Jeremy Arndt's, 'Journeys: HandPan Solo' - A KickStarter Success Story

HandPan musician, Jeremy Arndt, recently (at time of posting) released his second album, 'Journeys: HandPan Solo', which sat pretty at the top of the BandCamp 'HandPan music charts for a good while, and still continues to rank (and  presumably also sell) well. - (you can grab yourself a copy at Amazon too).

And one of the most interesting things about Jeremy's album, other than the beautiful music itself, is the fact that the album was funded entirely (as far as we know), by a Kickstarter campaign.

If you're not aware of what Kickstarter is, it's a 'crowdfunding' platform, that essentially allows the citizens of the interweb to come together (should they consider the concept worthy) to kick in the money to bring the ideas, and dreams of those who put them forth to life.  And at time of posting, more than 5 million net citizens have clubbed together to fund over 50,000 creative projects (including Jeremy Arndt's recent release).

People who back Kickstarter projects are offered tangible rewards and special experiences in exchange for their pledges, usually relative to the amount pledged.  For example, those who pledged $25 to Jeremy's campaign were rewarded with a signed copy of the CD, advance download, and a few other small rewards.  While those with pockets deep enough to pledge $1000, were offered among numerous other benefits, a private concert at a place of their choosing.

While it's too late now to get involved in funding the production of the album being discussed, you might find a look at Jeremy's Kickstarter appeal interesting, should you be considering ways and means to either produce, or promote your own music...

You can check out the Kickstarter page: HERE - which raised over $6,500 in funding, from over 170 backers.

Other HandPan-related Kickstarter campaigns have included the successful funding of Benjamin Bogosian's Hang drum album (back in 2010).  And Tzevaot's (an American-based HandPan producing company) somewhat controversial, and ultimately cancelled attempt to crowdsource the funds for starting up their HandPan business.

Upon successful release of Journeys: HandPan Solo, Jeremy had the following to say: '...This is my second album and I have been working on the project for over 2.5 years, from when I wrote the first song. My first album included many of the instruments that I play (handpan, didgeridoo, guitar, percussion) and for this one, I wanted to strip it back to the handpan by itself and focus on "storytelling" through Handpan music. The stories are the songs written in 2.5 years of world travel through 15 countries. The songs are my emotion and feeling, as captured through the highs and lows of world travel. The album was funded via my fans, friends, family, and many members here on Kickstarter. Many thanks to everyone who contributed.' 

And should you be wondering if the $6,500 raised via Kickstarter by Jeremy went well spent - we think it was, and you can decide for yourself by grabbing a listen below...
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