Trying to make it in the music business is hard...really hard. You can be extremely talented, but without the right connections, your major record label debut may never come to fruition.

Many aspiring artists have attempted to make it on their own, without the support of a major label. But takes money...a lot of money. That is where crowdfunding comes in.

Several Web sites have been established to help people raise funds for various projects - inventions, business start-ups, and music projects. Some of the sites available for aspiring artists to raise funds include PledgeMusic, Sell A Band, TuneFund, ArtistShare, Indiegogo, and Kickstarter. According to an article at crowdcrux.com, the music category is one of the largest on Kickstarter with a 54% success rate.

I am writing about this because a good friend of mine talked to me about his daughter, Merci Neff. She is working on a CD, a CD that has been partially funded through Kickstarter. According to the letter I received:

Merci worked for Winshape Camp over the summer to earn money, but what she earned doesn't even cover a fraction of the costs.

Merci is not alone. Several popular artists have utilized crowdfunding sites to fund their projects. Some of these artists have not been deemed "popular enough" for the record labels to give them notice. Some have fallen out of favor with the label they had been associated with.

Click on this link to read her story and see a video telling Merci's story. There you can see how far she has come thanks to the many people that believe in her.

 

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