Events | Vox Indie

Why has Fundraising Shoved Musicians Off Center Stage?

I want my favorite musicians making music, not raising funds so that they can

Today I received an email from one of my favorite indie bands, Saucy Monky, announcing Part 2 of their Trophy Girl EP series and asking for support to raise funds for the effort via their fundraising page at the crowd-source funding site GoFundMe.com. Their pitch is straightforward, describing the project and the perks/rewards for each donation level. These days I’m sure there are dozens of indie musicians launching similar crowd-funding campaigns every day, but what really struck me about their email was this:

Here are a few things you may or may not know about today’s music business. The convenience of Spotify and Pandora are incredible. We personally LOVE these sites. However, for our entire catalogue, which everyone can listen to for free – anytime, we get paid a few cents a month. Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” garnered one million plays on Spotify and earned just $167!

Thankfully, people still buy digital downloads on iTunes, but this new movement isn’t the best news for self-financed acts. We used to sell tons of hard copy CD’s on CDBaby.com. Now, no-one buys CD’s online anymore. Only at shows. And that leads to touring costs… bla bla bla. You get the picture.

What we would love to do in return for any contribution, is give something back to you. We’d like to give you something for every penny we earn. All of the exclusives are listed on this site and also on our website

When I asked Annmarie for clarification on the comment “We personally LOVE these sites” [Spotify and Pandora] she explained:

I love them as a music lover (being able to listen to anything i want), I hate them as a musician coz i can’t make a dime!

Forgive me, but while crowd-source campaigns have their place, can’t we as fans (and consumers) hope for a system that provides musicians (and other creators) with the means to make a decent living from their work rather than have to resort to constant fundraising efforts in order to sustain it? I don’t need Saucy Monky to “give something back” to me….they’ve given me, and continue to give me, their music (which I’m happy to pay for). They, and all the other musicians out there, shouldn’t have to do cartwheels and promise me things every time they want to produce a new album. Their music is the only goody I want.

Somewhere along the way our system got so broken that the true value of the creations we enjoy got lost amid a squabble over whether it was valuable. Of course it’s valuable–and it’s valuable in ways that go far beyond dollars and cents. Unfortunately it’s not free–in terms of those same dollars and cents–to actually create most things we value.

Allow me to reference a fundamental concept I learned in my high school economics class–and that is that everything has cost associated with it–even our time. As such, is it too much for musicians to ask that their time be compensated in some fashion, or should we demand that creating quality music be an all-volunteer endeavor? Some seem to feel the latter option is A-OK, but I doubt those same individuals would be happy not being paid for the work that they do. Note that even a if one’s art is truly a “labor of love” it’s a love that does involve labor.

This discussion shouldn’t be framed as artist versus consumer. Doesn’t everyone share a common interest in providing a sustainable and robust eco-system that can support musicians and nurture their growth? Such a system could offer a greater diversity in choices as to how, and what, we creative products we enjoy. Why can’t the innovators in tech align with the innovators in music to offer the public and option where both sides profit? Can’t we develop distribution methods that satisfy the consumer and the artist? These aren’t goals that need be mutually exclusive. Step one is valuing the musicians who make the music.

As for Saucy Monky? Well, I’ll be making my donation to help ensure that there will be a Part 2 of Trophy Girl, but I won’t give up on the hope that someday in the near future, the band can just do what they do best–give up their full-time day jobs and their part-time work as fundraisers–and focus on making more music for everyone to enjoy.

Here’s their fundraising message in full:

Saucy Monky News May 2013

Hi Everyone!As you know, the music business days of huge record deals & publishing advances are long gone. Nowadays, bands & artists survive through the love of their fan base, their friends, and believers in their music, using fundraising sites such as Pledgemusic, Kickstarter and Gofundme.comWe are about to release Part 2 of our Trophy Girl Series, worldwide on June 25th! Once again, we had an amazing opportunity to make a (soon to be released) video for our new single “Do I have Your Attention?” with emerging filmmaker Justin Birquist from In Vitro Films! We need your help in raising funds to cover costs for the filming process, the mastering of the record, and once again, hiring our PR company to help us promote and market these amazing assets (of which we are so proud!).So we are back with more fun fundraising exclusives! Please considering purchasing one of them so we can hire a publicity team to promote our upcoming new release TROPHY GIRL Part 2. Here’s a sample of what we have on offer:1. Karma $5 Donation For An Om Chant In Your Honor2. Saucy Monky will entertain you and your friends in your very own living room! 3. We will send you a lipstick kissed poster!4. We will sing Happy Birthday to your loved one on video.5. Buy an advance download of our EP before it’s released6. Annmarie and Cynthia will be your Tour Guides in LA8. Join Annmarie and Steve for a fun night in Vegas!!

9. Saucy Monky will record and produce your song.

10. Get a thank you credit on our Full Length release

Click Here To Go Directly To Our Fundraising Site (and listen to a snippet of “DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION?”)

Thanks to you guys and our fundraising campaign last year, we were able to finance an amazing video (“AWKWARD”) and release the first part of our Trophy Girl collection with the help of a few amazing publicists & PR companies. Boy, did it make a HUGE difference. “AWKWARD” now has 27,500 and counting views. This is an incredible achievement for an indie band on the rise. We have had reviews and write-ups in dozens of US publications, internet mags, and music sites abroad. Including the Advocate, NME, Glaad, Autostraddle, HotPress and many more. We even ended up on Playboy radio, and the Kato Kaelin show!

Here are a few things you may or may not know about today’s music business. The convenience of Spotify and Pandora are incredible. We personally LOVE these sites. However, for our entire catalogue, which everyone can listen to for free – anytime, we get paid a few cents a month. Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” garnered one million plays on Spotify and earned just $167!

Thankfully, people still buy digital downloads on iTunes, but this new movement isn’t the best news for self-financed acts. We used to sell tons of hard copy CD’s on CDBaby.com. Now, no-one buys CD’s online anymore. Only at shows. And that leads to touring costs… bla bla bla. You get the picture.

What we would love to do in return for any contribution, is give something back to you. We’d like to give you something for every penny we earn. All of the exclusives are listed on this site and also on our website

One of our favorite returns and options for contributions are HOUSE CONCERTS. You can get a glimpse of our set & what that might look & sound like here: Saucy Monky Acoustic Living Room Sessions

If you have any ideas on what you’d like from Saucy Monky that aren’t listed (now keep it clean ), please feel free to e-mail us at info@saucymonky.com with your idea (this e-mail goes directly to the band). Also, if you plan on booking a house concert, please drop us a note first.

We have increments ranging from $5-$5,000 and every cent goes a long way (as Mother Teresa said, “every drop makes the ocean”). If you buy a reward, we promise we won’t disappoint.

All our love and gratitude for your ongoing support,

xo Annmarie and Cynthia on behalf of Saucy Monky

Steven Soderbergh Speaks out Against Online Piracy in his “State of Cinema” Address at SFIFF

This past Saturday, Director Stephen Soderbergh gave the keynote address at this year’s San Francisco International Film Festival. In his address on the “state of cinema” Soderbergh spoke about the nature of art, movies vs. cinema, studios, and budgets among other things. He also discussed online piracy’s impact on indie filmmaking:

Theft is a big problem. I know this is a really controversial subject, but for people who think everything on the internet should just be totally free all I can say is, good luck. When you try to have a life and raise a family living off something you create…

There’s a great quote from Steve Jobs:

“From the earliest days of Apple I realized that we thrived when we created intellectual property. If people copied or stole our software we’d be out of business. If it weren’t protected there’d be no incentive for us to make new software or product designs. If protection of intellectual property begins to disappear creative companies will disappear or never get started. But there’s a simpler reason: It’s wrong to steal. It hurts other people, and it hurts your own character”.

I agree with him. I think that what people go to the movies for has changed since 9/11. I still think the country is in some form of PTSD about that event, and that we haven’t really healed in any sort of complete way, and that people are, as a result, looking more toward escapist entertainment. And look, I get it. There’s a very good argument to be made that only somebody who has it really good would want to make a movie that makes you feel really bad. People are working longer hours for less money these days, and maybe when they get in a movie, they want a break. I get it.

But let’s sex this up with some more numbers. In 2003, 455 films were released. 275 of those were independent, 180 were studio films. Last year 677 films were released. So you’re not imagining things, there are a lot of movies that open every weekend. 549 of those were independent, 128 were studio films. So, a 100% increase in independent films, and a 28% drop in studio films, and yet, ten years ago: Studio market share 69%, last year 76%. You’ve got fewer studio movies now taking up a bigger piece of the pie and you’ve got twice as many independent films scrambling for a smaller piece of the pie. That’s hard. That’s really hard.

You can find the transcript of his entire address here or listen to it or watch below:

State of Cinema: Steven Soderbergh from San Francisco Film Society on Vimeo.

Consumer Electronics Show’s Copyright Panel – Certain Artists Need Not Apply

Thanks to this post on The Trichordist blog, I was alerted to this event. At 2 p.m. (PST) today, at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a panel discussion, “Beyond SOPA: Creating a Pro-Innovation, Pro-Artist Copyright Policy,” is scheduled as part of their “Innovation Policy Summit.” Here’s how the event is described on the CES website:

In 2012, millions of Americans contacted their members of Congress to protest restrictive copyright proposals, and intellectual property issues took center stage in Washington and at the presidential debates. Entrepreneurs and policymakers discuss how to protect IP while maintaining a vibrant Internet and creating new opportunities for content creators.

Ok, that’s all good and well, a worthy topic of discussion right? What’s not particularly good is the makeup of the panel:

John Perry Barlow – Co-Founder , Electronic Frontier Foundation, EFF

Wilson Holmes – Co-Director , Fight for the Future

Mike Masnick – CEO and Founder , TechDirt

Hank Shocklee – Founder and CEO, Shocklee Entertainment

Gigi Sohn – Co-Founder and President, Public Knowledge

The list of participants includes a veritable “Who’s Who” of the anti-copyright crowd. Why not include a filmmaker or musician? Hank Shocklee, from Shocklee Entertainment, is a musical artist, but he’s known for work often derived from sampling the work of others. Clearly his is a perspective worthy of discussion, but there are other voices, with differing views, that should have been included too. Are conference organizers afraid of sponsoring an actual dialogue on a worthy, but complicated topic? FYI you can watch a live-stream of what is likely to be a very one-sided discussion here: http://declareinnovation.com/videos

If the folks at CES really wanted to be “innovative” why not actually include the voices of some content creators (true innovators who value their copyrights) rather than limiting it to a panel mostly comprised of representatives from a tech subsidized echo-chamber, paid to promote the party-line? So much for progress…

Where’s Our Outrage When Internet “Free Speech” is Really Under Attack?

: Vo Minh Tri imprisoned in Vietnam for speaking out via his music

: Tran Vu Anh Binh wrote songs in support of imprisoned bloggers.

During last year’s online debate over SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), the tech-driven opposition was able to gin up hysteria against the bill with cries that it would “break” the internet and destroy “free speech” online. Never has the online meme-machine spinned with such outrage.

Contrast that faux fury with this week’s news out of Vietnam that two musicians, whose music went viral online, have been sent to prison for posting songs that “spread propaganda against the state” –a real-world example as to what threats to “free speech” can really mean. Vo Minh Tri was sentenced to 4 years in prison while Tran Vu Anh Binh will spend 6 years behind bars. From the Associated Press:

In a half-day trial, a court in Ho Chi Minh City accused the musicians of posting songs on a website operated by an overseas Vietnamese opposition group, Patriotic Youth, according to Hai. Communist Vietnam does not tolerate challenges to its one-party rule.

Tri’s songs criticized Vietnam’s government for its seeming passivity on standing up to China for claims to the South China Sea, rich in natural resources. Here’s an English-language version of Tri’s ”Who are You” and “Where is my Vietnam ” posted on Youtube:

Binh wrote the music for a song ““Courage in the Dark Prison” which focused attention on the plight of three bloggers who in September were convicted on the same charges. The bloggers, Hai (known as Dieu Cay), along with Phan Thanh Hai and Ta Phong Tan, were sentenced to terms ranging from 4 to 12 years. Dieu Cay had already spent 30 months in prison (from 2008-1010) for earlier anti-government commentary.

“The alleged crime committed by these bloggers is to report stories that the government does not want the Vietnamese people to read,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Vietnam’s arbitrary use of vaguely worded national security laws to imprison critics of the government means bloggers are bearing the brunt of this assault on freedom of expression.” -NY times

I have to ask, where’s the outrage among the internet community when “free speech” is really at stake? In Vietnam, musicians and bloggers who used their art and the internet to express opinions about their government are thrown into jail–yet nary a tweet or Google-led protest to be found. If one is concerned about the “chilling” effects against free speech online, doesn’t this qualify? Why no outcry?

The U.S. Department of State issued a statement condemning the imprisonment of the musicians:

This is the latest in a series of detentions and convictions in Vietnam against those seeking nothing more than the peaceful expression of their views. This latest example of the Vietnamese authorities restricting freedom of expression is inconsistent with international standards. Given the recent worsening of the human rights situation in Vietnam, we urge the Vietnamese government to acknowledge and remedy this situation, including through the release of these musicians, and all prisoners of conscience, as well as adherence to its international obligations immediately.

In order to flourish, art has always depended on the free expression of ideas, political or otherwise. If you want to speak up in support of these brave artists and writers and support their right to free speech, please help spread the word! Use the hashtag #freespeech4artistsonline.