I Fight Dragons – Self funding in the modern market
You’ve got a great band together, some great ideas, you’ve polished your performance, you’re happy with your sound and you’ve got the perfect 15 tracks to lay down on the debut album that’s going to be the major weapon in your assault on the charts. One problem. You haven’t got the ten grand you need to have it recorded and mastered in a professional recording studio. What’s the solution? Chicago based rockers I Fight Dragons had the rather brilliant idea of getting their fans to fund them, with a hundred dollar contribution to the recording fund buying a ‘membership’ including all the band’s previous recordings on a specially produced USB drive, “and they guarantee[d] the owner a free digital copy of anything we ever release, as well as free admission to any live show of ours now and forever. And there will only be 100 ever made.” They posted a link on their website, sent an email out to their mailing list, and the drive/membership combination sold out in 48 hrs. This is a great example of a band that’s connected with its fans, and has given a huge amount of added value to a small group of committed fans that will continue to support them throughout their career, cherish their relationship with the band, and recommend them to all their fans. Read Hypebot’s take on the matter here, and the rest of IFD Brian’s post here, on the WeAreListening blog.