I'm going to let you in on a little secret that you'd probably figure out 15 minutes into a road trip with me or 15 seconds into karaoke night. I can't sing. In fact, I'm not a good musician in general. I love music, but after 8 years of clarinet, 1 year of piano, and a semester each of trumpet and violin... I've accepted that time signatures are never going to make sense to me and the clarinet solo from Rhapsody in Blue is never going to be mine. It's okay. I still love and support live music.
You don’t have to be a part of something directly to love it and support it. So what is so surprising about saying my focus when it comes to funding is local small businesses who have no clear connection our music scene? This is how that conversation typically goes…
So, not music venues?
No. Everyone EXCEPT music venues.
Like coffee shops and bookstores?
Yes, those and all the other small businesses is town.
- Often the next step is to explain that I'm not trying to get these businesses to host live music...
So, what am I doing? I'm telling small business owners in the area that if you support live music, live music will support you. I have a ton of research that I'll be sharing in the coming weeks, but this is it in a nutshell...
When my web designer put “Support Live Music and Live Music Will Support You” on the website last year, I liked it... but I considered it a purely philosophical statement. That is, until I began to see how those in the Peoria music scene actually supported each other.
I've seen artists who had a show canceled at the last minute, picked up by other venues just to help out. I've seen artists who go out on nights when they don't have a show, just to support fellow musicians they love. I’ve seen venue owners most would assume were just competitors, working together on projects and helping each other out.
“These six businesses and two venues were the first to support a PML project. Because of that, they are being listed on our “supporters” page at least through the end of the year. Click the logo to be taken to their page.”
As a business owner, I've experienced this support myself. I've mentioned before how Sean Kenny left the restaurant on one of his busiest afternoons to bring me a stack of $1 bills when I forgot to bring change for the merch table to Mardi Gras in May. And there are also people I've met in the music scene who started using the services of my other business, Hire A Housewife, because they appreciate what I do.
In fact, the support I've felt from the music scene since Peoria Music Live started has been some of the most genuine and loyal I've ever encountered. I want other small business owners to experience that as well.
That's what this plan centers around... letting our growing group of followers and all of the musicians in the area know who supports live local music, so we can support you back.
Small Businesses
We want people to fund Peoria Music Live because they love what we do. Whether you just love live music and appreciate the coverage we've given it locally or you believe in our mission of reinvigorating the Peoria economy, starting with the live local music scene … we love that people are willing to come along for the ride! The benefits that you are promised for each tier are just icing on the cake!
Patreon is easy to use and is full of features that help us make sure any contributions are going towards our vision… Check it out here.
Peoria Music Live is using a platform called Patreon to keep track of funding.
In fact, they keep track of everything, which makes this perfect for us. When you are finished reading this, click on the photo of our Patreon page to check it out. Patreon.com/PeoriaMusicLive
Here are some highlights…
Contract free - Stop any time
Charged the 1st of every month
Choose your amount of support, even if we don’t have a tier for that amount.
(Ex: Choosing the $20 tier, but telling Patreon to pay $30.)Sends PML a monthly checklist so we can make sure you receive your rewards!
Artists & Venues
Peoria Music Live will continue to do the things we do for free already, without charge.
It's important to me that all artists and venues promoted through PML are on a level playing field. I want your talent and your business to be what gets you in front of more people as opposed to who has more money to spend on advertising. Because of that, support packages to these two groups are limited.
Our venue support tier includes some deeper exposure and a stronger web presence, but doesn't change what we are doing for everyone else. Funding gives venues some more guaranteed exposure because I'll be able to hire employees who can follow through on the benefits listed in the tiers. The minimum support amount listed on the tiers is low. Anyone is able to add an additional amount at checkout if they would like to support PML at an amount for which we don't have a specific tier.
We do not have a support package specifically for artists created at this time.
Long before I decided how to interact with venues, I knew that I didn't want to charge artists for what we do... EVER. We want you to just keep doing what you are doing and we'll let everyone know about it. Although, I have to admit that it's great to hear the occasional shout-out and to see you sharing our posts and wearing those PML shirts!
What you CAN DO - Share this information with business and venue owners who might be interested.
Patreon does give people the ability to support us without using a specific tier. If you are looking for it, you’ll find it at the bottom of the tiers page.
The more fully funded PML is, the more fully we can promote you. For example, I LOVE the artist section of our website, but I've been unable to keep up with updating it. A funded PML means I can focus on that content or hire someone with experience to update those pages.
Our goal for funding is $5000 per month before transaction fees.
Patreon gives me the option of hiding the amount that is coming in, but I believe in transparency and that the outcome will show for itself what can be done. The amount you see listed on our Patreon page is the amount after transaction fees (which are about 10%.)
Wondering what we will do with the amount that is coming in? Click here to check out yesterday’s blog post… Catching the Vision.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me at kindall@peoriamusiclive.com - I look forward to talking with you!