The Act of Asking
Ms Palmer's early performance work was as a busker,
when she lived (or starved) by donations alone. She kept the spirit of street
donations alive as she gained celebrity as a musician, first in the duo The
Dresden Dolls, and then with Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra. Last
year, she raised nearly
$1.2m from 25,000 backers on Kickstarter to pay for the
recording and release costs of an album and an associated tour. (She was
surprised by an industry backlash when she put a call out for local musicians
to join her on-stage, offering to pay them in
beer, hugs and merchandise. This was the kind of barter
arrangement she was used to but others claimed it was exploitation. She later
agreed to pay them cash.)
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| Amanda Palmer |
She says the crowdfunding success of her Kickstarter
project was a result of years of building a give-and-take relationship with
fans. Her nugget of wisdom is that she never makes her fans and supporters do
anything. Rather, she asks. Often they come forward to give freely; whether it
is food, musical instruments, a couch to sleep on or even the crate that she
used in her talk. In return, Ms Palmer gives, uninhibitedly, her time, company
and emotions. "Money is a small sliver in the pie chart of the things I've
asked my fans for", she says. (Ms Palmer spoke about
these aspects at The Economist's World In 2013 festival
last December.) On this basis she has forged her career and preaches that the
act of asking provides others the opportunity to be generous. "Being able
to share what you have, help and support other people, really is a
fundamentally enjoyable thing to do as a human being," she says. Full text
