Become a Part of Rolling Stone India and Wishberry’s Crowdfunding Initiative ‘Watch Out’

Earlier this month, Rolling Stone India and crowdfunding website Wishberry announced a collaborative project called, Watch Out, giving indie musicians a platform to make and promote their first big music video via crowdfunding.

The goal of the initiative is to enable artists to create music videos undeterred by budget constraints and corporate backing. With the help of Watch Out, artists will have the prospect to reach larger audiences, collect funds, make their first music video and do all of this on their own terms. Prospective contributors will also be pleased to know that by funding they will receive exciting rewards such as behind-the-scenes footage of the video shoot, a chance to feature in the video itself, V.I.P. access to three of the artists’ upcoming shows, a private listen to an unreleased song and a music workshop by the artist exclusive to crowdfunding supporters.

These rewards will in turn bring the independent music community and those who follow the scene much closer. It is known that when someone invests their own money into a project or venture, they will also be keen on updates and want to know what is happening. With this campaign, funders will pay much more attention on the artists and their work that they want to put out.

The project features six talented artists from across the country: jazz singer Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, acoustic harmony group The Manta Sidhu Ensemble, Mumbai indie folk quintet Aankh Micholi, country artist Ratnang Singh, New Delhi electronica producer Komorebi and Malayali R&B artist Gowry Lekshmi.

The Manta Sidhu Ensemble a band that has managed to collect 27 percent of the target amount says, “The catch with crowdfunding lies in it’s all or nothing policy, if any artist fails to reach their target amount by even Rs.1 the money will go back to the funders and no video will be created. Keeping this urgency in mind we are asking all our listeners to help us reach the finish line. From people who have attended our gigs to friends and family, we’re trying to spread the word far and wide. The video needs a minimum of Rs. 3.5 Lakhs for it’s creation and that is our target amount, too.”

Lekshmi whose campaign has already hit 60 percent of it’s target is very pleased, she says, “I am getting great support from my online followers as well as other artists who know me personally. My song is based on nature, a theme that I first explored when I started writing music as a 10-year-old.  It is encouraging to see this as the mainstream media is yet so obsessed with filmy content.”

With only 20 days left in the fund-raise duration, contributors are urged to join in and change the landscape on how the independent music scene in the country functions and help artists achieve their goals and create a high quality video that will resemble the sound and persona of the musician.

As part of Watch Out, each artist has pitched a video idea for a song they’ve recorded, and is endeavoring to crowdfund a fixed amount of Rs. 3.5 lakhs in for 45 days on Wishberry. Once the target is met, the money will be given to film production company Camera and Shorts, who will take over the shooting of the videos. There is, however, a catch: Wishberry works on ”˜all-or-nothing’ policy, which means that if the artist fails to meet the target even by a single rupee, the money goes back to the funders. The campaign and eventual video will only be made if the target of Rs. 3.5 lakhs is met.

To find out more about the artists or to contribute to their crowdfunding campaigns, click here.