So who ARE that insufferable indie couple in the new Hyundai TV ads?

We, the creative class, are finding ways to make a living making music, drawing webcomics, writing articles, coding games, recording podcasts. Most people don’t know our names or faces. We are not on magazine covers at the grocery store. We are not rich, and we are not famous.

We are the mom and pop corner store version of “the dream.” If Lady Gaga is McDonald’s, we’re Betty’s Diner. And we’re open 24/7.

We have not “made it.” We’re making it.

And by it we mean "Pharrell Mashup."

do they really need four extra salaried musicians? Wouldn't loops be more charming and appropriate to their shtick?

Their expenses are definitely a little lavish for "DIY" -- they have their own lights, there's obviously no couch surfing going on, etc.

I can't help but think they're lying and stashing the rest of their profits in the Cayman Islands somewhere, I just smell it on them.

oh missed this bit

We could have played a duo show instead of hiring six people to tour with us. That would have saved us over $50,000, but it was important at this stage in Pomplamoose’s career to put on a wild and crazy rock show.

The idea that they're just "investing in future tours" also made me snicker a little too, seems very foolish if that's legitimately what they think they're doing.

Like it's hard for me to imagine them getting tons bigger than they are now.

i just can't understand why they bothered to write this article. "hey guys we're not as rich as you think." ...good?

maybe people will stop thinking wacky covers of pop hits is the way to millions, and realize it for the difficult but rewarding work it is

$8,750
Sponsorship from Lenovo. Thank goodness for Lenovo!

honestly surprised they didn't find a sponsor to fund this whole affair.

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/pomplamoose/2014/mr-smalls-theatre-millvale-pa-3cf2123.html

like seriously, just put an OREOS banner behind this setlist, that will cover expenses i'm sure

must be nice to make $6,326 per video you post on patreon (a company with $15 million in series a funding that you also happen to run)

bahahahaha I knew I smelled it

ajdfkghljasdf;ksdfc

i clicked on that setlist link (why?) and i think i vomited in my mouth a little bit

Lorde 2Pac Beck Mashup

how did i not know about the patreon connex. it all becomes clear now. these people are the heralds of our doom.

rare pomplamoose pix

http://latimesphoto.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/fa_484_1952nixoncheckers9702.jpg

must be nice to make $6,326 per video you post on patreon (a company with $15 million in series a funding that you also happen to run)

not to mention

http://www.patreon.com/natalydawn
http://www.patreon.com/jackconte

Patreon is a pretty new platform, and I'm still figuring out the best way to use it.

Right, so that's $27,812 per month between the two of them. As long as they post their 6 vids a month. Good business if you can get it but how many people would be able to keep up that kind of workrate?

Wait where are you getting $27,812?

Pomplemoose gets $6326/vid, Nataly gets $2205/vid, Jack gets $5375/vid. They each do 2 vids a month, 6 in total every month. That = $27,812.00

It's strange that Jack has double the patrons as Nataly but I guess the reason is that if you patronise him then you get all his chatter about recording and editing and so on? This guy has people who pay $200/month to have two 60 minutes skype sessions per month...

Oh I thought they each did more like 1 vid per month. In any case it's a a pretty damn healthy income from one source

All that for chewing up the recent past and spitting it into peoples mouths. Earmouths.

How much do you reckon it costs them to make those videos?

How much do you reckon it would cost us for them to stop making videos?

Ha, are you going to start a patreonkickstarter campaign?

Most amazing thing about the Poomplamoose tour breakdown thing is that I've learned there are people who would actually pay to see Poomplamoose.

kickstopper

We built the tour budget ourselves and modeled projected revenue against expenses. Neither of us had experience with financial modeling, so we just did the best we could.

also you are apparently founder of like some well funded startup are you kidding me with this aw shucks what are all these numbers how does dollar work

Yeah it really reads like he thought it was ok to put no thought whatsoever into what made financial sense on tour (bc you know, it's an investment in future tours!). He sounds like one of those people taking out a giant HELOC to put in a new open plan kitchen with viking range and wine fridge in a middle class neighborhood, or buying a $2000 suit for job interviews. Which would just seem dumb, except the whole Patreon thing makes it actually seem disingenuous. It's like their business model depends on making sure people don't think they're making a lot of money.

to be clear, i think that whole piece is a fig leaf of the amanda palmer variety to maintain a public persona of "WE CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU"
one of the big problems with the "our fans will support us" model is that when you start showing up in hyundai commercials, your fans start saying "oh, i guess they're paid; my six dollar a month patreon donation doesn't matter" which leads promptly to public television cries of "we haven't MADE IT we're MAKING IT... with your help"

I'm going to pay 1000 people $5 to watch me pay guitar for 3 mins at the fillmore and then be all like, "yeah, I sold 1000 seats at the fillmore at $30 a ticket, but I had $35,000 of overhead". I'm still making it you could say.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtvaTdc_qIc

after getting very depressed reading many Ferguson-related things before bed last night, this made me laugh. thank you for that pomplamooses.

it all does correspond to the startup "burn rate" mentality.

speaking of which burn rate is the perfect name for the inevitable silicon valley techno-thriller

Just realized that Jack Conte is the FOUNDER of that Patreon site. Sorry if that was posted upthread and I missed it. So he gets a cut of every other campaign that's on the website. Yeah, he's really hurting for dough, send him your $$$$.

I wonder if he repurposes the cut he gets from donations direct to him and/or Nataly?

I wonder why he would lie about his bearded millions

his maxxinista of the month award

his goalrilla basketball hoop that is the nicest in the neighborhood

fwiw every touring act i know who has successfully leveled up from the 500ish capacity rooms pomplamoose was apparently selling out on this tour to 1000-2000 capacity rooms had to do money-losing tours in order to do it

a lot of bands operating at their level who can do so successfully are either major label baby bands who get tour support or canadian indie acts who can get arts grants to tour the US

not to get into a whole thing about it but of all the aspects of this band's career that can be called out as ridiculous i personally don't think those tour expenses are all that weird for a band at their level doing what they're trying to do

they are trying pomp the moose

holy shit, that woman in the Maps video can sing. and that is all that I will say about her here in this public forum ... yup ... that's all.

― alpine static, Tuesday, November 11, 2014 1:09 AM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

she has a cover of one of my favorite later Prince songs on the R&B charts right now, pretty legit imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhbS3BFtXDk

Patreon was founded in May 2013 by artist Jack Conte, who was looking for a way to make a living from his popular YouTube videos. Together with Sam Yam he developed a platform that allows patrons to donate a set amount of money every time an artist creates a work of art. The company raised $2.1 million in August 2013 from a group of venture capitalists and angel investors. In June 2014 the company raised a further $15 million in a series A round led by Danny Rimer of Index Ventures.

In late 2014, the website announced that patrons were sending over $1 million per month to the site's content creators.Patreon takes a 5% commission on pledges.

SAM YAM? Even his business partners are tweely monikered!

lefsetz goes in:

http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2014/11/26/pomplamoose-blog/