Producing and releasing an album is not always as simple as uploading it to Beatport or iTunes, especially when you’ve got the following that Bristol-producer Culprate has. Fans want vinyl presses, custom swag, and physical CDs these days to accompany their album releases and with various costs like shipping and design, the money can stack up pretty quickly and significantly. The UK experimental producer is taking a huge risk with his newest album, as yet untitled, and has put his faith in crowdfunding site Indiegogo in order to procure the necessary funds.
As Culprate writes on his proposal:
Out of a total of around £22,000 the vast majority will be put towards equipment, studio time and professional session musicians. However, these costs only cover the process of creating the album and there are many other expenses to come after it’s finished. Just one example of these expenses is the physical product which many of you have requested i.e. vinyl, CD’s and prints which will be made for the release. And you’d be amazed how much it costs to ship them!
Culprate’s last album was all the way back in 2011, titled Colours. His new goal is not the typical dancefloor type sounds; in fact, he says this new stuff might even “clear dancefloors.” I’m all for experimenation, so personally I’m very excited for anything new he’s going to put out. If you’d like to donate, you can visit his Indiegogo campaign HERE.
Other producers who have gone the crowdfunding route include Bluetech and The Polish Ambassador. Most recently, DJ QBert just reached his goal of $100,000. In comparison, £22,000 (comes out to a little over $36,000) doesn’t seem too bad. Plus he’s putting up lots of great incentives including personal Skype production critiques and the original print for the artwork of the album.