I've been thinking recently about crowdfunding, and just thought about what the Mudcat denizens think of it.

Crowd funding is the idea that ordinary people donate to help you produce something - be it an album, exhibition, science thesis, whatever. It usually works via something like Kickstarter, and they'll take the money if (and only if) the whole target is reached.

So, I can say "My next album is going to be ~?900 to produce" (*cough* buy my other album*cough*) and then go to Kickstarter and start a project there asking for ?900 in donations, offering various bonuses for various levels (?5 gets you a digital copy of the album, ?10 gets you a physical and a digital, ?25 gets you a bonus track etc). If I get ?900 or more in donations, everyone sends the money across, I make an album and everything is hunky dory. If I'm not at ?900 at the end, then nobody loses anything.

Anyone ever used it or have any thoughts? I interviewed one Game Developer who said "It means we have investors who aren't in charge of us".

NB: The ?'s that have appeared were originally pound signs. No idea why they're being changed. I blame my BlackBerry, because it can't be Max's fault.