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$53 Million Pledged To Kickstarter Over Two Years

Posted by Soulskill on from the money-for-nothing dept.

fangmcgee writes "Kickstarter, a website which collects donations for creative projects, said Thursday that it has received pledges of more than $53 million since its launch two years ago. 'Of the $53 million that has been pledged, $40 million has been collected by successfully funded projects and $6 million is still live (meaning pledged to projects that are still funding). The remaining $7 million is the amount of money not collected — pledged to projects that did not meet their funding goals. Of the $47 million pledged to projects whose funding has ended ($40M collected + $7M uncollected), approximately 85% of the funds ($40M) were collected. This 85% collection rate has stayed quite steady over the past two years.'"

12 of 73 comments (clear)

  1. Kickstarter a huge disappointment... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    A place for self-absorbed starving artists to beg for money.

    I was so disappointed to learn that the majority of Kickstarter projects are stupid and have no actual value. I was expecting a community of charity workers with great ideas to help developing nations, or something along those lines, of people with really awesome ideas that just need some money to get "kickstarted".

    What I found was a bunch of art majors talking about how awesome their stupid art project is, and if they only had a couple more thousand dollars, they could totally express their creative impulses for the world to trip over themselves to experience. Ugh.

    Not all the projects are terrible, but the vast majority are. A huge disappointment.

    1. Re:Kickstarter a huge disappointment... by h4rr4r · · Score: 5, Insightful

      When you grow up your will realize no matter the topic, form, kind or type of thing anything is 90% of everything is crap.

    2. Re:Kickstarter a huge disappointment... by tacokill · · Score: 2

      Very interesting comment. It's interesting to me because there are many "alternative" finance markets out in the world from micro-loans to setups like this.

      The simple fact is this: if things like this had any merit, they would have already gotten funding from traditional channels. That they don't is an indication of the lack of value. It's not some grand conspiracy to "keep artists down". It is simply reflective of the value artists are perceived to bring to the table. If these projects were viable, then *ANY* charity would want to embrace and extend a project like that. Again, since they aren't doing that.....what does that tell us?

      Sometimes it works out but like you say, most of the time it doesn't and the reason is obvious: the loaners of the money do not see the same value in the projects as the people working on them and desiring funding.

    3. Re:Kickstarter a huge disappointment... by SocialEngineer · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I myself am one of said artists, to an extent, but I am a firm believer in Kickstarter being a great tool for artists. I myself have been funding the production of my new album (blues) for a couple years now out of pocket. I've been trying to figure out how to handle preorders, and after seeing the Asylum Street Spanker's campaign, I realized a great way to do it - a Kickstarter campaign. The money goes towards equipment for live shows/touring, and also gives fans of my music a chance to snag copies of the new album (a month early, in fact), get commissioned tunes, or even get one of my old beater guitars should they feel generous enough (or think I'm famous enough to warrant it's purchase). Essentially, I'm turning the fans into the record label. They front the project, and get what they want in return. I love the idea of being able to directly support my favorite bands without dealing with a record label taking an obnoxious cut, and Kickstarter is the perfect way to do it.

      Also, once the album is out and I've got my gear, I'll be using Kickstarter to not only sell my album (outside of Amazon/iTunes/physical locations), but to help with another project I've been dreaming of.. A way to get guitars to kids in low-income families. I'm guessing that's probably more in-line with what you'd like to see Kickstarter being used for. There are a lot of kids who love music, and want to get into it, but don't have the financial means to do so. Guitars are relatively cheap, and are quite prolific in the music industry.

      Not all of us self-absorbed starving artists are complete bastards :)

      --
      "Better to be vulgar than non-existent" -Bev Henson
  2. It is far better than by Shivetya · · Score: 3, Interesting

    these same artist convincing your local municipality into funding their lack of taste and having it rubbed into your face each time you drive past a public building or go to the airport. Far too many "artists" are self important snits who goad society into funding them by making it to be "if you don't fund the arts your just cavemen/bigots/etc" so that we end up paying stupid sums of money to people who can't sell their product to anyone with a sense of sight or taste.

    Like I posted elsewhere in this thread, I didn't go there to save the world or community. I contributed to something that sparked my fancy and at the same time let me have some fun. (speaking of the trebuchets). However this type of site will also go along way in teaching these artists just what society values, not just what they think society should value. It does this by giving them immediate exposure to their peer's successes and failures.

    If your looking for something to change the world or benefit other nations there are hundreds of charities that can use your money, some can use your time if your willing. give.org lists thousands of them so can check to see if the one you chose is worthwhile.

    --
    * Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
  3. Kickstarter could do much better. by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 3, Insightful

    A huge problem with Kickstarter is that it requires an Amazon account before it will take your money. If they used PayPal or some other service, they could just take credit cards, with no membership required.

    Some people will simply not contribute if they have to sign up for an account first. I know that I usually won't. So by adding unnecessary requirements before they will even accept your money, they reduce contributions.

    And to those who say it is a place to "buy things beforehand": no, it is not. You are contributing to a cause. In exchange, you might be offered something of value. But it is not a matter of "buying things". It is a matter of supporting good causes.

    1. Re:Kickstarter could do much better. by McKing · · Score: 2

      I wonder if Kickstarter went with Amazon because Paypal may not have the concept of a delayed payment. Essentially what you do with Kickstarter is escrow a contribution until the "critical mass" of contributions is reached within the time frame of the campaign, and only then is everyone's credit card actually charged. Kickstarter could do that themselves (charge at donation time, refund if critical mass is never reached), but then they get into a gray area of accounting for that escrowed money themselves, dealing with returns (which incur fees), etc..

      --
      If only "common" sense was actually that common...
  4. think i've heard of this before by Hazel+Bergeron · · Score: 2

    So it's a place where people can pay... money for... bespoke services. That's novel.

    Except that they take 5%, plus another 3-5% for Amazon payments, and there's a big list of rules.

    No thanks.

  5. Robots Or Fingerpaint.....? by IHC+Navistar · · Score: 2

    How, exactly, is this money going to be used? As long at it gets spent on projects that are innovative, I have no problem.

    However, if they wind up financing some art junkie's skidmarks, or a large percentage of each dollar gets spent on "administrative costs" (like the Red Cross), and not something that will actually contribute anything of practical value, they will lose credibility rapidly. Knowing the kinds of incredibly stupid mistakes that wealthy organizations can make is why I am undecided on how this will turn out.

    --
    Knowing Google's lust for data collection, the Soviet Union is still alive and well inside the psyche of Sergey Brin....
    1. Re:Robots Or Fingerpaint.....? by s73v3r · · Score: 2

      If you don't think a project has any value, then don't donate to it. Simple.

  6. Re:The perfect Kickstarter project. by DamienRBlack · · Score: 2

    You'd probably get more cheaper from hiring a plane to fly a parabolic path.

  7. burning man stuff by lemur3 · · Score: 2

    This site has been used to make a lot art at burning man possible as of late.

    some of the stuff sucks but there is some fancy high tech art out there that is quite involved... lotsa technical/engineering smarts to make some of the things happen... and survive for the whole event.