Welcome to the Fund This column! Each week, we’ll look at a planned web series or other online video project currently in search of funding on crowdfunding sites. We’ll tell you what the series is all about and explain why it is worth your money. Do you have a project that’s currently being crowdfunded? Contact us to let us know and we may feature it in upcoming installments and check out previous installments right here.
This installment of Fund This is brought to you by Patreon. 
Project Name: Peter Hollens
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Asking For: A contribution for each video he makes by way of Patreon
Amount Raised Thus Far (At Time Of Post): $7,713 of $8,000 per video
Days Remaining In Campaign (At Time Of Post): Indefinite (but you should seriously consider contributing because his stuff is so good)
Description: Peter Hollens is a 30-something-year-old singer-songwriter in possession of an incredible voice, fantastic artistic sensibility, loving family, and nearly 1.4 million YouTube subscribers. The Oregonian has been uploading a cappella covers and originals consistently to the internet since way back in 2011 and his 290-or-so music videos have amassed an aggregate view count in the hundreds of millions.
Hollens’ longevity and popularity is thanks in equal parts to the quality of his content and his genuine enthusiasm for the intimate relationship the internet allows him to have with his fans. Plus, the guy takes his a cappella seriously. Every beat in his music videos is created by the “human voice and mouth”. His Patreon campaign allows him to up the production quality of his videos and release covers on a consistent basis. He’s currently dropping one new music video every two weeks and seems to have a particular affinity for Disney jams and medleys from of musicians with household names.
“I am working on 22 congruent projects,” Hollens told Tubefilter in a recent interview. “It has been slowly building over the last two years. The one that I’ve been working on the longest is actually one with Devinsupertramp. We’ve been working on a Portal theme for over two-and-a-half years. I also just finished filming a shoot with the Shaytards. We’re doing a Sound of Music. It’ll basically be YouTube’s version of Sound of Music.”
So, yeah, dude is up to a lot.
Creator Bio: Hollens has been involved with a cappella music since 1999, when he helped found University of Oregon’s group ‘On The Rocks’. He moved from the collegiate singing scene to the digital one thanks to fellow YouTube a cappella artist Mike Tompkins. “He’s even the one that got me started on this in the first place,” Hollens said. “And now we’re good buddies.”
Best Perk: At a rate of $15 a video, Hollens will send you a personalized message once per year along the lines of a “Happy birthday song, surprise shout out to friends/family, anything you like!” This perk may be of questionable value if it were coming form another individual, but from Hollens it’s a pretty solid investment. Receiving your own “What’s up?!” from someone with his level of infectious enthusiasm and positivity may just rub off on you and inspire you to create some art of your own.
Why You Should Fund It: There are a lot of creators who are very vocal about their intimate relationship with their fans and how much they’re valued, but perhaps none are as seemingly authentic about that patron/client relationship as Hollens.
“I think my fans are eager to fund me on Patreon because they know how much it means to me and my life,” Hollens noted. “They know how much they mean to me. And they’re well aware of how much I value the people who are supporting me. They can tell by how much I engage with them and how much I listen to them. Truthfully, they’ve changed my entire life. I never forget that.”
A contribution to Hollens doesn’t just allow him to consistently produce high-quality videos that will lift your spirits, it also allows him to enlist a small group of professionals to get the job done. “I’m able to work with other incredibly talented artists that I wouldn’t have been able to without all of this support. And I’m able to actually pay them and help support their families on a consistent basis,” Hollens said. “I have multiple contracts that I’m able to pay very regularly because of my supporters. We’re talking upwards of a dozen people just because of Patreon.”
Contributing to Hollens’ campaign also means a contribution to one of the most outspoken supporters of this new unbranded era of content creation. “I mean this is life changing!” Hollens exlaimed. “This is the first time in the history of mankind have you been able to have a consistent salary doing what you love, specifically in the art vertical.”
Got a crowdfunding campaign you’d like to see featured in Fund This? Be sure to contact us here.
This installment of Fund This is brought to you by Patreon, the best way for video creators to get ongoing funding directly from their fans. Over 25,000 creators are using Patreon to do things like increase production value, hire more staff, and expand revenue sources. Learn more about funding your future on Patreon.
