Sites like Kickstarter and Indie GoGo have been offering an avenue for creative people to get a financial boost to start their endeavors. Young and independent artists can now get small projects off the ground based more on the merits of their idea, and less on the ‘who you know’ infrastructure of the creative world.
About a year ago these sites turned a corner as successful game developers who wanted to keep old-fashioned genres alive were able to score huge funding. Essentially starting a Kickstarter explosion that saw a huge influx of independent artists as well as well-known, and likely very wealthy, people looking to spark projects that executives have up to now deemed too risky.
The growing backlash to people like David Fincher asking for 400K from fans has centered around the idea that investing in these large projects that will likely net millions for a studio should be ‘giving back’ to these original funders. Most investments allow the investor a chance to gain profit or at least recoup the investment, but the current legal structure has prohibited sites like Kickstarter from offering a return of investment to the funders. Until now.
Continue Reading →
