Musician Gyan has launched a crowdfunding project… and the clock is ticking!
What is this project all about?
After some award-winning, artistically credible, somewhat left-of-centre material in the last decade, my fans, friends and industry acquaintances have convinced me to embark on my first covers album. I love the Reels’ Beautiful that they put out through K-tel and we play it all the time at home.
It’s probably our benchmark for a stylistically coherent and artistically pleasing repeat-listen covers album with a couple of originals.
Why are you doing a crowdfunded project in conjunction with Universal?
I have struck a two-album deal with a subsidiary of Universal.
The first album will be a joint venture giving me 50 per cent of profits instead of the usually lower record company percentage as well as full equal say in all matters to do with the album. Crowdfunding will enable me to meet the financial contribution I need to make.
It’s a good position for an artist to be in if we can pull this off.
What do you hope to achieve?
I would always be aiming to make a beautiful and timeless album.
Crowdfunding is a way to bring back the budget to afford an amazing 10-piece string section recorded at, say, Alberts in Sydney, with a bit less personal financial risk.
And I must say that the process has also already helped create a more honest and direct path to communicate with my fans and public, despite my initial reservations about crowdfunding.
How can people get involved or help along the way?
Fans can pre-buy the album and other packages or services.
Most importantly a window into the process of making the album as well as unprecedented access to my unusual and artistic life, which has often been referred to as reclusive. Also we will be staging some house concerts between now and kickoff, the first being Saturday, Bangalow, in a friend’s converted church as the venue.
Why is crowdfunding important to artists such as yourself?
Times are not what they used to be for musician artists; internet piracy has affected all of us.
Even in the good days we lived pretty much on the edge, generally borrowing money for a project such as this; and trust me, this is a small budget compared to some of the last few.
With the rise of downloading we’re kind of still paying off some of those forays. Crowdfunding, in this instance, is my fans trusting me to deliver a good album and ensuring it gets made by pre-buying it.
I think there’s value for the punter as well as a sense of honest connection with my audience.
Gyan plays a house concert this Saturday from 7.30pm. Tix are $25. For information email [email protected].
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