Island Records and Indiegogo have announced an innovative partnership, launching “Fan Republic” as the first collaboration of its kind between a music label and a crowdfunding platform. The partnership will provide a new place to discover and support emerging artists worldwide.Fan Republic will be a crowdfunding destination powered by “Indiegogo Outpost” and hosted by Island Records, which uniquely offers exclusive rewards for artists who reach or exceed their funding targets. These will include deals and discounts negotiated by Island Records on everything from studio rates to video production and van rental. Island Records is one of the first companies to utilize the recently announced Indiegogo Outpost feature that enables companies to host Indiegogo caigns on their own websites.Emerging artists using Fan Republic will also have the chance to connect directly with the highly respected Island Records A&R team, who will be evaluating all projects which reach their funding targets.Island Records President Darcus Beese says, “A&R is the life blood of Island Records and we also have a great track record of innovation in the digital space. There are many ways for artists to take the first steps in their careers and the crowdfunding route is increasingly one of them. Fan Republic shows our commitment to finding and nurturing great new talent, alongside our partners Indiegogo through their globally respected crowdfunding platform.”To celebrate the site’s launch, Island Records is offering the incentive of a single release. The winner will be selected by the A&R team from all the artists who reach their funding target within the first six months from launch–guaranteeing that at least one artist will get an Island Records release as the site gets underway.Island Records Director of Digital Glenn Cooper says, “We are very excited about the launch of the Fan Republic partnership with Indiegogo. Crowdfunding is an important part of the digital marketing plot for many emerging artists and a great way to build a mutually beneficial relationship with their most engaged fans.”The legendary Abbey Road Studios, a key Fan Republic partner, is also offering to mix and master a single via their world-class online service, for one lucky artist who successfully funds their caign.”Our Fan Republic partnership with Island Records is the latest exle of how Indiegogo is committed to innovations and collaborations that harness the power of our open and global platform to help people fund what matters to them,” said Slava Rubin, Founder and CEO of Indiegogo.
