Kickstarter, Crowd Funding, and Famous People

*I ORIGINALLY WROTE THIS AS A NOTE ON FACEBOOK, BUT I WANT TO KEEP MY WRITING ALL IN THE SAME PLACE SO I'M RE-POSTING IT HERE*
I love kickstarter.com. I've used it to back a few projects in the past, and I'm really excited and proud to be a part of the projects that have been successful. When you listen to a CD that you had some (albeit tiny) hand in helping bring about, or you hold a comic in your hand that might not have made it without your help, there's a sense of pride and ownership in the enjoyment.

For those of you who might not know, Kickstarter is all about "crowd funding" and that's basically what it sounds like. You create a project and you ask anyone with an internet connection for money. You don't do this arbitrarily, you offer them incentives in return. You say something like "For every $15 you give us, we'll send you and autographed T-Shirt" or something like that. It's a fun way to make money and get your fans involved.

Quick side note; there are other sites than Kickstarter, but I've not personally used them so I have no grounds to speak on their behalf.

Recently, there was a successful campaign to fund a feature film based on the Veronica Mars TV show. They more than made their goal, and for fans of this show, this is the greatest idea possible. On the comics side of things, creators like Gail Simone, Greg Rucka, and Greg Pak have all utilized kickstarter to get their creator owned comics funded and sent directly to their fans before hitting store shelves. Even on the music scene, bands like The Classic Crime (one of my favorites) have used the site to fully fund albums, using the remaining funds to pay for touring costs.

I love all of these ideas.

So do Bjork, and Zach Braff.

Suddenly... celebrities and semi-famous people want to use crowd funding. And there's a certain amount of the internet who thinks this is wrong. There's arguments being thrown around saying things like "they're rich, so why don't they just pay for it themselves", or "why doesn't (Braff) just make more movies and earn creative control?"

Because, clearly, you have no idea how the film industry works.

Crowd funding is there to raise funds for projects that people are interested in. If you're not interested in Zach Braff's new movie, or Bjork's new album, or Randy Everyman's comic, then don't give them your money. But to say "Here's a great tool that anyone can use, EXCEPT THAT GUY!" Is ludicrous.

Can Zach Braff afford to fund his movie himself? Maybe, I have no idea what his financial situation is. Maybe he's a billionaire with all his Scrubs money. I hope he is. Does that mean that he has to pay for his next movie out of pocket? No! Congratulations, Mr. Braff, on being successful. Part of that success comes from talent and a sense of humor that is marketable and can make money. Mr. Braff is saying "Here's a project I'm thinking about doing. What do you guys think? If I can raise so much money here's exactly how I'm going to do and here's some cool stuff you guys will get for helping me out" 
I think it's a travesty to not fund something because you think the person behind it is rich. Crowd funding is an excellent resource and one that I think has untapped potential for the future.

For further reading on the subject, and for a far more elegant writer than myself, check out Amanda Palmer's blog. She uses adult language so if you're sensitive to profanity, maybe you should skip it, but I think it's an excellent argument. http://amandapalmer.net/blog/20130213/

My goal with this "note" or post or whatever is not to start a flame war or internet argument, but I totally welcome opposing opinions that are thought out so maybe we can engage in some adult conversation. If you don't agree with me, that's totally fine. If you want to talk about it, leave a comment and let's have a discussion!