By JESSE GRAHAM
HEALESVILLE musician Ben Mitchell has put a new album to the people, setting up a crowdfunding campaign for his upcoming release.
Mr Mitchell has been running a crowdfunding project for a new album, titled Ben Mitchell’s New Summer Record, through Pozible.
The campaign, which ends on 25 October, asks people to make pledges or donations towards a $15,000 goal, which will cover the costs of producing a new album.
Pledges are rewarded with either digital downloads of the album, physical copies sent out before the official release date, all the way to acknowledgement on the album artwork or a private performance.
He said the experience had been “rewarding and challenging” – the reward being the support rolling in from more than 50 pledgers, the challenge being trying to sell his idea to the world.
“The reason you record an album is to present the songs in the best light, and so I guess I’m asking people to believe in the next album, based mostly on my previous one, which did pretty well,” Mr Mitchell said.
“I’d never done it before and I liked the idea of building a community of people and positive energy, around the creation of an album of my music.”
He said the new release would be a mix of indie, pop and rock, “with a bit of soul-country styling” from slide guitar and harmonies, and would be themed around summer.
“The theme is definitely summer, and all it brings: holidays, love, fun, adventure, travel and plenty of hooking up,” he said.
Mr Mitchell said, if the project reaches its goal, about 12-15 songs would make it on the album, and pledgers would have the finished work by the end of December.
Pozible only processes pledges if the project reaches its goal, and the deadline is about noon on Sunday 25 October.
For more information, visit www.pozible.com/benmitchellsong.
