popular YouTube band starts a kickstarter grift. cool.

I don’t understand why they have a kickstarter going. Did their gear get stolen or something, or are they literally just going, ‘no record label for this one guys so please give us money’??

literally the second part. the justification is so funny.

“Archspire wants to break free of that cycle. By going fully independent, we can take 100% control of our business, fund our own record, and never again rely on advances or unfair royalty splits.”

but actually we want you to fund the record and assume the risk because it turns out it’s hard and costs a lot.

That is mad goofy…

Album Rating: 4.4

Oh yeah fuck that LMAO. Missed that part.

Album Rating: 3.0

If they're honest about royalty split being 80-85% in favor of the label I understand them. It's insane how little financial reward it is for the music bands create.

I don’t understand how people still fall for the crowdfunding grift. you’re essentially investing with none of the actual benefits of investing. just giving money to someone else so they can take all the profits.

like i get why you’d want to get away from a label but the whole point of labels existing is that they assume the risk of investing in a product. so if you want to go independent, more power to you, but then YOU assume the risk, not your fans.

Album Rating: 3.0

Maybe people just want to support one of their favorite bands? I don't see it as something wrong as long as they're being transparent with their intent and don't go down the Wintersun road. I'd rather have my money go directly to a band than the majority of it going to the label

yeah i mean everything above the first "tier" donation is essentially a pre-order for the album so i dont see the big deal

Album Rating: 4.0

>you’re essentially investing with none of the actual benefits of investing. just giving money to someone else so they can take all the profits



supporters generally get exclusive or limited stuff for 'investing' and taking on that risk (including the actual thing itself), and also there's the fact that the album doesn't get created without support. sure they could just sign again to get it made, and if this KS had any chance of failing i'd imagine that's exactly what they'd do, but i'm also not going to shed tears for a record label either. the band is big enough at this point a label provides diminishing returns that heavily favor the label - and i guarantee they had the same realization - so i don't have an issue with them going this route. i'd rather the money go to the artist(s). the concern is whether the money goes exclusively where it's supposed to and that's everyone's own determination to make. idk i'm just not that concerned with how people choose to spend their money tbh

"the band is big enough at this point a label provides diminishing returns that heavily favor the label"

if that were true, they would be able to self fund the album. by asking the fans to fit the bill, the are essentially admitting that they dont have the capital to fund the venture, which is exactly what investors are for (in this case, the label).

idk i just think crowdfunding is incredibly lame and dishonest and i would never give my money to one. but then again there are adult humans who buy pokemon cards and funko pops so clearly i have a different standard for responsible spending.

Album Rating: 4.0

i meant on a longer time scale. these guys have a huge social media presence. 6 figure followers on multiple platforms, a few 1m+ view music videos, and Dean's channel routinely gets 50k and sometimes 100k views. and as much as i like this + relentless mutation they are prime reaction content that will funnel even more people into the band. shit man they're gonna hit their funding goal in one day. IMO they've hit a critical mass where they're able to market and distribute their material without the help of a label. not that a label won't provide value but they're prob at the point it's feasible to own their brand. it honestly won't surprise me if the first single on the new album exceeds social impressions from this album. while they can't front the capital now they get a bigger slice of the pie going forward doing the work a label would



i guess it'd sour me a bit if the model is to crowdfund every big expense going forward. if they mathed the math correctly the business should churn on its own after this but whatever if people wanna preorder shit sight unseen for a couple perks knock yourself out i guess

yeah i mean if they make it work more power to em. im still gonna think its lame but as long as they dont pull a jari and the fans are happy its not that big a deal.

I will never shit on metal bands setting up kickstarters or patreons. I do not understand the hate it gets. Cost of living with a GOOD job today is tough enough, how the hell are band members splitting streaming / merch revenue supposed to survive on that (usually) pitiful income alone?

I contribute a few dollars each month to a couple bands I like and I am more than happy to do it if it allows the bands some semblance of financial security so they can continue making great music.

Album Rating: 5.0

I have nothing against the kickstarter approach. Plenty of people are happy to support creators that they enjoy, want them to have success, and of course get new music out of it. I just don't see the issue. If I'm spending money on an album I feel better about the profits going directly to the band. Superfans who have money to burn get their nice little one of a kind toys (the guitar, the pedals, which sold immediately) and it all goes into sustaining something they enjoy. Just seems like a weird thing to have a negative stance on.

I will admit that calling the record self funded is silly, poor choice of words there. I'm sure they're putting some money on the table themselves, but given this approach, calling it fan funded or something like that would have been much more appropriate.

Looks like they're gonna absolutely smash the target goal. I'll probably just get a basic album download perk myself, though that green vinyl is some eyecandy, tempting me a bit.

Album Rating: 4.0

this album slaps, so will the next one - it's hardly an "investment" with the proven track record this band has

Album Rating: 4.0

protest the hero did this with volition and it did pretty well for them and those who backed them. don't see an issue with the band going this route. if they fleece people it'll be the last thing they probably ever do. if they make good, everybody wins.

Not even a fan of this band and I don’t get the hate for crowdfunding. As long as the money goes where they say it will, it’s a good example of symbiosis between artists and their fanbase. Better than hanging on to the toxic band/label dynamic. Not like they’re scamming fans or forcing people to pay at gunpoint.

Album Rating: 3.0

They already reached their goal lol. Took them 12 hours. Nice to see a tech-death band getting this kind of support

Compelling perspectives itt i hadn’t thought of it that way