If you’re raising money for a new album, a crowdfunding page will help you collect funds to support your music. Add rewards for fans to choose from, and you’ll be ready to start your crowdfunding campaign.

All of your sales through crowdfunding are processed via PayPal or Stripe, are commission-free, and are deposited into your account immediately.

This Help article includes:

  • How to add a crowdfunding page to your website
  • How to populate your crowdfunding features
    • Adding video
    • Adding campaign intro text
    • Collecting email addresses
    • Adding crowdfunding rewards
      • Adding digital music
      • Adding multiple digital options and bundles
      • Adding custom merch bundles and experiences
      • Luminate (formerly SoundScan) reporting
    • Adding updates with a Blog feature
    • Adding an FAQ section

How to add a crowdfunding page to your website

  1. From the ‘Edit Content’ tab, click ‘Pages’ and select ‘Add a page’
  2. Under ‘Page Type’ click ‘Crowdfunding’
  3. Name the page (default: Crowdfunding)
  4. Select the additional page options of your choice
  5. Click ‘Create my page’

This will create your new crowdfunding page. By default, it will be set up with features commonly used for a crowdfunding campaign. You can add, remove, or reorder any features on the page.

How to populate your crowdfunding features

Adding a video

Use a video to introduce your crowdfunding project where you talk about your music and your goals.

  1. Click Add a Video
  2. In the Video Link/Embed Code box, paste in a link or code for your YouTube, Vimeo, Twitch, Crowdcast, or Facebook video
  3. Click Save
  4. The video will appear and stream on your page

Notes:

Adding campaign intro text

Add text to describe the project you hope to fund. Include your target goal and be sure to thank your supporters.

  1. From the ‘Edit Content’ tab, select ‘Add feature’
  2. Select ‘Text’ and place the feature
  3. Type out or paste in your campaign intro text
  4. Click Save

Collecting email addresses

At the top of the page you can collect the email addresses of your fans. Group them to send updates targeted to your supporters.

  • Click on the Mailing list signup form feature
  • Under Signup options, check the ‘Automatically add new members to a group’ box
  • Choose New Group from the dropdown menu
  • Give your group a name, such as ‘Crowdfunding backers’
  • Click Save

Note: Anyone entering their email address into this signup form will be added to the new group. To read more on sending email campaigns, please see the Email Campaigns and Newsletters help article.

Adding crowdfunding rewards

Adding digital music

Use the Album feature to add your album, plus physical options associated with your album as rewards.

Add an album for pre-order

  1. Click the Album feature
  2. Add your album information: Album name, Artist, Release year, Album art, Description.
  3. Beside ‘Allow download/sale’ choose ‘Accept pre-orders’
  4. For Download type, choose Paid - fixed price and set a price for your digital album.
  5. Set a Pre-order release date
  6. Add the UPC code for the album to track sales. If you don’t have it yet, add it later.
  7. Click Save
  8. If you have tracks ready, you can add them by clicking Add Track. If they are not yet ready, add them later before you release the album.

Notes:

  • The pre-order option is available only on the Pro plan. If you’d like to set up your album for crowdfunding presale on the Standard plan, add it as a Store item with a note on the release date, then send it manually to your backers on your release date.
  • On the Pro plan, all of your digital sales are reported to Luminate (formerly SoundScan) on the release date.
  • If your album is not set up for a pre-order, and you are on the Pro plan, the sales are reported as they are made.

Adding multiple digital options and bundles

  1. Once your album is created, click on your album, then choose Associated CDs/Vinyl on the right
  2. Click Manage
  3. Choose type: CD or Vinyl
  4. Give it a descriptive product name, such as ‘CD + album credit’

Note: Each extra option you add in the Album feature will include a copy of the digital download, plus CD or Vinyl.

To give your supporters some options, include different rewards at different prices. If you include vinyl, offer that, plus a signed vinyl option, or vinyl plus lyrics.

Adding custom merch bundles and experiences

To create a custom bundle for your fans, follow these steps:

  1. From the ‘Edit Content’ tab, click ‘Pages’ and open your crowdfunding page
  2. Click ‘Add feature’
  3. Select the ‘Store’ feature and use the placement arrows to set the feature’s location
  4. Click ‘Add Product’
  5. In the ‘Product type’ dropdown, select ‘Bundle’
  6. Click ‘Add products to your bundle’
  7. Next, you can browse items you’ve previously added to your ‘Store’ feature. Items are categorized in the following sections: All, Products, Printful, Music, Tickets, File Downloads
  8. For the item you’d like to add to the bundle, use the arrows to set the quantity of the item you’d like to add to the bundle. This setting is defaulted to one unit.
  9. Once you’ve selected the quantity, click ‘Add’
  10. Repeat this process for the items you want to add to this bundle
  11. Repeat this process for the items you want to add to this bundle
  12. Click ‘Save & continue’
  13. Next, make adjustments to the items you’ve added as needed
  14. Complete the following fields for your bundle:
    • Title: Give your bundle a name
    • Description: Enter a thorough description of what the customer will receive should they buy this item
    • Images: Upload images of your product from your device. You can add multiple images here to show multiple aspects of the product
    • Status:
      • Available: Item will display for sale on your website.
      • Not available: Item will display on your website but will include a ‘Not available’ note below the image.
      • Hidden: Allows you to add the item on your Bandzoogle account but won’t display on your website until you set it to ‘available’.
    • Purchase type:
      • Free
      • Paid - fixed price: You set a purchase price for the item.
      • Optional: Select ‘Is on sale’ to set a sale price or a discount percentage.
      • Paid - fans set price: You allow your fans to set the price they want to pay for the item. A minimum amount can be set here.
    • Subscriber pricing: Toggle on and to set a special price for your site subscribers
      • Lowest applicable tier: select the lowest tier subscriber pricing is available to
      • Subscriber purchase type:
        • Free
        • Paid - fixed price: You set a purchase price for the item.
          • Optional: Select ‘Is on sale’ to set a sale price or a discount percentage.
        • Paid - fans set price: You allow your fans to set the price they want to pay for the item. A minimum amount can be set here.
    • Linking and sharing: Toggle on to allow the product to be shared on social media and to create a direct link to the item
    • Free download: Toggle on ‘Attach a free download.’ Select a ‘File or Track’ from the dropdown.
    • Track Inventory (Pro plan only): Toggle on to track inventory.
      • Set the number of available units for this item. Once the last item has sold, the website will display a ‘Out of stock’ note.
      • Be sure that all of the items in your bundle have sufficient inventory or it will display as ‘Not available’
    • Variations: Toggle on to offer variations, including size, color, and price. See below under the ‘Adding product variations’ section of this Help article.
    • Shipping: Toggle on if the item requires shipping
      • Choose your shipping options and costs.
      • For detailed information on shipping, please view the ‘Shipping Merch’ Help article.
      • Note: If not toggled on, the transaction will not require a shipping address
  15. Click ‘Save’

Notes: To add an open donation as a reward, choose product/service and select ‘Paid - fans set price’. Set a minimum price, and your backers can choose how much they want to donate.

Luminate (formerly SoundScan) reporting

As of October 9, 2020, Luminate does not report album sales that are bundled with merchandise. Merchandise accounts for anything that is not the album itself - including event tickets, apparel, virtual items, etc.

If you are bundling a digital album or single with a CD or Vinyl, the physical version of the album will be reported only. To learn more about reporting bundles, read our Product Bundling Help article.

Adding updates with a Blog feature

Keep your supporters up to date by adding news into a Blog feature regularly.

  1. Click Add a Blog
  2. Enter a blog title, such as Crowdfunding updates
  3. Click Create New Blog
  4. Click New Post
  5. Add a Post title
  6. In the text editor, add text about your crowdfunding campaign. The first post can be a kick-off message. Subsequent posts can include updates about your campaign’s progress.

Note: To learn more about blog posts, including blog options, see this help article: Blog Feature.

Adding an FAQ section

Add a few frequently asked questions into a Text feature to address questions your fans may have about the campaign.

  1. Under the FAQ section, click “Edit text” to open up the text editor
  2. Type or paste in questions about your campaign
    • Examples:
      • When will the album be complete?
      • How can I contribute?
      • How will I know if you’ve reached your goal?
      • How can I share this with my friends who love your music?
      • Plus anything else you’d like to address

For more information about crowdfunding through your Bandzoogle website, check out this Crowdfunding Page Template Blog Post.