CAMBRIDGE, UK (Top40 Charts/ Quite Great PR) Since the onset of piracy and peer to peer file sharing record labels have seen their profits plummet and have had to reorganise. Crowdfunding site Musicraiser represents a new dawn for the evolving industry.
Musicraiser (www.musicraiser.com) is an international crowdfunding site run by musicians, for musicians. Its artists predominantly come from mainland
Europe and the UK.
The new label
At its core Musicraiser is a crowdfunding site for emerging musicians and bands. However, unlike other similar sites, it acts as an intermediary between the artists, PRs, A&Rs, distributors, tour planners and other musicians. This allows artists to make music videos, promotional material, PR campaigns, social media campaigns, produce a record, distribute a record, collaborate and ensure that they oversee the whole process.
In essence, Musicraiser aims to bridge the gap from the artist to their fans. No middle men - simply a clear line of communication from those who create the music to those who enjoy it.
How it works
Musicraiser also provides free strategic advice for an artist on their future plans with a release campaign or album launch. They take a small commission from the fundraising campaign itself, so are interested in seeing the funds raised, but do not charge for their advice and networking services.
As well as being a funding platform Musicraiser is a hub for professionals, which is essential to its model. Along with musicians it hosts projects for photographers, filmmakers, producers, sound designers and merchandise designers. The presence of this community allows Musicraiser to hook new artists up with other relevant professionals who are already linked into Musicraiser. This allows Musicraiser to present artists with a full catalogue of marketing, production and logistical tools without having themselves to invest in them. They are essential intermediaries working on behalf of the artists.
Networking opportunities
Once a crowdfunding project has taken off and an artist has created and sold copies of its first release, it is likely to launch into a more conventional campaign, driven as much by sales as by donations. This means that the band might take it upon themselves to pay producers, marketers and organisers for their services externally of Musicraiser - hence the term 'platform'; Musicraiser is a launch pad for new artists.
It means that signing up to Musicraiser is equally beneficial for producers, PRs, A&Rs, tour planners and pluggers as it is for the bands. If they become involved in the Musicraiser network they will find that it is a strong channel for new business and thriving artists, it also allows them to advertise their services to a targeted pre-existing audience who they can be sure will be interested in their services.
Why the UK?
Musicraiser is already successful in the European market. It raised over €1 million for developing bands and artists in its first year and has an existing community of 40,000 fundraisers. It aims to build on this in the future by working with more external producers and marketing companies to build their internal professional networks. Musicraiser want to do that same thing in the UK where the array of musical talent on offer is even greater. With its brilliant heritage for musical talent the UK is still seen as a reliable market for creative output.
'We want to invest in the UK market because it's one of the most important markets in the world for music. We feel that if we build credibility in the UK we will be able to expand the new markets with a bigger knowhow and effectiveness later. The UK is exporting lots of great new acts and we want to bring our model on board to offer a new way of working with artists. We also feel very connected to the UK's music because we grew up listening to music like The Beatles, The Kinks, The
Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.'
