The first time I heard about Kickstarter, I thought it was brilliant. Then I started seeing musicians asking for crazy amounts of money to make a record. KS became the new way to get some “major label largesse.” If it costs $14k to make a singer/guitarist solo folk record, you are doing something wrong.

I like the KS campaigns that have reasonable expectations. I guess like any other tool, some will use it well, and others will be greedy with it.

But when thought of in more practical terms, at least KS projects support the ideology that artists and art need to be financially supported. Not that they should be, but they need to be, which is more than we can say for so many restaurant and bar owners who feel it is a privilege to simply play for free! And really, as far as the bandleader and musicians go, wouldn’t the $15 spent for the food/drink minimum be better served as a donation to their project, in which the donor will get at the very least a digital download of some sort?

I don’t know… will the economy in the shape that it is in and our leaders incapacity to do much about it, perhaps a change to the KS method of financial support isn’t such a bad idea.