Supporting Your Career in an Increasingly Small World

Chinese band Shanren have recently entered a plea of sorts on RocketHub in an effort to earn enough money to tour North America. While I have no particular allegiance to Shanren, reading about their plight did bring to mind something that I’ve often wondered.

There’s no arguing that the internet has made it easier for artists to make people aware of them but is there a down side to this?

Obviously any performer’s ultimate goal is to get their music heard by as many people as possible and, with the internet, email, and social networking this is easier than ever before.  It isn’t improbable that someone can record a track in the middle of nowhere United States and, within minutes, have that very track heard by people on every continent. The issue then becomes maintaining any momentum you may establish when you aren’t able to tour someplace.

Tours cost money. Even cheap tours cost a lot of money. There is gear to be rented or purchased, salaries to be paid, travel to account for (air and land, often) food, hotels, and anything else that may pop up along the way. In the case of Shanren, they have a following in China and are trying to establish themselves in other markets. They’ve set up their RocketHub page in an attempt to earn $5,000 to tour North America. As is the case with sites such as RocketHub and Kickstarter, varying donation levels offer different rewards. Shanren are giving away everything from signed CDs for the $50 donors, instruments made by the band for those who donate $100+, even personal house concerts for those able to donate $1000 to the cause. So far they have raised $220

Crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter and RocketHub may very well be a solution to this problem, to a degree. If people have a spare dollar or two, they’d happily donate to support a band that they love touring or recording- as has been the case with Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian) and a film project he’s been funding via Kickstarter. The problem lies with those acts still starting out.

There are many philanthropists who will gladly donate to the arts. There are many people who, like myself, may not be swimming in millions of dollars, but believe in music and those who perform it. People who will gladly give what they can to help the cause.

The question is, will it be enough or will there be more artists wondering what could have been than ever before?

To help Shanren you can go here:  http://www.rockethub.com/projects/5431-shanren-tour-shangri-la-to-north-america

To help anyone you can go here:  Rockethub.com  or Kickstarter.com