In 1997, the Anglo-Saxon prog-rock band Marillion wrote a pioneering chapter in the history of music by launching the first crowdfunding campaign, a phenomenon now known as "fundraising." Known for hits like "Kayleigh...
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Article written in collaboration with Eroica Fenice
In 1997, the Anglo-Saxon prog-rock band Marillion wrote a pioneering chapter in the history of music by launching the first crowdfunding campaign, a phenomenon now known as "fundraising." Known for hits like "Kayleigh" and "Lavender," the group turned to their fans to support the North American tour, raising a notable amount of $60,000.
Marillion assumed a pioneering role by implementing an online fundraising campaign in 1997, at a time when the internet was still in its infancy. In the '90s, limited internet access and the scarce presence of digital fundraising made Marillion's endeavor even more audacious. Nevertheless, the band effectively tapped into their fan base, successfully financing the U.S. tour and, later in 2001, the recording of a new album.
The band's primary interest was in promoting their music rather than easy profit. In 1997, they asked fans to pre-finance the North American tour, followed in 2001 by a similar approach for funding the new album. By inviting fans to pre-order the album before production, they garnered over 12,000 orders, funds that supported the writing and recording of the entire album. Thus, in the late '90s and early 2000s, reward crowdfunding made its debut.
According to the BBC, Marillion anticipated the future of the internet in the late '90s, effectively becoming "crowdfunded by the crowd." This success story even became the subject of an Oxford thesis.
More recently, in 2013, Steve Hogarth, the band's frontman, predicted the future of music based on sharing, where listening to a track wouldn't necessarily require a prior purchase. This model entails purchasing a license, akin to PayTV, to listen to music, with royalties divided among artists. Hogarth stated that, if all goes well, proceeds would go directly to the true artists rather than large record labels. In this context, the growth of platforms like Spotify seems to validate Marillion's predictions.
The future of online fundraising may broaden further with the evolution of royalty-based crowdfunding, especially in the music industry. Examples like the Italian platform BandBackers and the American Royalty Exchange indicate a possible direction for this type of financing.
In conclusion, if Marillion won't be remembered solely for revolutionizing rock, they will certainly be recognized for innovating and redefining the concept of online fundraising, paving the way for a new paradigm in the music industry. Their courage in experimenting with crowdfunding laid the foundation for fundraising, demonstrating that crowd energy can transform not only musical creation but also the funding itself.
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