It’s (un)official: metal fans are the most charitable people in the world.
Prog-metal band Twelve Foot Ninja have set the new record for an Australian crowdfunding project after their allegiance of loyal followers raised more than $50,000 for the quintet in a less than a month, as FasterLouder reports, hurdling over the bar previously set by the more well-known Eskimo Joe in February this year.
What have sworn Twelve Foot Ninja fans paid for? The eclectic rock outfit are using the crowdfunded cash to create their own “Hollywood blockbuster” that involves a seven-foot Alaskan brown bar, a giant troll whose head alone costs $20,000, and Australia’s most respected screen armourer. Bears, trolls, and weapons. Promising, no?
There’s quite a few story arcs you could piece together with these three elements, but Twelve Foot Ninja have explained what exactly their blockbuster will be all about.
“Internet trolls aka keyboard warriors: their cyber bullying pollutes the Internet with the primary objective of bringing people down. We, Twelve Foot Ninja, are embarking on an ambitious music video project to play out the most extreme, fantastical retaliation story we could conjure!” the band trumpet on their crowdfunding project page.
The band have received pledges from over 480 people on their Pozible page, but one fan single-handely raised one-fifth of the total money raised.
An unknown Singaporean diehard threw in a casual $10,000 into the piggybank, and the generous, mysterious ninja also offered airfares on the condition the band performs and cooks a BBQ at his birthday party in July – a reward promise for those who make donations over $7000
Other rewards for donations range from exclusive singles, signed sauce bottles (for a pledge of $200), signed snorkel set ($205), g-strings ($150), and even a one-on-one Skype session with a band member for a pledge of $250.
The Melbourne group are evidently stoked about the overwhelming response that has allowed their vision for their “best music video yet” to come to life. They took to Facebook to express their gratitude:
We have now raised over $50,000 to make our next video clip! This is insane!!!! We can’t express how thankful we are for your support, it’s truly humbling. We’re so stoked that this is now going ahead… wait until you see what we’ve got lined up!”
Perth trio Eskimo Joe were the previous title holders of the crowdfunding record after they raised over $40,000 in 60 days towards the recording of their sixth studio album, The Wasteland; work beginning on their latest release after a total of $60,736 was raised for recording.
However, the record could potentially be broken again. Barbariön, another troupe of Melbourne metallers, are trying to raise $60,000 by May 21st to make a documentary of their European tour. If they’re successful, it will become the single biggest music-related pledge project in Pozible’s history.
“The film will follow the trials and tribulations of the band as they play huge festivals and bikie bars in the middle of nowhere,” said creative director Dave Budge. “It will examine the culture of heavy metal music across Europe and it will explore the nature of storytelling and how people make their dreams a reality.”
As with most projects on Pozible, Barbariön are also offering a range of goodies in exchange for a pledge. A $5 “Peasant” donation will earn a nod on social media, a $250 “Giant Eagle” pledge, and the band will create your own custom character in the animated portion of the documentary. There’s also the $5,000 “Thor” tier, which gets you a night out with the barbaric band.
In the lead up to the annual SLAM day, the live music supporters also running a similar crowdfunding initiative. With bands like Tame Impala, Something For Kate, The Living End, Gareth Liddiard jumping on board.
Smaller donations gave fans special vinyl releases – including the Gotye/Perfect Tripod cover of The Reels – ‘Quasimodo’s Dream’ – while those a bit higher lead to dinners with Miller-Heidke and Dan Sultan, dancing with Clairy Browne and a range of mentoring sessions with Australia’s most renowned artists and producers.
This new fundraising style of campaign is proving to be a great success for bands and fans alike. With people now able to lend support to their favourite musicians in exchange for exclusive items and opportunities, not to mention the good feeling of giving – anything is Pozible.
You can view both Twelve Foot Ninja’s and Barbariön’s crowdfunding appeal videos below.
