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in developed countries.) Second, we should acknowledge that we might imagine a
post-capitalist vision of our society, which may enable all kinds of collectively sup-
ported creative activity with no cost to the individual (and no profi t made by com-
panies putting adverts on it), but we won't spend time on that here because frankly
it's not going to materialise any time soon. So then third, it's interesting to look at
the disruptive ways of funding larger-scale creative projects which are emerging
within the present system - notably the crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter
and Indiegogo.
Indiegogo was launched in 2008; Kickstarter came along a year later, with a
then-unique all-or-nothing model which seemed to make quality outputs more
likely: if a project couldn't raise its desired total within a set period (normally 30 or
60 days), then it wouldn't be funded at all and no money would change hands.
Kickstarter has gathered media attention for certain high-profi le fundraises - such
as the creators of cult TV series
Veronica Mars
hitting their target of $2 million for
a movie version in 10 h, in March 2013 (and raising $5.7 million over their 30 day
period)
3
- but the founders of the site are keen to emphasise that it is primarily a
community for small-scale artists and projects. Interviewed in
Fast Company
maga-
zine (Chafkin
2013
), Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler suggests that, unlike
Indiegogo which will more or less accept any project, Kickstarter is a more care-
fully curated enterprise:
The thing is, if [blockbuster movie director] Michael Bay came along and wanted to do a
Kickstarter we'd probably tell him, please don't. I would never want to scare the girl who
wants to do a $500 lithography project, 'cause that's why we started this thing. We think we
have a moral obligation to her.
The makers of
Indie Game: The Movie
(2012) offer an interesting account of
their Kickstarter-funded production, and DIY approach to movie distribution, in a
series of blog posts (as well as showing in some cinemas, the fi lm was available
DRM-free from their own website, and to download from platforms such as iTunes,
and was the fi rst to be distributed via the video game platform, Steam).
4
They dis-
cuss how they were inspired by Louis C.K., a stand-up comic who took a commer-
cial risk by releasing his stand-up show
Live at the Beacon Theater
(2011) as an
inexpensive, DRM-free download from his own website. As he explained in a blog
post 4 days after its release (Szekely
2011
):
The experiment was: if I put out a brand new standup special at a drastically low price
($5 [£3.25,
3.75]) and make it as easy as possible to buy, download and enjoy, free of any
restrictions, will everyone just go and steal it? Will they pay for it? And how much money
can be made by an individual in this manner?
€
3
The
Veronica Mars Movie Project
page on Kickstarter:
http://www.kickstarter.com/proj-
ects/559914737/the-veronica-mars-movie-project
. Actor and director Zach Braff was inspired by
this and raised $3.1 million for his feature fi lm
Wish I Was Here
a month later (
http://www.kick-
starter.com/projects/1869987317/wish-i-was-here-1
)
. Spike Lee also launched a fundraising effort
in July 2013, raising $1.4 million for his next fi lm project (
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/
4
See all details at
http://www.indiegamethemovie.com/news/2012/10/31/indie-game-the-movie-
the-case-study.html
