Neil Young's Pono project seemed to tear up Kickstarter when it launched a funding campaign back in April and the songwriter looks to be taking advantage of his product's current popularity. His company has launched another campaign, this one via Crowdfunder, to give more dedicated fans the opportunity to formally invest in PonoMusic for as "low" as $5,000.
Crowdfunder allows for a "special purpose fund" that will gather all the funds of the small investors and act as one "big" investor. This fund is targeting $2.5 million and has gathered 57 percent, or $1.4 million, thus far according to Rolling Stone. The platform will close on September 1.
"Neil and the team at PonoMusic are excited about democratizing the financing process by giving their Kickstarter backers, and anyone who loves music, the opportunity to now invest and become an owner in PonoMusic," read the statement released by PonoMusic.
This campaign is different than the successful Kickstarter run in that there's profit involved. As you may have guessed, $5,000 as a minimum suggests that only people with that kind of interest in the investment market will be taking part. Indeed the site does require that contributors be "accredited investors." The Kickstarter campaign lured in donors via prizes such as autographed gear from Young's music friends, such as Tom Petty or Pearl Jam, but Crowdfunder investors are ultimately looking to profit.
We're hoping for the best, but Pono may be a tough sell when it hits the market, supposedly in October. Although we salute Young's insistence that a Pono house whole albums versus individual songs, an average pop listener probably won't agree, especially for $399.
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