While some were trick or treating on Oct. 31, Blue Hawk Records was launching an online campaign to raise funds to record a new album. Bake sales are fun, but Blue Hawk Records, the University’s very own record label, realized there might be a slightly cooler way to raise money. The young label has been campaigning on Indiegogo.com to raise $500 for a new album.
Crowd sourced fundraising websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo have been proven to be successful, especially for artists trying to fund creative projects. Artists make a video selling their product and then ask for donations. Donors receive perks established by the artist, which can be anything from a free download to a personal concert.
Browsing through Indiegogo is kind of like watching an explosion of creativity. It’s just a collective of creative people with numerous ideas, all of which need funding.
Some artists are famous, such as We the Kings, a band who used Indiegogo to raise almost $150,000 for their fourth studio album (and first independent release).
Plenty are far from famous and just raise money based on a cool idea: Robert Morrison is a New York businessman who managed to fund his idea for wireless, waterproof speakers called Rebel Speakers.
Natalie Zeller is a sophomore and an artist signed to the label. She explained that the Indiegogo campaign opened up donations to a wider demographic. Zeller said, “We decided to do an Indiegogo campaign because online marketing is becoming huge. We wanted to show people outside of Monmouth who we are and what we’re about and look for even more support.”
Professor Joe Rapolla, advisor for Blue Hawk Records and chair of the Music and Theare Arts Department, discussed the benefits of donating. “In most cases the fans are given an incentive, so essentially are really just pre-buying the product or content,” Rapolla said.
The perks for Blue Hawk Records donors are as follows: $5 is a download of the album; $7 is the physical CD; $20 is a sticker, physical CD and signed thank you note from the artists; $50 is a T-shirt, sticker, CD, thank you note, and a gift box of treats; $100 is a T-shirt, sticker, CD, thank you note, gift box with treats, personal thanks on CD packaging; $250 is T-shirt, sticker, CD, thank you note, gift box with treats, personally thanked on CD packaging, vinyl record and home acoustic concert by two of the artists.
Zeller also mentioned that donating is “a great way to show support to your peers who are pursuing their goals.”
While Battaglia mentioned that Blue Hawk Record’s success isn’t just good for the artists, but the department as a whole. Battaglia said, “…it’s time for the Music and Theatre Department at Monmouth to earn the respect they deserve. These programs work so hard with the little resources they have that they deserve to have more support in the future.”
If that’s what the donors get, what does Blue Hawk Records get? Guy Battaglia, sophomore music industry major, explained, “The Indiegogo campaign will pay for our session time at Lakehouse Studio in Asbury Park. Any leftovers will be used for merchandise as well as marketing. We are willing to make every penny count.”
Blue Hawk Records is already past the halfway mark for their fundraising goal. It seems people want to hear the follow up from Blue Hawk Records. The label released their first four song compilation last spring. The album featured one song from each of the four signed artists.
The label now has six artists: 99 Regrets, James Poricelli, Kristi Hunt, Natalie Zeller, Sarah Gulbin and Seasons. Part of the reason the label wants to record again is the addition of Poricelli and Hunt.
Battaglia said that while he’d be happy to have his band, 99 Regrets, featured on the album, exposing new artists is more important.
“So far, this next album will definitely have Sarah Gulbin and Natalie Zeller on it, but I may hop in if we have extra time in the studio. The thing is, though, that since we have two new artists, James Poricelli and Kristi Hunt, I want them to have a chance at recording since I was already on the last sampler,” Battaglia said.
Blue Hawk Records was formed in an Applied Music Industry class. Rapolla mentioned students need to get into the studio to apply what they’re learning in class. “We had a very successful launch last semester with the Applied Music Industry II class. This semester everyone came back to take Applied III and we had the opportunity to ‘apply’ everything we learned the first go round,” Rapolla said.
Rapolla said he lets the students take the lead in the studio. He said, “I’m like Executive Producer, which means I nudge the project along, make sure all the trains run on time, and help find money. I just keep saying “…then go do it”. Otherwise, it’s student run. There are a lot of good ideas and work that come out of our class meetings. Some students really take the ball and run with it, which is a testament to how they will take control of their careers…and lives!”
The fundraiser ends on Nov. 15. To donate to Blue Hawk Records Indiegogo campaign, go to http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/blue-hawk-records-fall-2013-compilation-cd or check out their facebook page at facebook.com/BlueHawkRecords.
