Introducing Bellarive: 'Kickstarter' Success Story

Have you dreamed up a creative project that’s going to change the world? But with every creative project comes the dreaded budget. No cash = no project. But with the help of the investment based website, Kickstarter, more and more creative projects are getting the financial boost they’ve been dreaming of – creative projects like Bellarive’s debut album – The Heartbeat.

We Need $10,000!

Six youthful worshippers, based in Orlando, Florida, dreamt of recording, producing, and marketing their very own album. But their collective bank accounts barely scratched the $10,000 they needed.

With God-given desire, they set up a Kickstart account asking the American online community to pledge anything from $1 to $10,000. For their financial support ‘backers’ would received a return in proportion to their investment:

· Pledge of $1 – got them their name in the liner notes of the album
· Pledge of $15 – got a personalised birthday message from the band
· Pledge of $25 – received their own USB of the album plus album art
· Pledge of $50 – won a CD plus DVD documenting the recording process
· Pledge of $75 – found themselves invited to sing on the album!
· Pledge of $150 – attended the pre-dinner show at the CD release gig
· Pledge of $300 – had a night of bowling with the band with up to 5 friends
· Pledge of $500 – back stage pass, complementary meal out plus a Snuggie signed by the band
· Pledge of $1,500 – enjoyed a home cooked meal, live acoustic show in their own living room, and a Star Wars bath robe signed by the band
· Pledge of $10,000 – all expenses paid trip to Disney World plus a Taylor Swift blanket signed by the band

No-one pledged for a signed Taylor Swift blanket, but by 27th August 2011 the band had 146 ‘backers’ who pledged a total of $10,982. 25 people got to sing on the album, 9 people got to go bowling with the band, 5 people got a signed Snuggie and ... Bellarive got all the cash they needed to realise their dream.

When Dreams Come True

In September 2011, Bellarive walked into a recording studio and co-produced their dream. And on 19th June 2012 they released their dream to the world – The Heartbeat – which held the No. 1 spot on the iTunes' Christian & Gospel Album chart for two days.

The Heartbeat is the worshipful breath of fresh air us Brits have been waiting for. Bellarive may have been pigeon-holed as a run-of-the-mill pop/rock worship band, but don’t let the label fool you. We think this exciting album has climbed to musical and lyrical heights that very few bands have managed.

Inside the Album

This debut album has been lovingly hand-crafted by youngster’s void of sales targets, marketing strategies and corporate tactics. They simply want to make music that brings people closer to God and shows everyone a fresh glimpse of Him. Plus it’s literally bubbling over with creativity.

Take 'Tendons' for example – a piece of highly emotive poetry birthed from real life experience that's both beautiful and hard-hitting. Or 'Sing' – one band member had an idea: invite several hundred people to a self-promoted show asking them to bring a light bulb and a camera which became a powerful music video to the atmospheric song. Or 'Love Has Found Us’ – a song that captures the heart of worship with expertly constructed music and straight-talking lyrics, which easily reveals any Hillsong United worship song.

Bellarive went from nobodies to no. 1! All thanks to 146 ‘backers’ who invested in their creative project and the crowdfunding website - Kickstarter.

Kickstarter to Launch in the UK

"People in the UK will be able to launch projects on Kickstarter starting this autumn! More info soon! <3 <3 <3” – Tweeted by @kickstarter on 9th July 2012.

The US-based website has seen the untapped creative potential in our British isles. Now all the dormant creativity has a platform to kick start their dream.

The vision was to build a web platform to help creatives get their dreams off the ground avoiding the need for big corporate investors. One year in, Kickstarter was named by TIME magazine as one of the “Best Inventions of 2010”.

Since the website launched in April 2009 more than 24,000 creative projects have been successfully funded totalling over $250 million. 10% of Indie films at the Sundance Festival are funded through Kickstarter. The 'Pebble', an electronic Smart Watch, raised more than $3 million of funding in under a week and finished with $10 million in pledges.

The Beginning of a Revolution

Now success stories like the Pebble and Bellarive can sprout among UK communities and churches. We will have opportunity to support imaginative, organic, self funded projects that showcase Christianity, proclaim the good news, and turn heads towards Christ.

The thought is electrifying, isn’t it!

Thanks to the crowdfunding website, a group of passionate youngsters realised their dream and also stumbled into their dream jobs. We can highly recommend The Heartbeat by Bellarive, in fact we think it’s one of the many undiscovered worshipful albums everyone should listen to.

So here's the call to all wanna-be film makers, grass roots musicians, home grown local charities, big hearted do-gooders, creative entrepreneurs, self-funded art projects, and every creative spark awaiting a leg up in our churches ...

... What will your first Kickstarter project be?