The Tea Party Testing the Waters of Fan Support
The idea of getting fan help to support a tour or album took a big leap this week when Amanda Palmer manged to receive over $1 million in pledges through a Kickstarter campaign.
Now the Tea Party wants to see what they can do. From the press release:
With a catalogue consisting of eight releases in The Tea Party’s career so far (their last release was in 2004), fans on the band’s Facebook page and at recent live shows have shown an increasing amount of interest in a new or live recording.
There is an Australian National Tour in July and a Canadian Tour in August to get through first, so a new studio recording will have to wait. In the interim, a live album recorded during the band’s upcoming Australian Tour is not out of the question.
However, to make it all happen, the band will need the support from their fans. Kicking off at 8pm EST on June 1 (June 2 in Australia), you can go to www.PledgeMusic.com to pledge your support and get the wheels in motion. There is a deadline of 60 days to meet the target, and if the target isn’t met, no record will be made and fans will be reimbursed.
“We’ve always wanted to do a proper live record, and the opportunity to capture the band in front of a passionate Australian audience has presented itself to us. The fans can join us and together we bring this record to life via Pledgemusic.com. With Pledgemusic, our fans are able to tell us exactly what they want by pledging. This might be the future of the music business, or perhaps one of the futures.” – Stuart Chatwood (bass/keys/vox)
So there you have it Tea Party fans…let’s make it happen!
For more info, go to:
I like this idea a lot. UK band Funeral for a Friend did the Pledge Music thing for their 2010 EP The Young and Defenceless and I think for the 2011 album Welcome Home Armageddon. Different levels of contributions, $10 for a digital download only, $15 for digital download and physical cd, etc. Other packages included hand written lyrics, 7" vinyl singles, special intimate shows, etc.
Nova Scotia band The Stanfields also offer different pre-order packages for their next album, with $2500 giving you a private kitchen party (the band plays a show at your house) although they are not using the Pledge Music site but their own site instead.
Its a good chance for fans to pick up special items that would not normally be available to them and helps the band connect on a more personal level with the fans.
How much money are they trying to raise? It just tells me they are at 73% of their goal, but the goal isn't anywhere.