Crowdfunding isn’t a plan B for when there’s no money. Done well, it’s a validation tool, a community-building exercise, and a pre-sale mechanism that makes it possible to produce projects that would otherwise never happen.
Done badly, it’s a campaign that falls short of the minimum, leaves you exhausted, and damages your reputation with the people who supported you.
The difference between the two scenarios isn’t luck: it’s preparation.
When a campaign makes sense
Crowdfunding works when you already have an audience that follows you and trusts your work. It isn’t a tool for finding new audiences — it’s a tool for converting your existing audience into backers of your next project.
It makes sense if:
- You’ve released albums, shows, or previous projects with a good response
- You have an active community (mailing list, loyal followers, regular attendees at your concerts)
- The project you want to fund is concrete and has a tangible outcome (album, book, show, tour)
- You can explain the project clearly and emotionally in under 2 minutes
It doesn’t make sense if:
- You’re just starting out and have no support base yet
- The project is vague or undefined (“I want to record some music”)
- You can’t dedicate the time and energy an active campaign requires
The main platforms
| Platform | Model | Scope | For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verkami | All-or-nothing (30 days) | Mainly Catalonia/Spain | Music, film, comics, performing arts |
| Goteo | All-or-nothing + opt-in extra round | Spain, social and cultural projects | Projects with social impact, free culture |
| Kickstarter | All-or-nothing | International (dominant in English) | Music, film, games, technology |
| Indiegogo | All-or-nothing or flexible | International | More flexible, less organic community |
For cultural projects in Catalonia and Spain, Verkami (the main Catalan/Spanish crowdfunding platform for arts and culture) has the largest community specifically focused on arts and culture. Goteo is worth considering if your project has a social dimension or you want to fund it in two rounds (community + institutional).
The structure of a campaign that works
Define the minimum viable goal, not the maximum you’d like. The minimum goal is what you need to produce the project in its essential version. Don’t include the ideal marketing budget, the full tour, or the professional music video if they aren’t strictly necessary for the core product. People fund the project, not your ideal budget.
Design your rewards carefully. Rewards need to have real value for backers — not just for you. Typical tiers: digital access (€5–10), physical copy (€20–30), exclusive experience (€50–100), patronage with special recognition (€200+). Avoid rewards that generate disproportionate work: if you hit double your goal, you may have to handwrite 200 letters.
The video is 70% of the campaign. A 90–120 second video that explains who you are, what you want to create, and why it matters. You don’t need professional production — you need authenticity and clarity. Many campaigns succeed with videos filmed on a phone and well edited. The quality of the message matters more than the quality of the image.
Prepare the launch like a premiere. The first three days determine whether the campaign reaches 30–40% of its goal, which is what builds the sense of momentum. You need your support network mobilised before you go live: talk to your trusted people, let them know the campaign is coming, ask them to back it on day one.
Communicate throughout the campaign, not just at the beginning and end. Weekly updates (or every 3–4 days) keep the campaign visible and give people reasons to share it. Tell the story: production decisions, guest musicians, the first rehearsal, a cover design preview. The campaign is the first public narrative of the project.
Pay attention to post-campaign management. If you hit your goal, the real work begins: producing and delivering rewards on the timelines you promised. Delays in delivery destroy the trust you’ve built. Plan realistic production time and communicate transparently if there are problems.
Common mistakes
Setting the goal too high
A €10,000 goal for a debut album by an emerging artist without an established community is very hard to reach. If you don't hit the minimum, you get nothing (in all-or-nothing models) and the public failure is visible. Better to set an achievable goal and exceed it.
Trusting the platform to find your backers
Crowdfunding platforms don't work like marketplaces where people browse looking for projects. The vast majority of backers come from your direct network. The platform is the payment and visibility infrastructure, not the discovery channel.
Not preparing your support network beforehand
Publishing the campaign and waiting for people to find it is the surest way to fail. You need to mobilise your network in the first days. Talk to the 20–30 people you know will support you, explain the project personally, and ask them to act on day one.
Impossible or miscalculated rewards
Offering "an acoustic concert at your home" for €50 without calculating the time and logistics may seem charming, but it can be financially ruinous if 40 people choose that reward. Every reward needs its production and delivery cost calculated with margin.
Crowdfunding and taxes
One point many artists overlook: crowdfunding income is taxable. In Spain, if you’re registered as a self-employed professional (autónomo), campaign income is generally added to your business earnings. If you’re not registered, you may still have an obligation to declare it as irregular income.
Consult a tax advisor or accountant before launching your campaign to understand how to declare the income and whether the platform will issue any certification for income tax (IRPF) purposes. Read our guide on taxes for creative freelancers for the general framework.
Crowdfunding as the first narrative of the project
Beyond funding, a well-run campaign builds the first audience for the project. Backers don’t just pay: they often become the first advocates — the people who talk about the project in their circles, who show up at the premiere.
Treat the campaign as the first chapter of your project’s public story, not as a formality to secure funding.
At Ressona we work with artists who want to professionalise their digital presence and communication. If you have a project you want to launch and don’t know how to build the narrative around it, get in touch.