D.I.Y.

Mamet Sisters’ Failing Kickstarter: Celebrity Crowdfunding Backlash Or Fan-Connection Failure?

Cabin-sistersMamet half-sisters, Zosia and Clara, have a musical act called The Cabin Sisters. The Cabin Sisters are raising money via Kickstarter for a music video and it's not going so well. They're getting a lot of criticism on the web for all sorts of reasons but maybe the real problem is that they are just beginning to connect with their fans and are getting ahead of themselves with this campaign.

The Cabin Sisters, Zosia Mamet and Clara Mamet, are in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign that they launched only a few days ago to raise money for a music video.

The Cabin Sisters Kickstarter Pitch Video

Normally I wouldn't call a campaign failing at this point, there's always a possibility of a turnaround and it's not really fair to crowdfunders, but they requested $32K and they're still under $1500 at this point. Given their minor celebrity status and the small percentage earned to date, they seem unlikely to reach their goal unless someone with cash steps up.

As Christopher Zara pointed out in the International Business Times and as observable in other media outlets, lots of snark has already been thrown and most of it focuses on:

  1. people not liking presumably rich girls asking for money for their hobby
  2. people not liking The Cabin Sisters

I don't know what resources either of these women have but, despite the fact that there is a lot of discussion about the appropriateness of celebrities using crowdfunding for financing, it seems like the loudest voices are always people that just don't like whatever act is being attacked for a specific action.

A lot of people attacked Zach Braff for his Kickstarter campaign but he asked for $2 million and got over $3 million. I don't think his critics were angry fans.

The problem for The Cabin Sisters seems to be lack of fans or lack of organized engagement with fans. I've seen a lot of quirky little acts and I could see The Cabin Sisters finding an audience. They're not an awful group.

But The Cabin Sisters seem new at mobilizing their fans and participating in this kind of thing. For example, their Facebook page is only a few weeks old with a modest level of engagement, but it's an interesting page that seems to reflect their personalities and aesthetic.

Honestly, if they weren't well enough known to be covered as celebs, they would simply be guilty of getting ahead of themselves before they've really established the kind of strong visible link with one's fans that is exceptional fuel for such campaigns.

Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch/@crowdfundingm) also blogs at Flux Research and Crowdfunding For Musicians. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.

Guest Post on 05/30/2013 in D.I.Y. | Permalink | Comments (12)
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  2. I was recently asked to advise a manager about a crowdfunding campaign for an album. Their goal was to raise $X0k. I asked the manager how many backers at the CD level they would need in order to reach the goal. He wasn’t sure.
    The answer was over 1,300 backers at the CD level for an artist that has under 1,000 likes on FB (surely not the most scientific way to measure a fanbase, but it’s certainly a starting point).
    The biggest reason that music crowdfunding campaigns fail is because the artist/management is not realistic when considering how much they can actually raise from their fanbase. The second biggest reason for failure is not valuing rewards correctly. Perhaps the artist/management believes their framed handwritten lyric sheet is worth hundreds of dollars but their fans think it is only worth $50. It could be the other way around and artists undervalue their rewards but that is probably a less frequent phenomenon.
    I think this was a case of believing you can jump (launch a crowdfunding campaign) and a net (engaged fanbase) will appear. It doesn’t work that way…

  4. Crowdfunding is sort of like playing a big festival: you need to build up a fan base and get some sort of traction before you can move on to bigger things. You can’t just start a band and then expect people to throw money your way.
    The other side of the Cabin Sisters is most likely, “They’re already famous and have money. Pay for your own damn video!”

  7. this is why I visit noobniche.com for all my crowd funding information. Why do you need 32k for a video for a band I’ve never heard of?

  8. Having seen crowdfunding both in sports and in music, I’d say that in most cases the expectation is that you don’t go out seeking funds from people outside your circle of yourself, family, and friends until you’ve exhausted those resources. If you and your immediate circle already have enough money, you’re expected to use it.
    Now, you can use crowdfunding as a form of presales, where you’re selling the same stuff you would sell anyway, but you’re just doing it before you’ve finished the project. That’s a different approach than asking for donations to fund your efforts.
    Celebrities just aren’t likely to get much support by claiming they need the financial help. They can do pre-sales if they already have a fanbase. And they can also offer exclusive perks, but they have been doing that already via various direct-to-fan promotions.

  10. I’m going to add something else about celebrity Kickstarter projects.
    In business, it’s always been common to use “other people’s money.” Rich people don’t necessarily fund their own startups or other business projects. They get other people to pay for them and then if the projects go under, the rich haven’t risked their own money.
    The idea that celebrities might turn to crowdfunding to raise money for their projects when they actually have enough money of their own to fund them isn’t necessarily something that translates into the wider world. What works for business may not work for fans thinking they are donating to a worthy cause. Yes, celebrities have often used this approach for charities, where they may or may not be writing big checks for causes, but they still ask citizens to donate. But there is a perceived difference between a charitable cause and a for-profit project.

  11. $25 for a download ?
    Their prices are highly unrealistic, no way I pay twice (or more) the price of a CD for a bunch of mp3s…
    No surprise they don’t have backers

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