Why Patrons?

As a musician, I have been watching the world change how it consumes music. Over the last few years, the role of selling product has diminished greatly, and recorded music has become something to be given away. The goal of recorded music has moved from sales to spins and plays online - a system yet to be monetized. This new paradigm asks one how do we continue to record and release music of substance and quality, and at least cover our costs of doing so. Thankfully the cost of creating such product has fallen dramatically since I first started 15 years ago. But there is nonetheless a cost.

I feel more called than ever before to create projects and releases that uplift and inspire people and communities. I am blessed to be in a period of creativity. Inspiring projects have come my way to collaborate and stretch my personal growth and spiritual growth. Several of these projects have been aimed also at uplifting our community. As you know, Provenance, a record of duets and co-writes, helped to establish a fund in Akron to help areas non-profits create programs to educate and inspire nonviolence in our community. Another great blessing in my life is that I can pay my bills and survive by performing my music around the country. Performance fees, however, cannot also cover the production costs of recording. So I wonder how do I continue to write and record projects that will be inspiring despite the lack of initial return from the loss of physical sales?

There is a trend in the creative industries to look to crowd funding, where the artist asks their fans to chip in to pay for the recording, and by doing so they get special thank you gifts like their name in the credits, signed cds,  house concerts, etc. This is an interesting idea, yet has a flaw that the musician must continually return to these fans to pay for each record. This is not a sustainable system.

Yet I wonder if there might be merit in a subscription or patronage system where one would pay a monthly fee, or a certain lump sum a year,  and that would entitle them to free recordings of whatever projects the artist can make that year. Something akin to a patronage program. People do this for public radio, etc. Could it work for artists?

This could give the ability to the artist to create more interesting, diverse, and frequent material, while giving others the chance to help an artist create meaningful art. 

I feel that we are standing on the edge of a big and wonderful new shift in how art is consumed and paid for, and I would love to walk this path with you, my Luminaries.