TLC Uses Kickstarter to Raise 150K for Final Album

benji2

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You remember TLC. Everyone remembers TLC: "Waterfalls," "No Scrubs," "Unpretty," "Creep."

Despite their iconic library of '90s music, TLC – which has consisted of duo Chilli and T-Boz following Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes's tragic death in a 2002 car crash – hasn't released an album of new material for nearly 13 years.

Despite their long hiatus, TLC never officially broke up. On Monday, the group announced plans to make their final album – and took to Kickstarter to raise funds for the project.

"We owe so much of our success to you. Your loyalty and support throughout the past 20 years motivates us to do our best work," they wrote on their Kickstarter page.





"Without you, we wouldn't have ten Top 10 singles and four number 1 singles. We wouldn't have won five Grammy awards or sold 65 million records worldwide. Without you, we wouldn't have become the most successful girl group of all time! Without you there would be no TLC!!"

And the fans came through. As of Thursday, they have received $173,144 in pledges – much more than their initial goal of $150,000.

And at least one famous fan kicked in some cash: Katy Perry donated $5,000 to the project.

The remaining members of TLC expressed their gratitude on Twitter. T-Boz tweeted, "A BIG Special THANK YOU 2 @katyperry for her pledge to our #Kickstarter Campaign!" Added Chilli: "Wow @katyperry...thanks so much for pledging!"

"Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude for our fans for all of their amazing support. We feel so blessed to know that not only do our fans love us, but they believe in us," the group said in a statement to PEOPLE. "We have received support from longtime listeners that attended our first concerts, plus new fans who have only just started listening. We were also so humbled by the outpour of support from other artists like Katy Perry, New Kids on the Block, Dev Hynes, Russell Simmons, Soulja Boy, Bette Midler and more!

"Kickstarter has created a way for artists to support other artists. It's incredibly inspiring! We want to work with the best in the business, so the more we raise means access to the best. We want the best of the best. We cannot wait to make our last album together with our fans. We look forward to continuing the TLC journey with y'all."

TLC will hit the road this summer with New Kids on the Block and Nelly.
 

Totally disgusting.

why spend YOUR money on a GAMBLE.
when the fans will pay you to make an album (in exchange for a DIGITAL PHOTO ALBUM..........)
and the same fans will pay you to hear it.

they cashed out both ways. not to mention what they'll see from the airplay royalties.
 
Amazing how people are so much more willing to put their money up when they feel empowered through participation of the process.
 
Yeah Kickstarter seems to work better for celebrities when dealing with the public. Spike Lee also got his 1.5 from there also. My friend just recently failed his projected goal of $8,000 for his thesis film. The only people who donated were personal friends.
 
65 million records sold (unofficial) and don't have $150,000 to make an album? There is so much wrong with this.
 
Amazing how people are so much more willing to put their money up when they feel empowered through participation of the process.



Exactly.


I used Kickstarter earlier this year, to fund an EP of a girl who nobody had heard of, who had never even performed in public or recorded a song.

We did a Ustream chat before every studio session, live streamed every single recording session, and gave the backers every song the as soon as the engineering was finished (usually about a week after the last recording session), with exclusive artwork, and a physical CD at when everything was done.

One guy even paid $500 to co-write a song with the artist, to be included on the CD.



Raised $5500 in a month.



People LOVE to participate in the process.
 
Yeah Kickstarter seems to work better for celebrities when dealing with the public. Spike Lee also got his 1.5 from there also. My friend just recently failed his projected goal of $8,000 for his thesis film. The only people who donated were personal friends.


That's because nobody gave a shit.


People think Kickstarter is some type of grant system, where people just show up and throw money at you. I've seen soooooo many campaigns fail just because people don't understand it.


For entertainment, if you don't already have a great fan base you're going to fail. The only way to succeed outside of that, is to attach your music to a CAUSE...to appeal to people's emotions.

We attached her campaign to a cause (human trafficking), and it tugged at the heart strings of the backers who were also passionate about that cause.



Cuz as i've been saying for years, it's 2015, and music is FREE...what else you got?



Gotta give people a reason to give a shit.
 
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That's because nobody gave a shit.


People think Kickstarter is some type of grant system, where people just show up and throw money at you. I've seen soooooo many campaigns fail just because people don't understand it.


For entertainment, if you don't already have a great fan base you're going to fail. The only way to succeed outside of that, is to attach your music to a CAUSE...to appeal to people's emotions.

We attached her campaign to a cause (human trafficking), and it tugged at the heart strings of the backers who were also passionate about that cause.



Cuz as i've been saying for years, it's 2015, and music is FREE...what else you got?



Gotta give people a reason to give a shit.


Yeah it was a learning experience for me as well. I did notice that a documentary about Schizophrenia had met its projected goal also.
 
65 million records sold (unofficial) and don't have $150,000 to make an album? There is so much wrong with this.

I'm sure they could find some investors if they really wanted but the experience with Pebbles and their label probably scarred them for life. That's why Chili was trying to lure Money Mayweather a few years ago. Money is tight even for a pretty sista.
 
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I'm sure they could find some investors if they really wanted but the experience with Pebbles and their label probably scarred them for life. That's why Chili was trying to lure Money Mayweather a few years ago. Money is tight even for a pretty sista.


Why get investors, when you can get FREE MONEY, and ENGAGE THE FANS, and get FREE MARKETING AND PROMOTIONS?


News outlets wouldn't have cared if TLC (by all definitions, now an "old school hip hop" group) were releasing another album through normal channels. But since they are doing it through Kickstarter, now all of a sudden it's news worthy.



Kickstarter is a brilliant move for artists with an established fan base.
 
Why get investors, when you can get FREE MONEY, and ENGAGE THE FANS, and get FREE MARKETING AND PROMOTIONS?


News outlets wouldn't have cared if TLC (by all definitions, now an "old school hip hop" group) were releasing another album through normal channels. But since they are doing it through Kickstarter, now all of a sudden it's news worthy.


.

Good point. So do you see yourself using Kickstarter alot in the future?
Congrats!

Thanks.
 
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Good point. So do you see yourself using Kickstarter alot in the future?



Absolutely. I've devised a Quickstart Rollout plan for artists looking to finance their music through kickstarter. It's a fantastic platform. The more work the artist has done before they get to me (building a presence / fan base), the more effective kickstarter will be.

Anywhere from hundreds, to 10's of thousands of dollars can be raised, in a matter of weeks.


And the part I love the most, is that IT MAKES SURE I GET PAID, UP FRONT!!
 
Absolutely. I've devised a Quickstart Rollout plan for artists looking to finance their music through kickstarter. It's a fantastic platform. The more work the artist has done before they get to me (building a presence / fan base), the more effective kickstarter will be.

Anywhere from hundreds, to 10's of thousands of dollars can be raised, in a matter of weeks.


And the part I love the most, is that IT MAKES SURE I GET PAID, UP FRONT!!

How much do you charge? Does it vary among projects?
 
Nothing's wrong with that! They'll reach 400k minimum. Their fan base has grown and they got money now! For sure they'll support them!
 
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