdiloop on March 10th, 2010 at 4:59 pm

  34. Awesome! RT @loopdiloop Crowdfunding for Creativity – 11 platforms for microfunding creative projects http://ow.ly/1gqeL (via @brainpicker)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    welessthanthree on March 10th, 2010 at 5:13 pm

  35. Crowdfunding for creativity–3 ways to find support for your project: http://bit.ly/avG8k3

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    Jerzy on March 10th, 2010 at 5:25 pm

  36. Crowdfunding for creativity–3 ways to find support for your project: http://bit.ly/avG8k3 (via @Jerzy)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    jamiegambell on March 10th, 2010 at 5:28 pm

  37. Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain for i… http://bit.ly/bUW3fk

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    wecrowdfund on March 10th, 2010 at 7:17 pm

  38. Fantastic read, thanks, BrainPickings!: Crowdfunding for Creativity http://ow.ly/1q5bId

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    svetlina_dr on March 11th, 2010 at 2:31 am

  39. Fantastic read, thanks, BrainPickings!: Crowdfunding for Creativity http://ow.ly/1q5bId http://bit.ly/99OlUd

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    CrowdfundingBot on March 11th, 2010 at 3:11 am

  40. RT @brainpicker – Crowdfunding for Creativity – http://ow.ly/1q5bId

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    CreatvEmergence on March 11th, 2010 at 3:13 am

  41. RT @CreatvEmergence: RT @brainpicker – Crowdfunding for Creativity – http://ow.ly/1q5bId

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    PhilMcCreight on March 11th, 2010 at 3:33 am

  42. very cool! Crowdfunding for Creativity http://bit.ly/9X43mM

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    CertificateSt on March 11th, 2010 at 4:52 am

  43. Got a great idea for a creative project, but no cash to pay for it? Crowdfund it! Here are 3 ways how: http://bit.ly/aIA8BO

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    jorfanon on March 11th, 2010 at 5:25 am

  44. very cool! Crowdfunding for Creativity http://bit.ly/9X43mM

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    CrowdfundingBot on March 11th, 2010 at 7:12 am

  45. RT @brainpicker Crowdfunding for Creativity http://ow.ly/1q5bId

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    A3Munier on March 11th, 2010 at 8:13 am

  46. Crowd funding for creativity: http://bit.ly/9IUlCy Via @brainpicker

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    firefluff on March 11th, 2010 at 8:18 am

  47. RT @CDEgger: @NurtureGirl @juneholley @kanter will research these, too: Crowdfunding for Creativity http://is.gd/a9W6q HT@edwardharran v …

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    emahlee on March 11th, 2010 at 9:23 am

  48. RT @brainpicker Crowdfunding for Creativity http://ow.ly/1q5bId

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    krokrocket on March 11th, 2010 at 9:34 am

  49. @ebertchicago More microfunding sources: http://ow.ly/1gqeL
    /via @brainpickings

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    TrixiePuffPuff on March 12th, 2010 at 7:59 pm

  50. Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain http://url4.eu/1lwqt

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    crowd_housing on March 12th, 2010 at 8:54 pm

  51. Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain http://url4.eu/1lwqw

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    crowd__funding on March 12th, 2010 at 8:54 pm

  52. Son Jed’s new venture RocketHub.com takes off! Check out #2 ranking on brainpickings.org: Crowdfunding for Creativity http://shar.es/moWbB

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    katefrankcohen on March 13th, 2010 at 9:00 am

  53. RT @crowd__funding: Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain http://url4.eu/1lwqw

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    tiffanyshlain on March 13th, 2010 at 9:31 am

  54. The Associated Press: Swiss media: 60 people report abuses by priests http://bit.ly/9rdgUb

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    EttieKellie on March 13th, 2010 at 9:31 am

  55. Crowdfunding for Creativity http://bit.ly/alTvBx Every indie filmmaker should read!

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    chrisdorr on March 14th, 2010 at 10:00 am

  56. Crowdfunding for Creativity http://bit.ly/alTvBx Every indie filmmaker should read! http://bit.ly/bgAZFc

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    CrowdfundingBot on March 14th, 2010 at 10:51 am

  57. Crowdfunding for creativity = 3 brilliant platforms for funding creative projects @brainpicker http://bit.ly/bg8nmp

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    CrisPopenoe on March 14th, 2010 at 3:23 pm

  58. RT @brainpicker Crowdfunding for Creativity http://ow.ly/1q5bId

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    creinelt on March 15th, 2010 at 2:14 pm

  59. Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain http://url4.eu/1rD7b

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    crowd__funding on March 18th, 2010 at 3:36 pm

  60. Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain http://url4.eu/1rTCZ

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    crowd__funding on March 18th, 2010 at 10:00 pm

  61. Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain http://url4.eu/1rTCX

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    crowd_housing on March 18th, 2010 at 10:00 pm

  62. Overview of crowdfunding websites / initiatives: “Crowdfunding for Creativity” #businessmodels http://bit.ly/bhDLXv (by @brainpicker)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    lottebelice on March 19th, 2010 at 2:38 am

  63. RT @lottebelice: Overview of crowdfunding websites / initiatives: “Crowdfunding for Creativity” http://bit.ly/bhDLXv (by @brainpicker)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    the_archive on March 19th, 2010 at 2:39 am

  64. Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain http://url4.eu/1rk6B

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    crowd__funding on March 19th, 2010 at 4:44 am

  65. Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain http://url4.eu/1rk6A

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    crowd_housing on March 19th, 2010 at 4:44 am

  66. Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain http://url4.eu/1sALV

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    crowd__funding on March 19th, 2010 at 1:40 pm

  67. Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain http://url4.eu/1sALU

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    crowd_housing on March 19th, 2010 at 1:40 pm

  68. Clear visuals & ideas on how socnets can cooperate to advanced shared aims http://ow.ly/1q5bId h/t @creinelt cc @cdegger @venessamiemis

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    openworld on March 19th, 2010 at 3:43 pm

  69. Thx to @benzeigler’s blog for great visuals & ideas (Tweeted earlier) on how groups can join to advanced shared aims http://ow.ly/1q5bId

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    openworld on March 19th, 2010 at 4:55 pm

  70. RT: @openworld: Thx to @benzeigler’s blog for great visuals & ideas on how groups can join to advanced shared aims http://ow.ly/1q5bId

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    interlinguas on March 19th, 2010 at 5:14 pm

  71. RT @openworld how groups can join to advanced shared aims http://ow.ly/1q5bId #222453

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    markjbradford on March 19th, 2010 at 6:03 pm

  72. Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain http://url4.eu/1t9fZ

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    crowd__funding on March 20th, 2010 at 8:44 pm

  73. Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain http://url4.eu/1t9fY

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    crowd_housing on March 20th, 2010 at 8:44 pm

  74. Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain http://url4.eu/1tCGc

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    crowd_housing on March 20th, 2010 at 10:16 pm

  75. Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain http://url4.eu/1tCGd

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    crowd__funding on March 20th, 2010 at 10:16 pm

  76. Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain http://url4.eu/1tGrJ

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    crowd__funding on March 21st, 2010 at 12:58 am

  77. Crowdfunding for Creativity | Brain Pickings: Interestingness, curated – picking culture’s collective brain http://url4.eu/1tGrI

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    crowd_housing on March 21st, 2010 at 12:58 am

  78. RT @lottebelice: Overview of crowdfunding websites / initiatives: “Crowdfunding for Creativity” #businessmodels http://bit.ly/bhDLXv

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    johanoomen on March 21st, 2010 at 4:59 am

  79. Not sure I acknowledged this. Thx for cc. Had discovered via @edwardharran whose work I think you’d enjoy RT@openworld: http://ow.ly/1q5bId

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    CDEgger on March 21st, 2010 at 6:07 am

  80. [...] we are all for liberalizing, democratizing and de-institutionalizing the arts, we have to wonder whether a centralized effort [...]

  81. [...] seen how the web has democratized creative entrepreneurship and revolutionized the production and distribution of music and art. Today, we’re looking at [...]

  82. [...] The film, a nonprofit project, was funded entirely through Kickstarter, of which we’ve been longtime proponents as one of the most potent platforms for crowdfunding creative ventures. [...]

  83. A crowd-funding platform for fashion designers http://fashionstake.com launches on Sep 1st.

    shehab on August 28th, 2010 at 4:21 pm

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