“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
Compromise is a tricky word, when the ground rules aren’t laid down from the get-go. While the Indian independent music scene has since established its presence over the past few years, survival is still a tricky game in this pond of raucous creativity. As an artist, it is one’s identity that is the most invaluable commodity, then who better than your fans and supporters, those who subscribe to the same ethos and find poetry in the same beats, to take your vision forward?
Indian crowdfunding platforms like Wishberry have opened up opportunities to artists that used to be unimaginable, and we find quid pro quo manifesting itself in its most glorious form. Control ALT Delete is one of the torchbearers of crowdfunding in India, organising gigs that allow fans to pay what they want to watch a fantastic lineup of alternative acts from across the country. You’d have thought this fire would’ve burnt itself out by now, but these guys are back with a gig being held at High Spirits, Pune, in a banging 7th edition that’s testament to the spirit of crowdfunding. So on the occasion of their upcoming gig, we decided to round up some of the most successful crowdsourced creative efforts which hand the power back to the two most integral parts of the live music movement - the artists and the fans.
“There was an element of “Wow, there's a great show tonight and I'm going, my friends will be there and there are some really cool acts performing!" and that’s where the interaction with the fans would end. No interaction with the gig itself,”
“We wanted the CAD gig experience to be interactive to the level that people actually made a gig they wanted to see, happen. Crowdfunding seemed to be the best way to do this. Telling people to actually put their money to good use instead of arm chair criticism.”
"Instamojo has been an incredible support for us. They are helping us big time with their contribution towards Control ALT Delete's digital marketing."
“My experience with crowdfunding has been great,”
“There is a transparency and a sense of ownership that contributors get which is unmatched. I find this amazing! However, I also realize that you cannot put up shit content or unrealistic targets and expect people to fund it. Neither can you not send out the promised rewards to your contributors. No one is stupid, and things like this will not sustain your future crowdfunding efforts.”
The poster for the 7th edition of Control ALT Delete taking place in Pune.
“Respect your contributors,”
“That is most important.”
You heard him, this is where you need to head to contribute and get tons of merch and privileges in return.
II) Vasuda Sharma’s ‘Stay Attuned’ Campaign
“If your product along with your presentation is appealing and honest, it will always work,”
“I was willing to take a chance and it also served as one of the ways to validate what I was doing,”
“We are all scared of failure and starting such a campaign in a country like India where the concept of crowd-funding is new to people, this was indeed a challenge.”
III) Skyharbor's Pledge Campaign for their 'Guiding Lights' Album
“Crowdfunding is the way of the future. It really puts the power in the hands of the fans,”
“Five months ago, we posted out from our Facebook page that we were very hesitant to approach the idea of a Pledge campaign, as we felt it was something like asking for handouts,”
“We obviously hadn’t been paying much attention, because we received an overwhelmingly positive response towards crowdfunding the album, and most of you strongly encouraged us to do it. Which got us thinking again – maybe all our visions for the album don’t have to be a pipe dream – because if you guys are willing to be a part of the creation, then there’s literally nothing to stop us!”
IV) Sandunes & Nikunj Patel's Animated 'Exit Strategy' Video
Nikunj was looking to work on music videos when he came across Sanaya’s left-of-field music, which he took an instant liking to. Speaking about her single Nightcraft off her Slybounce EP, he said, “This song had something about it and it gave me a lot of ideas. We also discussed the themes that played throughout the EP and about using them to our advantage.”
[Watch the stunning video result of this crowdfunding campaign below]
“The beauty of it is that the creation of this short film will follow the process of traditional hand-drawn animation,”
“Processing, rendering and compositing each and every frame to finally get a video output takes hours of effort on expensive machinery. Apart from the tools themselves, acquiring access to them costs a lot of money. I've found that Nikunj’s design aesthetic is the visual counterpart for my aural sensibility. The song needed a mate, and it seems like it's been found in the potential of this music video.”
‘the rising independent ethos’
“We believe in art. Art is the most expressive form of communication and art brings people together, it can spread and become into a thriving network. We are not starting something, because it already exists, we want to add a refreshing new perspective to something, which can bring lots of thinkers together,”
VI) Vinyl Records' Music Video for their 'Whims' EP
“When The Vinyl Records crowdfunded their video (Whims),”
“They got a fabulous response including contributions from Sweden even! This further led to getting two more shows when they went to perform at the Red Bull Weekender festival in Stockholm as the contributors were part of a local band. I find this amazing!”
[The funds raised were finally used to hire equipment, pay the team, pay for locations and editing for the music video of the title track off their ‘Whims’ EP, and you can watch it below:]
“Crowd funding is a new concept, which people are gradually accepting. What matters here is the nature of the campaign, which should be appealing to the crowd.”
“In general, venues [in India] where we can play our style of music have been challenging to find,”
“So we want to set up a stage in a playground, and showcase to school kids how reggae music and Sound System culture happens!”
“In Jamaica, the reggae and jazz bands performed mostly in hotels, meaning the common man could not afford to see them. These people then started recording the same bands in studios, cut the instrumental on a vinyl and set up the sound system on the neighbourhood streets to play them. Gramophone records are played on turntables and singers sing over the riddims and dubs making the whole performance interactive and inspiring.”
“They [fans] don’t just invest their money in it, but also their time. So they get hooked to you. If someone contributes even Rs 500 and is expecting rewards, he’s going to be checking in about when the album will be out, between the months of crowdfunding and its release.”
“They approached us sometime ago. It was only around October 2013 that we decided to put out the music we have made. We did not expect people to put in money. A guy anonymously contributed 20,000!"
“I don’t think this can happen in its true spirit with corporates, sponsors and unwanted outside influences,”
“With just the audience, who cares about the music as much as I do, I firmly believe that we can come together and make this festival one of the most anticipated and talked about metal festivals in the world.”
X) Mame Khan's debut album
‘long before he was born’.
“The music is emotional,”
“The Sufi elements really connects with the audience. There's the smell of mud in our music (mitti ki khushboo), which is the tradition we're taking forward. There are lots of things in the album that connect will with people - there's love, mischief and every kind of emotion.”
XI) Spook’s Debut Album 'Lyrical Cynic'
Underwaterseabird
“Between Anis [Gandhi on keyboard] and I, the funding was almost impossible to come up with,”
“But we managed to cover the cost of tracking all the instruments. The mixing and mastering are an equally important part of the process for the album to sound good and we need funds for that.”
“ex-girlfriends, bipolar personalities of women, sado-masochism and peace through coffee”.
“Lyrical Cynic talks about how the band has grown,”
“The humor is twisted and is brought out in subtle, weird ways.”
XII) Demonic Resurrection's 'Live at Bloodstock 2012' Video
“We wanted to do a music video before we left for Bloodstock. This was before platforms like Wishberry existed so I used a self-made platform on our site,”
“In my opinion, it’s probably the way forward for music,”
“For an Indian band to earn money is itself a big thing, and most of that money is then pumped into recording and releasing albums. How is there going to be any surplus to invest in touring?”
“It’s music at the end of the day; it’s a personal connect. It’s all part of supporting the artist you’re a fan of.”
Words: Aditi Dharmadhikari