Thanks to your contributions, we've been able to raise $4723 - which is enough for us to support tracks from five composers! What we've raised so far will allow us to launch the program and pay 3 of our composers what they're worth!
Our eagle eyed readers will notice that we raised 43% of our initial $11,000 goal - which I've referred to as our "first milestone." That means that we're still hoping to raise more to meet that first goal and hoping to raise even more beyond that.
It also means that the overall fees we're able to pay our artists starting out are much lower than industry standards. While we'll be able to fund some of our composers at near (or, in some cases, slightly above) their asking rates, we've chosen fantastic composers who are able to charge lower rates due to the particulars of their circumstances. This isn't dissimilar to the phenomenon of the US tech industry hiring cheaper labor internationally. Beyond that, two of our composers are willing and able to work at a lower rate than their preferred (which, as mentioned, is not uncommon for artists). I don't love this!
So, here's what we're gonna do:
Our first album will be a short release - we're bringing you 4-5 tracks (4 planned with a potential bonus track), and we're aiming for a release date of mid to late August.
We'll be targeting shorter, episodic releases. Think of this first release as the base game and subsequent releases as DLC. These could be additional short albums or even singles.
We're leaving the fundraiser open and additional funds will be split between paying more to composers who've taken reduced fees, funding additional releases for composers we've already worked with to continue supporting them, and bringing on additional composers as we're able.
Thank you so much for joining us on the first steps of this journey. This is just the beginning: stay tuned to see what comes next.