Blog Post

Crowdfunding: How Does The Scene Stack Up?

Stay on Top of Enterprise Technology Trends

Get updates impacting your industry from our GigaOm Research Community
Join the Community!

Creatives and inventors don’t need a record label, a movie studio or a wealthy uncle any longer – now, community websites let fans be benefactors. But how do these platforms stack up? We spoke with each of the main crowdfunding sites. Here’s what they did – and didn’t – tell us…

Site

Start

Projects Submitted

Projects Financed

Projects Realised

Total Supporters

Amt Pledged

Amt Paid Out

Avg pledge

Site’s commission

Kickstarter

Apr 09

12,000

5,000+

3,500 – 4,000

400,000+

$35m+

–

$71

5% of
payout

IndieGogo

Jan 08

15,000+

4,000+ @ $500+.
367 @ goal.

“Thousands”.

–

–

“Millions of dollars”

$79

4% of payout (9%
of pledges)

Sellaband

Aug 06

–

54

38 CDs

–

€524,675 + ¥6.6k
+ $2m

€2.7m

€41

15% of
payout

Ulule

Oct 10

169

53

80%

4,818

€100k

€70k

€32

0%
for now

RocketHub

Feb 10

350

75

–

–

$400k

€300k

–

8% of
payout

Slicethepie

Jun 07

–

31

26 albums

–

–

€750k

–

–

Fundbreak

May 10

–

29

–

–

“Confidential”

–

–

7.5% of
payout

PledgeMusic

Jul 09

2,700+

77%

132

74,000

“Confidential”

–

$92

15% of
payout

FeedTheMuse

May 09

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

ArtistShare

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Apr 10

1,500

13

12

3,500

–

–

€46

0% (shares
in returns)

MyMajorCompany

Dec 07

18,000

36

15

30,000

€5m

€360k

€150

0% (shares
in returns)

Research conducted December 2010 to February 2011, including interviews with crowdfunding sites.