Re: Generating Interest in LilyPond through Kickstarter

[Mike Solomon]

On Mar 22, 2014, at 4:21 AM, Paul Tannous <address@hidden> wrote:

> Lilyponders,
> 
> I am considering starting a Kickstarter project to engrave a major choral 
> work in LilyPond that is in the public domain. The idea is to raise funds 
> to pay for the LilyPond engraving, proofreading, contributor premiums, etc.
> 
> The LilyPond source would then be put into the public domain. Rather than 
> make PDFs available, the LilyPond source could be put on a web site with 
> the URL for LilyPond. Anyone wanting a printed copy, could download and 
> install LilyPond if they didn't have it already. The idea would be to 
> generate interest in LilyPond.
> 
> Premiums for contributors could be PDFs of some of the parts of the 
> engraved choral work or even the whole score for large contributors. From 
> what I've seen of Kickstarter, typically the smallest premium that is 
> attractive enough to generate contributions is a T-Shirt. So, this could be 
> one of our premiums. If you have ideas for other premiums, they would be 
> appreciated.
> 
> If this project is successful, other projects for different works could be 
> started. A successful project might spawn imitators making even more 
> LilyPond source works available.
> 
> I have talked to several choir directors about what to use for a first 
> project. Handel's 'Messiah' was suggested by all of them. I am aware of 
> Nicolas Sceaux's fine work in engraving 'Messiah', but the choir directors 
> who spoke with me prefer to use a different version for their performances.
> 
> All comments regarding this project will be appreciated.
> 
> Thank you,
> Paul Tannous
> 

Sounds like a great idea!
Make sure to e-mail choir directors across the US to see what may interest them 
- even if they cannot contribute financially to the project, it will have more 
chances of success if you have concerts lined up to which donors can go, a 
recording that they can receive, a program in which their name appears, etc..

All the best and good luck!

Cheers,
MS