$53 Million Pledged To Kickstarter Over Two Years 73
fangmcgee writes "Kickstarter, a website which collects donations for creative projects, said Thursday that it has received pledges of more than $53 million since its launch two years ago. 'Of the $53 million that has been pledged, $40 million has been collected by successfully funded projects and $6 million is still live (meaning pledged to projects that are still funding). The remaining $7 million is the amount of money not collected — pledged to projects that did not meet their funding goals. Of the $47 million pledged to projects whose funding has ended ($40M collected + $7M uncollected), approximately 85% of the funds ($40M) were collected. This 85% collection rate has stayed quite steady over the past two years.'"
Kickstarter a huge disappointment... (Score:3, Interesting)
A place for self-absorbed starving artists to beg for money.
I was so disappointed to learn that the majority of Kickstarter projects are stupid and have no actual value. I was expecting a community of charity workers with great ideas to help developing nations, or something along those lines, of people with really awesome ideas that just need some money to get "kickstarted".
What I found was a bunch of art majors talking about how awesome their stupid art project is, and if they only had a couple more thousand dollars, they could totally express their creative impulses for the world to trip over themselves to experience. Ugh.
Not all the projects are terrible, but the vast majority are. A huge disappointment.
It is far better than (Score:4, Interesting)
these same artist convincing your local municipality into funding their lack of taste and having it rubbed into your face each time you drive past a public building or go to the airport. Far too many "artists" are self important snits who goad society into funding them by making it to be "if you don't fund the arts your just cavemen/bigots/etc" so that we end up paying stupid sums of money to people who can't sell their product to anyone with a sense of sight or taste.
Like I posted elsewhere in this thread, I didn't go there to save the world or community. I contributed to something that sparked my fancy and at the same time let me have some fun. (speaking of the trebuchets). However this type of site will also go along way in teaching these artists just what society values, not just what they think society should value. It does this by giving them immediate exposure to their peer's successes and failures.
If your looking for something to change the world or benefit other nations there are hundreds of charities that can use your money, some can use your time if your willing. give.org lists thousands of them so can check to see if the one you chose is worthwhile.
Re:Kickstarter a huge disappointment... (Score:5, Interesting)
I myself am one of said artists, to an extent, but I am a firm believer in Kickstarter being a great tool for artists. I myself have been funding the production of my new album (blues) for a couple years now out of pocket. I've been trying to figure out how to handle preorders, and after seeing the Asylum Street Spanker's campaign, I realized a great way to do it - a Kickstarter campaign. The money goes towards equipment for live shows/touring, and also gives fans of my music a chance to snag copies of the new album (a month early, in fact), get commissioned tunes, or even get one of my old beater guitars should they feel generous enough (or think I'm famous enough to warrant it's purchase). Essentially, I'm turning the fans into the record label. They front the project, and get what they want in return. I love the idea of being able to directly support my favorite bands without dealing with a record label taking an obnoxious cut, and Kickstarter is the perfect way to do it.
Also, once the album is out and I've got my gear, I'll be using Kickstarter to not only sell my album (outside of Amazon/iTunes/physical locations), but to help with another project I've been dreaming of.. A way to get guitars to kids in low-income families. I'm guessing that's probably more in-line with what you'd like to see Kickstarter being used for. There are a lot of kids who love music, and want to get into it, but don't have the financial means to do so. Guitars are relatively cheap, and are quite prolific in the music industry.
Not all of us self-absorbed starving artists are complete bastards :)