What Other Ventures Could Be Crowd-Funded

[stonetalker.livejournal.com]

I have a friend who ghost writes articles, and gets paid very poorly for doing so. It seems to me that there has to be a better way of getting writing skills funded, and I know ysabetwordsmith does very well with her poetry fishbowls, but I'm wondering if crowd-funding cannot be done to take writing and other skills to their next level of evolution.

Looking at the different angles, here's what I deduced.
1) Writers love to write
2) Readers enjoy reading
3) Writers need to be paid
4) Not everyone who reads can afford to purchase an entire work
5) The amount of free downloaded music on the web makes me think this applies to music.
6) Further thought leads me to think that this applies to nearly any skill or art form.

Rather than getting paid a royalty by a publishing house in a lump sum, and then that publisher (or agent or gallery -- whatever fits) handle the marking and revenue of the item, in some instances it just makes sense for the creator to do it themselves.

Let's take a knitting pattern, for example. It could be included in a collection of patterns by the same designer, or it could be sold to a publishing house who can put it in an anthology from different designers. Could it be crowd-funded? The designer shows a picture of the completed item and gives a brief description of its history and purpose, maybe citing materials used. As donations come in, the instructions, along with photos and step by step progress, can be uploaded. This way the designer gets paid for their work, the item is funded, and once the financial goal has been reached it can be available for free distribution. It seems that this way, everyone benefits.

It is my belief that many other items can be funded by crowd-sourcing. At our house we do needlework, soap-making, brewing, pottery, and a host of other hands on activities. I see the potential for crowd-sourcing in all of them, and certainly plan on giving this more thought.

Comments

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

There are many possibilities! Anything that can draw an audience can be crowdfunded. Just this week I've been talking with various people about crowdfunding nonfiction and bellydance. I've done a very little crowdfunding of photography. I would love to see more ideas for far-out projects.

Re: Yes...

[stonetalker.livejournal.com]

Here's where I hit a stumbling block.

An artist paints a picture, and people crowd-fund that project from design to completion.

Does the artist keep the rights to the finished item, and if so, how ethical is it to then sell it in a gallery, in an online store, or to a private buyer?

(And just to point out, I really don't have any reservations to chipping in a dollar here and a fiver there to see something grow, and then buy the finished project outright; but would other people object to something they had funded being sold again? Would they see it as being sold 'twice?')

Food for thought!

Re: Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>Does the artist keep the rights to the finished item, and if so, how ethical is it to then sell it in a gallery, in an online store, or to a private buyer?<<

That depends on the project. Different creators sell different rights or products. Some possibilities:

1) Initial donations crowdfund the materials to make the painting. The artist posts a low-resolution image for everyone to enjoy. Donors get a hi-res image. The finished painting is sold as an original, and this is what pays for the artist's time/skill.

2) Initial donations pay for materials and time/skill. The artist posts text descriptions of progress. Donors get a free electronic copy. Several hardcopy products (cards, posters, mouse pads, etc.) are made with the image for anyone who wants to buy one. The artist keeps the original painting.

3) Initial donations pay for materials and time/skill. The artist posts snapshots in progress. The finished painting is auctioned and proceeded donated to charity.

It's important for the creator to describe clearly what the arrangements are, so that people know what they're going to get.

In my Poetry Fishbowl: Anyone can post a prompt for free. Prompters usually get to see at least one of the poems written from their prompts (but can't share it). Any amount of donation can be routed into the general fund, and the audience gets to vote on what poetry to fund with that money. You can sponsor or cosponsor a poem -- and sponsors get nonexclusive reprint rights, so they may reprint their poem on their own blog if they wish, etc. Sponsored poems are published on my blog for everyone to see.

I've got a couple poetic series that will be released in print eventually. The individual poems are already paid for. I'll still want something from the publisher, or possibly the audience in crowdfunding, to assemble those books because it'll take time to compile a manuscript including extras, proof it, etc. Then the book will be released in hardcopy. Donors would probably get some kind of perk -- a listing in the book, a special bookmark, a discount; I don't know, it'll depend on circumstances.

Artwork (or writing, etc.) and products aren't quite the same things. See The Three Micahs series on "Pricing (http://mcahogarth.blogspot.com/2011/04/pricing-or-99-cent-e-book-part-1.html)" in which haikujaguar explains that "art has value, products cost money." If you sell a screensaver for $1 and a print for $20, that's not the same product even if it features the same artwork. And one secret to small-business success IS figuring out how to get repeated sales from the same work.

The way you pitch this to your audience is, "Okay, folks, the work is done. Yay us! Now you get to pick which way you want to take it home." Crowdfunding audiences like choices.

Re: Yes...

[stonetalker.livejournal.com]

Those are all very valid points.

Perhaps, when I am ready to take the plunge, you can help me put together a crowd-sourced plan for my pottery?

Re: Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

That's a possibility.

*ponder* I've actually seen someone touch on crowdfunding for ceramics, using audience input to decide which glazes to buy. That would be one way to start: "I have these X colors, these Y types of object and these Z decoration motifs. Which would you like first?" Then make some of the most popular models.

Another cool thing about ceramics is that it's easy to customize, such as by glazing or stamping a name onto it. Phrases, sayings, or verses would be more complicated but can be made to work on certain items such as plaques.

Re: Yes...

[meeksp.livejournal.com]

Legally, the artist always keeps the rights unless working under a contract that explicitly states otherwise. The physical artwork, if any, is separate from the right to reproduce the image, so buying a painting, for example, doesn't automatically mean that you're allowed to sell prints of it, nor does it prevent the artist from doing so.

When dealing with publishers, artwork is usually licensed rather than sold, and royalties are paid to the artist in exchange for a grant of specific usage rights. Any additional use requires more rights to be granted, with corresponding payment. So, for example, a publisher might license a painting for use on the jacket of the first edition hardcover version of a book, and agree to pay the artist a certain percent of the list price of every copy sold. If the publisher then wants to use the same painting for the cover of the paperback edition, they need to get the artist's permission again, and agree on royalty payments for those as well. The same is true of any related merchandise whether it's T-shirts, posters, bookmarks, or coffee mugs.

The Three Micahs column that Elizabeth linked to does a pretty good job of showing how the same principle can apply to crowdfunding, by focusing on selling products rather than artwork.

Re: Yes...

[stonetalker.livejournal.com]

Those are excellent comments, thank you!