OK, funding...

I do not like advertisers so much. Banner ads are quite common these days, but from a design standpoint, they get in the way. Also, I must personally believe in the product or company, and that just complicates things.

We've kicked around a lot of ideas, a member area was one in which there would be extras for those who paid a modest yearly fee. I do not like this either. We do this to get this stuff out there as much as we can, and to withhold anything for a fee is just not right.

We are in the process of applying for a tax exempt status. When and if this comes through, any money donated or spent at the Mudcat will be a tax deductible charitable donation. This is nice, but will likely take upwards of 9 months to process. Nonetheless, in the meantime we are a non-profit corp.

The only idea that I am totally comfortable with is to provide items that are very relevant to this site (Folk & blues) and follow the same vane. We all go to the Mudcat because we cannot typically find resources locally like this. There are products too that we cannot find locally. Most of the music I enjoy is not available in an average record store. The idea is to fund ourselves by selling products that are hard to find. The Mudcat is successful because we provide Folk and Blues resources. So lets not mess with what works. In a few days, our record collection will be up for sale. Folk Legacy Records is our first cooperator, and I do hope more will follow. We will sell these records and books online for a fee that is probably less than you’d find in you local store. And the profits go to the further development of the DigiTrad and the Mudcat, not some capitalist fat cat.

We hope to have books, records, clothing, sheet music, and anything relevant to what we do on the Mudcat. As soon as we go live, our efforts will be applied to finding more fine companies like Folk Legacy to take part, and I am sure we will have good luck.

I will post another thread discussing the details of such a deal so you all may help us find more.

I am not against donations either. I will be more comfortable when it’s a tax write-off for everyone, but I don’t care to wait 9 months. Dick, Susan and I will think about this and let you all know.

Onstage Media, Inc. donates all the technology, work and web space for the Mudcat. I own this company too. If you refer anyone with any computer and/or Internet related project to Onstage, it can only help the Mudcat. Please see our site to understand what we are capable of. (http://www.onstagemedia.com) The Mudcat is a very good example of what we can do. Also, any gigs that I know come from a referral from the Mudcat, I will donate 10% of the proceeds to the Mudcat.

All the latest (and soon to be) additions to the Mudcat are part of an effort to move forward. Hang on to your socks, because they just may be knocked off. We are shining the apple to see where we can take this cat. Personally, I won’t rest at ease until we have our own cable TV station… so I better get to work.