What is this all about??
Hi Folks - If we haven't met please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Matthew Morgan and i'm a singer songwriter from Chicago, IL who's been obsessively writing folk, rock and Americana tunes for several years. My music has given me the opportunity to travel across the country performing at numerous shows and festivals, sign a record deal, and write and record a couple of albums that I'm pretty proud of.
For me, this past year has been all about reflecting and acknowledging that music is no longer about selling a million records and being famous. It's about making honest connections with real people and for that reason I've decided to release my next EP independently with support from my family, and friends
I've been putting in lots of hours traveling back-n-forth from Illinois to several studios in Ohio where I've been working with producer, Nate Lockwood, to record this EP while still managing to keep my day job in Chicago (phew!). I'm happy to say that I've managed to cover the entire cost of all the travel, studio time, and final production, but now I need your help to cover the cost of printing CDs, pressing vinyl (some folks have asked why vinyl is important to this project. If you're interested, my answer is at the bottom of this page), and creating merchandise (t-shirts).
My Goal is to Raise $4000 for the Final Pressing of the EP to Vinyl, Printing CDs & Merchandise, and Promoting the Album.
For the sake of transparency I've created a detailed budget for the EP (see below). Please know that if I raise more than my set goal I will put the extra money into greater promotional materials.
Matt's Budget (total $4000):
- Pressing to full-color Vinyl $2000
- Printing short run of full-color CDs $500
- Purchasing mechanical license to record the cover of "Hold On I'm Comin'" $500
- T-shirts $600
- Mastering B-Sides $200
- IndieGogo Fee: $150
- Paypal Fee: $50
If you look to the right you'll see that I've created some really neat perks for each level of contribution including the B-sides that didn't make it on to the album.
What if I Can't Contribute Financially?
I understand there are a lot of reasons why folks are not able to contribute and the last thing I want anyone to do is to feel pressured to donate. In fact, the single most important thing you can do is help me get the word out about the campaign and the new EP! If you would be so kind as to share this information using the convenient social media buttons at the bottom of this page and tell your friends about the project, you will be helping me in ways you can't even imagine.
So...that's it in a nutshell! What I'm really hoping to gain from this experience is to make a deeper connection with all of you because I'm asking you to become a partner in the making of this record. Truly, I want to thank you for taking the time to read this and for all of your support. I hope that you will enjoy the new EP as much as I've enjoyed making it!
Much love,
Matt
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Why Vinyl?
Hmm...the short answer is because I think it's awesome! But, maybe not for the reasons you think. Some people say that vinyl offers superior sound quality over digitally compressed files and, while that's true to some extent, it's not the number one reason why I think it's such a special medium...
For me what makes vinyl special is the physical connection to the artifact itself. When I discover new music that I love it becomes immediately important to me to discover the deeper meaning behind the songs by reading the lyrics and liner notes, gazing at the artwork, and taking the time to really listen to the music in an environment where I'm not being distracted by messages on my computer, or smart phone. It's pretty unique in our fast paced digital world!
