I have a huge bone to pick with bands these days. There’s a plethora of things I could discuss here but I really want to focus on one in particular. And that one aspect is bands begging for money these days. Whether it’s crowd funding or straight up using go fund me’s to get money. It’s absolutely disgusting.

Crowd Funding your album is a tricky one. On one hand you labels that aren’t giving money to record or the amounts are limited. So now you have bands resorting to crowd funding. The ones that really put thought into this process are the ones that put together the packages that make it a pre-sale purchase and that does make sense and hold merit. At least you are getting something out of it in the end. Provided it gets completed and released accordingly. There was that whole debacle about Pledge Music and the CEO taking the money. I’ve contributed to a couple crowd funded albums but, the ones I did contribute to were straight up pre-sales. If you are a band and need to raise lets say $50,000 towards the whole cost of your album, perhaps you might want to think about getting a job. Relying on other people who already spend their hard earned money on your band be it concert tickets, records, merch, etc is downright wrong. It’s taking advantage plain and simple. I think back a few months ago to when Dino from Fear Factory set up a gofundme to help “finish” the new Fear Factory album. He needed $25,000 to get studio time to record drums, finish the mix & mastering, and some other things. The money was funded and the album was finished but, it’s so lackluster that it makes it seem like a waste of money. And were there any perks for donating? Nope, not a single thing. Not even a downloadable version of the album. Again another example of begging.

My other issue are bands that use go fund me and are straight up begging for money. If you can’t afford to go on tour, GET A JOB AND SAVE MONEY TO AFFORD TO GO. Don’t be asking people to give you money. That’s the upmost of lazy and pathetic. Offering lame incentives isn’t worth it either. Asking people to support you is one thing, begging for money is not ok. If you have to resort to this practice and you are in a band, you should really take a look in the mirror and have a talk with yourselves. If you can’t afford it, than this isn’t the place for you. I know labels don’t have tour support these days, especially for small bands but, don’t be taking advantage of your fans or family. It’s not a good look and it carries over to the rest of the bands that really need help. There are plenty of places people can go to earn money but, it seems like people just want the easy way out. Seriously, if you can’t afford to do something wait till you can. Begging is sad and pathetic and like I mentioned, it makes those of us in this look bad. It’s taking advantage plain and simple!

It’s come to a point with all these “crowd funding” tools that it’s out of hand. I understand in certain cases where it’s necessary. For example, the band Russian Circles recently had their gear stolen and a go fund me page was set up after it was discovered that the insurance had lapsed so this was a last resort option. Not only did they pass their goal, they did it in a day. The cause was a good one as they had no choice but to do this. If it’s a good cause like helping cover their bills after a medial procedure, funeral costs, or things like that, I can understand. But to be straight up begging cause you are too lazy or stupid to save money or get a job that pays well, that’s on you. I will not stand by watching people feel like they are entitled to something they aren’t. Get off your asses and work! Get a job and save the money you will need. Be smart about it. Don’t be lazy and pathetic. Do the right thing!