Chris Barnes’ iHate Fails to Attain Crowdfunding Goal, Extends Campaign End Date

After a string of crowd funding success stories from bands like Protest the Hero, Chimaira, and The Absence,we’ve now seen a string of crowd funding failure stories. First there was Orgy, followed shortly by Rings of Saturn guitarist Lucas Mann. Now, The PRP reports, Chris Barnes’ iHate has extended the deadline to reach the goal for their Pledge Music campaign because, well, they didn’t reach it by the initial date.

So what’s up with this recent spate of unsuccessful crowd sourcing attempts? I hate to put Chris Barnes under the same heading as Orgy and Onion Rings of Saturn, but all three have something in common: they approached this whole thing wrong.

I’ve already argued that Orgy not only asked for too much money, but put too much emphasis on how the funds would be used to turn them into rockstars again, as opposed to, y’know, making great music and merch for the fans. And I think Vince pretty much hit the nail on the head when pointed out that Mann, too, was asking for ridiculous sum. Barnes’ mistake isn’t nearly as egregious, but I still think it makes a difference: while it’s entirely possible he’s seeking a reasonable amount of money, we’ll never know, because the iHate Pledge Music campaign page doesn’t specify any financial end goal. This is actually an issue I have with ALL of Pledge Music — you may recall that Sevendust’s recent campaign on that same platform also didn’t tell fans how much the band was attempting to raise. Sevendust, though, have a large, thriving fanbase, and so they’re about to hit their goal anyway. In the case of iHate, well… no one knows who they are! Obviously Barnes is the draw, but, sorry to say, that’s not enough. I think telling fans how much money you’re looking for overall is a really important part of the process. Not having the specific amount there sends a message, consciously or not, that the project has a lack of transparency. Including a precise figure may make endeavor that much more inclusive, and given that the entire reason crowd sourcing works is because it makes the fans feel like they’re part of something, that can only work in the artist’s or artists’ favor.

I am, of course, just hypothesizing here. Now that Barnes and iHate have another two months to hit their mark, they may very well do so. You can contribute and get more details here.