Late last year, Berlin-based electronic pop artist M.Rider – the moniker of Mirna Stanić – announced she was crowdfunding the release of her new album. The Croatian-born singer is far from a newcomer, with multiple radio plays and numerous festival appearances under her belt. With a new album due this summer, she launched a campaign to help cover the costs of recording, production, manufacturing and PR – in other words, the entire album-making process. For all of this, she was looking to raise up to €6,000. Mixing and mastering alone was set to cost her €2,500, and that didn’t even include what she’d already spent on instruments, plugins and studio time. These are the kinds of expenses that people now take for granted.
You have to spend a lot of money to be successful, and there are only a few people that can do this
M.Rider’s situation is far from unique. Berlin-based artists across genres are turning to crowdfunding to get their music made, from electronic producer Nguyen and singer-songwriter Anna Vaverková to jazz composer Zielkes Zeltlager. Even former local Emika has joined the chorus, campaigning for support to release her latest project. The list keeps growing.
It all points to a lack of funding in the music scene. A broken cog in the machine.
Even for those who do have support from record labels, the economic situation has also changed. For a recent musical project I was involved in, we received offers from labels that required us – the musicians – to pay the label to release the music. This is a practice that is becoming increasingly commonplace. It begs the question: if you don’t have the money in the first place to record your own music, or sign with a label, can you even be a musician nowadays?
In last month’s edition of The Berliner, I interviewed Anton Teichmann, head of the Berlin label Mansions and Millions. We spoke about the challenges facing newer artists in today’s industry. “You have to spend a lot of money to be successful, and there are only a few people that can do this,” he said. With the rise of streaming, fewer artists are making money from recorded music. Plus, due to inflation, many musicians struggle to even make ends meet on tour, and with AI technology on the rise, the outlook certainly isn’t improving.
If you don’t have money in the first place… can you even be a musician nowadays?
Most musicians in Berlin either have enough money to support themselves, have raised money through their community or have support from initiatives such as the Music Board Berlin. But with further cuts to cultural funding, it’s only getting harder for those without economic privilege – which leads me back to crowdfunding. By moving the financial needle, crowdfunding is allowing musicians to take back ownership and control of their musical endeavours, with no more labels, or shady deals. That is, as long as they achieve their goals.
So instead of just streaming your favourite artist, dig into your pockets and support their next project. That way, you’re part of their future too.
