I was always fascinated by the fact that thinkers, inventors and artists like DaVinci had patrons, someone to pay the bills and worry about the little, annoying and boring details while the artist was free to dream, create and innovate.
The internet and social media today provide a perfect platform for artists to cultivate their followers, customers and now their own patrons. Take for example Jamie Tanner, a graphic novelist. Now, I don’t know Jamie or anything about his art, but I was struck by the ingenuity of the fund-raising program he developed for his future project. Not only is Jamie asking his audience for money to fund his new project, but he’s offering fantastic rewards from sketch books and original art to inclusion in the new project as a named character, like a version of product placement for individuals instead of big brands. Maybe this can be termed “personal placement” instead.
This isn’t the first instance of online fund-raising by a writer or artist, but it’s certainly an ingenious one. Jamie should be applauded for his efforts, and for the fact that he’s already exceeded his fund-raising goal.
The artist and the audience are both winners here.
The artist can secure funding upfront for a project instead of relying on income once the project is completed and released to the marketplace. The potential pain of self-funding a project is gone. The artist can also involve the audience in the project early on and make the overall project more of a collaboration by building a bond between the audience and project itself right from the start. Any interested parties would definitely enjoy the behind the scenes views of a work-in-progress.
The audience not only gets the joy of being involved in a project right from the beginning, but can actually become a part of the work. What could be better than becoming a character in your favorite author’s new book? Amazing.
And, again for the artist, building stronger relationships with your audience is key in this continually fragmenting, long-tail marketplace. Instead of attracting a huge audience for your work by catering to the needs or desires of everyone (and thereby watering down your product), you only need to attract a small, passionate following to develop a wildly successful career.
