Website Links Starving Artists With Micro-Patrons

Gone are the days when wealthy aristocrats boosted their status by patronizing such revolutionary (and often subversive) artists such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, William Shakespeare and Michelangelo. But while the National Endowment for the Arts' budget continues to shrink and even wealthy individuals feel squeezed by the recession, there's no shortage of regular people willing to drop a 10-spot to see a struggling musician or painter succeed.

Brooklyn-based startup Kickstarter is built upon the premise of facilitating bite-sized contributions to artists from the general public, as reported by The New York Times. It's similar in concept to microfinance for small business ventures like hot dog stands or house-cleaning operations, but for artists. And unlike most finance vehicles, the artists maintain 100 percent control over their work.

The homepage features four "spotlighted" artists, including a picture, description, the amount pledged and the percentage of the target that has been raised. Of course the featured projects are the ones that have achieved tremendous success — for example, musician Allison Weiss (pictured above) has raised $7,711.16 to record an EP, which is 386 percent (or nearly four times) her $2,000 goal.

There also is a "recommended" section that aggregates an eclectic mix of projects, most of which still need a lot more cash, ranging from an endeavor to build a room-sized theremin (a very nerdy kind of instrument played by waving one's hands around its antennae) and one man's quest to become the first paraplegic to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro.

In exchange for funds, many of the artists will send out tokens of appreciation such as advance copies of recorded music. Kickstarter co-founder Perry Chen no doubt enjoys the feel-good vibe, but tells the Times, "It's not an investment, lending or a charity. It's something else in the middle: a sustainable marketplace where people exchange goods for services or some other benefit and receive some value."

One of the sources quoted by the Times calls it "micro-patronage." Regardless, it's always encouraging to see the power of the Internet leveraged with such grassroots spirit.

Photo courtesy of Kickstarter, with the permission of Allison Weiss