ArtistShare emphasizes on their website that for each project, the artist is in no way required to relinquish ownership of copyright, as this model is not a work made for hire.
[4] Indiegogo Indiegogo is a crowd funding portal that allows users to create a page for their funding campaign, set up an account with PayPal, make a list of "perks" for different levels of donation, then create a social media-based publicity effort.
[5] Unlike similar sites such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo disburses the funds immediately, when the contributions are collected through the user's PayPal accounts.
This type of campaign is designed for labels and artists who have already completed a recording, and are looking for a strategic way to pre-sell and market it.
RocketHub is a completely open platform, meaning that anyone can create a fan-funding campaign and there is no screening process before the project goes live.
The British rock band Marillion are considered to be one of the first artists to have truly harnessed the power of the Internet as a means of music distribution and direct contact with fans, which began with setting up a website in 1996 and raising $60,000 to help finance a 1997 North American tour.
Amidst a dissolving relationship with their record label and management team, the band calculated that they would need 5,000 fans to order the album to finance the project.
They turned to their mailing list and asked fans to pre-order the album in what was later described by the BBC as "a unique funding campaign".
[14] Unofficially dubbed the "queen" of Kickstarter, Amanda Palmer is an example of one of the most successful fan-funded music campaigns of all time.
On 30 April 2012, Palmer ran a campaign on Kickstarter, with a goal of $100,000 to fund her newest studio album, Theatre Is Evil.
[20] Tokyo-based garage metal band Electric Eel Shock is another group that has seen some success in the way of fan-funded music.
In 2004 they offered a "Samurai 100" package, which gave fans the opportunity to secure "guest list for life" status.
Fan-funded music has gained popularity in the past few years however, money raised through these platforms still is only estimated to make up 1% of the amount spent on albums and tours.
[23] In 2001, The Guardian journalist Gareth McLean was scathing of Marillion's pioneering efforts to continue their career without a label by dealing directly with their fans on the Internet, writing: "They have, they explained, decided to eschew the machinations of the record industry in order to be closer to the people.
"[24] Some claim that artists overestimate the cost of recording an album and dishonestly solicit more money than they need via fan-funding.
"For every legitimately exciting pitch there are dozens of musicians, filmmakers and designers pleading for funds to complete ill-conceived projects.
Often the money made off these projects ends up going to paying the costs of running a successful fan funded campaign.