CASH Music recently launched a Kickstarter campaign on February 10, 2012 to raise funds for a hosted version of their platform. Within three days, and almost solely via word of mouth, their $30,000 goal was reached by donations from over 300 people around the world. By the immediate and overwhelming response it was apparent that people understand the need for a nonprofit and open source platform of digital music tools that allow artists the flexibility and functionality that they need. Since then, and with under 60 hours to go, the campaign has raised over $52,000, and co-executive directors Jesse von Doom and Maggie Vail are pushing to reach $60,000 by the end of the March 9, 2012.
What Is CASH Music?
CASH Music is a nonprofit organization that builds open source digital tools for musicians and labels. Their mission is to help educate and empower artists and their fans to foster a more viable and sustainable future for music. What WordPress did for bloggers, they are doing for musicians.
CASH Music is a part of the WebFWD program. WebFWD("Web Forward") is Mozilla’s Innovation Accelerator program, where makers of the next great Web advancements participate as WebFWD Fellows in Mozilla’s global network, receiving mentorship, infrastructure support and other world-class resources that help move the Web forward, together.
A more in-depth discussion of CASH Music’s mission can be found on the Kickstarter campaign page. Here’s an excerpt:
What Can You Do To Help?
Visit CASH Music’s website to read more, but check out their Kickstarter campaign to see a whole list of rewards you can get by donating to the cause. Also, follow them on Twitter and Facebook for updates.
Who Is Involved?
CASH Music is led by co-executive directors Maggie Vail and Jesse von Doom, but they’re guided by a board that represents many different parts of the industry: Dave Allen, Anthony Batt, Jonathan Coulton, Tishaun Dawson, Leslie Hawthorn, Kristin Hersh, Dick Huey, Zoë Keating, Nick Palmacci, Eric Steuer, Tobi Vail and Emily White.
A video update from their Kickstarter campaign features interviews with Amanda Palmer, Jonathan Coulton, Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu,Gary Jarman of The Cribs, and The Thermals. The video shows these artists speaking both towards their level of technical expertise and what they see as the importance of direct relationships with their audience. CASH Music has built their tools slowly over five years directly with artists and labels insuring that their tools are useful for all artists. Watch it below:
Kickstarter Update #2 from CASH Music on Vimeo.