ArtistShare is the internet's first crowdfunding website. It also operates as a record label and business model for artists which enables them to fund their projects by allowing the general public to directly finance, watch the creative process, and in most cases gain access to extra material from an artist. According to Bloomberg News, the company's chief executive officer, record producer Brian Camelio, founded ArtistShare in 2000 with the idea that fans would finance production costs for albums sold only on the Internet and Artists also would enjoy much more favourable contract terms. ArtistShare was described in 2005 as a "completely new business model for creative artists" which "benefits both the artist and the fans by financing new and original artistic projects while building a strong and loyal fan base".
History
thumb|right|250px|ArtistShare founder [[Brian Camelio, singer Willie Nelson, and Blue Note Records President Bruce Lundvall on Willie Nelson's tour bus]]
A United States–based company, ArtistShare (2001) is documented as being the first crowdfunding website
In 2005, American composer Maria Schneider's Concert in the Garden became the first album in Grammy history to win an award without being available in retail stores. According to ArtistShare.com, ArtistShare artists consist of "some of today's most prestigious artists including Pulitzer prize and Oscar nominated writers, Guggenheim fellowship recipients and NEA Jazz Masters". The collaboration will "'essentially serve as a low-risk development arm of the label'" since the recordings will be funded by the fans.
Grammy Awards
- Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album: Concert in the Garden by Maria Schneider (2005); "Cerulean Skies" by Maria Schneider (2008); "The Path Among the Trees" by Billy Childs (2011); "How About You" from the Gil Evans Project:Centennial (2013)
- Best Contemporary Classical Composition: Winter Morning Walks, by Maria Schneider (2014)
- Best Classical Vocal Solo: Dawn Upshaw, Winter Morning Walks
- Best Engineered Album, Classical: Winter Morning Walks and Fan Funded which owns U.S. patent , "Methods and apparatuses for financing and marketing a creative work".
In June 2015, US District Judge Katherine Failla ruled in favor of KickStarter.
See also
- Comparison of crowd funding services