Summer XO Uses Original Artwork to Fund Latest EP in Unique Online Arrangement
Los Angeles, California (PRWEB) April 30, 2014 -- With something to offer that few other musicians can, indie-pop singer/songwriter Summer XO is turning to the crowdfunding Web site Kickstarter.com to fund the completion of her “Hello World” EP. While Summer XO has always viewed music as her main focus, she is also a visual artist. She creates an ongoing series of poster-sized pastel drawings of abstract female faces in a pop art style, a collection she has named “The Girls.”
Crowdfunding has become a popular way for independent musicians to pay for production costs of recording music in the era of illegal downloading and as music streaming, with its lower payout to artists, becomes the norm. Kickstarter.com is an online platform wherein backers are incented to donate to creative projects with unique rewards from the person seeking funding.
In an interesting juxtaposition, Summer XO offers her pastel drawings as donation rewards that are tangible and unable to be copied to fund the production of music that has moved into the digital realm, where all is intangible and easily copied.
“It’s kind of ironic that, by virtue of an arbitrary change in medium, music has essentially become devalued, while original art remains unique, thereby retaining its value. To me, the amount of labor is the same… to create a painting or to create a song. I work hard. But ultimately, I’m just thankful that I can offer something truly one of a kind in exchange for help producing these songs that are so important to me.”
Through the donation of private individuals, Summer XO has already financed half of this six-song EP, as well as created a music video for each song. Her indie-pop music is clear-voiced and polished, with a focus on clever songwriting. Similar artists are Feist, Fiona Apple and Ingrid Michaelson. Summer XO accompanies herself on guitar, piano and ukulele.
In line with Kickstarter.com guidelines, creators have a set number of days to raise all funds, or the project receives nothing. Summer XO’s project has a 30-day fund-raising window from start to finish. If the allotted budget ($6,000 US) is not raised before May 28, 2014, all pledges are canceled and the EP will not be funded.
If the project is successfully funded, Summer XO expects to deliver the final work by September 2014. To learn more about Summer XO’s project, visit the project's pitch page here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/summerxo/finishing-summer-xos-hello-world-ep.
About Summer XO:
Summer XO is a Venice, Calif.-based singer/songwriter who plays guitar, keyboard and ukulele. She performs regularly at music venues in the Los Angeles area and in streaming online concerts. Although music remains her main focus, Summer XO is also a visual artist. Her ongoing art series, called “The Girls,” consists of poster-sized pastel drawings depicting abstract female faces in a pop art style.
Summer Virshup, Summer XO, http://SummerXO.com, +1 (323) 577-3696, [email protected]
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