New Orleans funk guitar mainstay Billy Iuso has turned to crowdfunding site gofundme.com to raise money for his next album.
As Iuso explains in a post aptly titled “Let’s make some music!” on the site, he has lined up Grammy winning producer Tracey Freeman to help him with the new project.
Photo by Kim Welsh
“I will be recording here in New Orleans and have recruited many amazing musicians to make this happen,” Iuso says. “I feel this is some of the best music I have ever written or played and I’m excited to share it with you all!”
Iuso’s campaign aims to raise a total of $12,000. The donations will go to studio time, hiring an engineer, covering musician session costs, mastering the album, and paying for a producer and for a graphic designer. Once the album is ready to go, a portion of the donations will also cover the production and distribution of copies.
Donations have been divided into seven different levels, starting with the $25 “Trippin’” level, which awards donors with a digital copy of the new CD, a signed poster, and a surprise gift.
For $1,000, fans can become the “Duke of Earle,” and receive a 30 minute Skype concert, a signed CD and poster, copies of Iuso’s entire CD catalog, and they will be named as an Associate Producer on the CD.
There is no set end date for the promotion, which began on July 23 and raised close to 15 percent of his goal in the first 19 days thanks to 23 donations.
