3 ms·

I think this is a bit of a strawman-- How does somebody who's not already well known raise money for their first video game, comedy show or album with the tradi

by Cushman 15y ago

I think this is a bit of a strawman-- How does somebody who's not already well known raise money for their first video game, comedy show or album with the traditional media industry? If big artists are able to cut their ties to Big Content using crowdfunding, that will cost them a lot more money than if independent artists who they never would have signed anyway does. If the publishers lose profitability, and there's less revenue being extracted from the content industry by corporate middlemen, that can only improve the ecosystem for the little guys.

_delirium 15y ago
Well, many do so: among other examples, Trent Reznor, Radiohead, Louis CK, and Tim Schafer are people who've raised substantial money from the traditional media industry without first having a hit. To replace that, which I'm interested in, we need a way that they can replace their first major success. For example, what alternate funding model would've allowed Tim Schafer to get The Secret of Monkey Island (1990) funded via some other mechanism than LucasArts ponying up the money? Or: what non-TVT funding source would've paid for Reznor's Pretty Hate Machine (1989)? I hope it's possible, but to me, that's the hard question, much harder than answering how to pay for Reznor's later, post-fame albums.