Well, dear readers, we have reached the big finish of the Kritzerland a GoGo Indiegogo campaign. Its final two days were not only fun to watch but rather exhilarating. Over that two days we went up over twenty percent. A week ago we were thinking we’d only reach around thirty-eight thousand dollars if we were lucky. But I was told that the big action happens in the first and last days of the campaign and boy did that prove accurate. I was keeping track of it all during the day and evening yesterday, and it just kept going up and up and it was suspenseful and thrilling. Before I get to the results, I just want to say here and now and also now and here that watching this campaign ignite was so touching and heartening to me. We’ve worked really hard to make Kritzerland what it is – we’ve released so many amazing scores and shows and singer albums, and the support that came pouring in from all over the world was amazing.
We had several important cheerleaders on the Film Score Monthly message board, who kept the thread alive there, and, more importantly, kept the whole thing light and fun and filled with energy, not to mention helping evolve this so that it made sense for everyone. Yes, there were a couple of little bits of negativity at the beginning, as we knew there would be, but the overwhelming positivity squashed that stuff instantly. The rallying cries, the dreams of what people would love for us to go after (and which we will), was quite wonderful to see. I knew we were treading new territory, but I just trusted that the people who love and appreciate what we’ve been able to do, would come along for this wacky ride. And come along they did. I must say, I did keep hoping for a wealthy benefactor or two to come in, and that did not happen until the last fifteen minutes of the campaign, when out of the blue we got a $5,000 contribution. Interestingly, they did not ask for the perk and it’s listed as a donation without even a name. I will e-mail them and see what’s what, but that was a huge last-minute leap for us. But mostly it was the fans who did this, the collectors, and, of course, many of you dear readers. I cannot speak enough of my eternal appreciation and gratitude for every single contribution, from ten dollars all the way up to the several at the $2,500 level. Every contribution meant the world to me, and those who work on our projects. I have to offer many thanks to Doug Haverty, who not only is the brilliant designer of each and every CD package we’ve put out, but who helped put up the Indiegogo campaign and keep his eye on it.
Which brings us to the big finish, and here are the results: According to the Indiegogo page, 369 people made contributions, although a handful of folks made multiple contributions so it’s not quite 369 separate people. In the final week of the campaign we shot up an astonishing 37% for a final tally of 77% funded, which I think is incredible. Our contributions totaled over sixty-thousand dollars. We don’t get all of that – IF we’d fully funded then Indiegogo would have only taken a 3% fee, but because we didn’t, they instead will be taking a 10% fee, along with the 3% fee for Paypal payments and credit card payments. We should clear around $53,000 when all is said and done, and they have fifteen business days to get it to us – I’m always hopeful it will be sooner, but they probably like to hold on to the dough as long as possible. So, somewhere around July 20, we should have the money. Here’s another interesting thing – when Doug and I were figuring out the perks and all the details, the big discussion was what amount to go for. I’d originally thought $50,000 would be a nice-sounding number, but then I talked to some people who’d done Indiegogo and it was their recommendation that we go to a higher number, their feeling being that if we asked for 50 we’d only get 25. They felt if we went to 80 we’d get at least half that and they were proven right and then some, since we did twenty grand over that. Anyway, it’s been quite the eight week journey and it’s not quite done because several people had e-mailed me and asked if they could still contribute and get perks after the campaign closed and I, of course, said yes, so we should have an additional $200 to $500 coming in in the next week. All in all, I’d say the campaign was VERY successful – we got close to 80% funded and that’s something to shout about. Again, my eternal thanks and gratitude to everyone who took part, whether with actual donations or just even good, positive energy. And onward we go. I can say without revealing any details, that depending on what we can clear, I’ve probably locked up ten or eleven new titles already.
The rest of yesterday is kind of a blur. The helper came by to give me a hug and reassure me that everything would go smoothly during her three-month hiatus. Then I just did stuff on the computer and watched our campaign, which is all I’d intended or wanted to do. At two, we shot the little video thing, which I’ll be able to tell you more about later this week, and then I went and had some chicken tenders and a bagel for my meal o’ the day. Then I came back home. There was no question that all I’d be doing is keeping my eye on the campaign, although I did start to do a little song planning for the August Kritzerland show. And so I spent 99% of the evening watching the campaign and when that last-minute five thousand dollar contribution came in my head just about exploded, in a good way, of course.
Today, I will be on my way to the editing room to deliver the video footage and discuss how it will be assembled, with my favorite editor, Marshall Harvey, who, of course, created the wonderful video for the Indiegogo campaign. Then I’ll have to grab a quick bite to eat, perhaps at the Coral Café, since I’ll be very close to there, and then we have the first Kritzerland rehearsal, then I’ll relax.
Tomorrow we have our second Kritzerland rehearsal, Thursday I have meetings and meals, Friday is our stumble-through, Saturday I have a fourth of July partay, and Sunday is sound check and show. Today’s topic of discussion: Have you ever donated to other crowd funding projects, and if so, which, and why? And were you happy with the result? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have made it to a glorious and wonderful big finish to the Kritzerland a GoGo Indiegogo campaign.