What would it take to make Boston the music mecca of North America? Of course Boston already is a music mecca – it’s just that most people outside of Boston don’t know it yet.

The answer won’t come from the music industry. Don’t expect industry giants like Live Nation to do anything except make Boston’s music scene the same as everywhere else.

Rather, the answer is more likely to come from Boston’s fans.  Could local fans harness the same crowdsourcing energy that created projects like Wikipedia and apply that to our own music scene? Could the future of a thriving Boston music scene be entirely in the hands, (and music heads), of Boston?

This is the question being asked by Boston start-up Microfundo, which bills itself as ‘the new mashup of music and microfinance.’  The company has taken crowdfunding and the private sale boutique template and extended it to music, with the goal of turning the hit-driven music industry system on its head and engaging fans to fund artists directly.

Brad Powell, Microfundo’s Chief Inspiration Officer, says: “Believe it or not, the future of music, especially when you’re talking about the heart of a local music scene, is going to look less like Live Nation and more like Ru La La.”

He’s talking about the online one-day sale boutique that regularly creates excitement and stampedes for the fashion conscious.

Ironically, the inspiration for Microfundo, and its plans for boosting Boston’s music scene, comes from Brazil. “In the city of Belem,” Powell explains, “There’s a local music movement called ‘Tecno brega’ in which local bands team up with a presenter to put on a show. The bands give their music to street vendors who sell MP3 copies for super cheap and promote the show. The artist gets no money from the music sales – but they sell out their shows! When I first saw this I thought, ‘If they can do this so well in a place like Belem, surely we can do something like this in Boston.’”

“Of course, here in Boston it has to be a little different,” Powell says,  “because we don’t have CD street vendors – but we do have the Internet.”

Microfundo’s method is to work with an artist who has an upcoming performance and host an exclusive release of their music – available for one day only at the bargain price of $1. The goal of the exclusive release is to promote the upcoming show at a local venue.  Proceeds from the one-day sale will go to a local youth music and dance education program. Artists choose the percentage given away. More established musicians may donate up to 100%.

Boston fans can rally to bring a favorite artist (and often pay more than the $1 price). They get a great deal on an exclusive release and are actively involved in creating their own thriving music scene. The artist gets to play to a sold out show. The local venue is able to put on a show with less risk. And a local youth music and dance program gets a boost in visibility and funding.

Here are three upcoming projects that show the range of Microfundo’s work:

1. Boston-based Latin Funk bassist and composer, Alex Alvear and his band Mango Blue are releasing their completely crowdfunded CD at Club Oberon on January 26, 2011.  To help promote the show, fans will be able to get a download copy of the new album for just $1 on Microfundo.

Information and tickets: http://www.microfundo.com/alex-alvear-and-mango-blue-celebrate-their-new-album-release/

2. Boston rock legend Rick Berlin is curating his extensive catalog and offering a free song-a-week (complete with the story behind each song) every week for all of 2011 on the Microfundo site. This week’s track (and story) – ‘I Want to be Loved’

Information: http://www.microfundo.com/category/song-a-week/

3. Just one year past the Haiti earthquake Microfundo and Boston non-profit Peacetones are collaborating on a singer-songwriter project called ‘Haiti Sings.’ Last summer Peacetones went to Haiti and recorded several young musicians in Port au Prince and then held a crowdfunding style contest called ‘Haiti Sings’. The winner, a young singer named Wanito, raised over $4,000 and will be coming to Boston in February for performances at the Beehive, the Western Front and Bull McCabe’s. He will also record his first album at Chillhouse Studios in Charlestown.

Information: http://www.microfundo.com/haitisings/

The great music cities of North America each have their unique quality: New Orleans, Nashville, Austin, Brooklyn… How would Boston compete? What do we have that the other cities don’t?

Microfundo’s example suggests that Boston’s uniqueness could come from our special combination of music, technology and our own unique selves.  Our leading edge could be derived from harnessing the wisdom of crowds – empowering local fans to produce local events, creating our own music scene and supporting favorite musicians.

Contact:
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Brad Powell
Chief Inspiration Officer, Microfundo
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brad (at) microfundo (dot) com

www.microfundo.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/microfundo
Facebook: http://facebook.com/microfundo

tune your world
The Microfundo mission is to support  international musicians via microfinance in hopes of creating genuine economic development around the world.