In France, one observes diferent hierarchies according to each platform. On KissKissBankBank 5,988 musical projects were submitted, making it the most funded category with an average contribution of 54€ and a 72% success rate. On Ulule, although the musical category comes third (with 4,315 submitted projects and 16.6 million euros raised) behind social/citizenship projects and film (20.6 million; 6% and 72%). The gap between the number of projects submitted and the success rate can be explained by editorial and selective logics, as well as by the fact that some cultural categories rely on more specific and very implicated communities. As a corollary to the higher number of projects submitted, these generalist platforms attract a higher number of backers as compared to thematic and/or niche platforms (16,466,075 donors for Kickstarter, 1,665,223 ‘kissbankers’ for KissKissBankBank). They also generate projects that bring in amounts far higher than the initially requested sum.
However, both the platforms’ own figures and those of private bodies must be taken with a pinch of salt, as they are based on data that difers in terms of both space and time, making comparison dificult and perhaps impossible. Note also that only the major platforms even supply such figures. The data exhibited by these platforms serve as a communicational and promotional showcase, and testify to a demand for transparency on the part of users. But they remain difficult for the researcher to verify. This explains why we’ve had access to far more data from generalist platforms than regarding those which cater for a single specific artistic or cultural form.
3 Niche Platforms
Faced with this newly competitive market, more specific thematic and niche platforms are developing, or trying to compete, in increasingly specialised cultural sectors. These include platforms like Blue Bees (which focuses on ecological agriculture and food), Touscoprod for documentary and cinema, Sandawe for comics, the platform and label Microcultures for music, and Weezart, currently in beta form, which ofers fair revenue distribution for artists. Platforms have also emerged which are specifically dedicated to sport, like Fosburit, or religion, like Credofunding. The number of submitted and funded projects are understandably much lower, as are the total amount collected, in comparison with generalist platforms.
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Cultural Crowdfunding: Platform Capitalism, Labour and Globalization