Amanda Palmer, a musician and performance artist shares her thoughts on how the internet is changing the way “celebrities” interact with fans. She also shares her ideas about how the music industry can be re-shaped. Through her crowd-funding efforts she managed to make more money by asking fans to donate to her project as opposed to selling her music through a record label. She gave away her music for free and asked her fans to contribute to her project in return.
I guess it’s effectively the same concept as the Secret Supper Clubs where people ask that their patrons pay what they think the food is worth as opposed to effectively forcing them to pay a set cost.
Crowd-funding has its place and purpose. For the right project it is a massive boon. However, I’m wary that we are now somehow living in a society that encourages begging on a grand scale. There are genuine projects that are great but would not otherwise be given an opportunity to come alive without the monetary support from crowds. But for every worthwhile cause, there is a project where the sole purpose is to raise huge amounts of money for very little return. It seems to be just another way to get money fast even though there may be other viable options for generating it.