Putting together a studio produced album is no easy feat. If you want the album to be of top notch quality – following the successive quality of your previous albums – instead of being recorded in a tin can then you’ll have to plan accordingly. If you want your songs to be less monotonous than just you on the track with a twangy guitar then that will have to be factored in too.
And, if you want more people to listen to it than your immediate family (including your parents who don’t even know what an MP3 is!) then you’ll have to fork out for marketing too. It’s not cheap either and out country singer Chely Wright recognises this which is why she’s launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring her next album to the masses.
The budget on her campaign is $175,000, which might seem pricey, but Wright explains that it’s necessary because she wants to “make a great album of great songs and to do that, we need to reach our goal”.
That relatively high figure will go towards “using the best musicians, the best engineers and recording in the best studios available” and although that $175,000 number was usually doubled by major labels (her last release on a major label was in 2010, but since coming out the same year Wright has since gone independent) some of the raised money will go to marketing too.
Fans will be able to take pride in the backer rewards, though. A digital download of the final album is available while for those interested in Wright’s coming out, her marriage to Lauren Blitzer in 2011 and the birth of their twin sons in 2013, then there’s a backer tier that also nabs you a copy of her documentary. Meanwhile, the most expensive tier is worth $10,000 and not only will that let you meet Wright in person, but she’ll even take you as her guest to the 2014 GLSEN Award in Los Angeles later this year.
Visit her Kickstarter for more information.