Hi all,
Thank you again for your amazing encouragement and support.
I'm writing to let you know that we are now live with the new campaign, and we hope that you'll join us tod...
Hi everyone,
First of all, thank you to all who completed surveys for our initial Black Prism campaign launch. Your feedback was invaluable, and it has helped us analyze and re...
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The Black Piper
over 1 year ago
LIGHTBRINGER: New Campaign - Survey 2
Hi everyone,
Thank you to all who participated in the brief 4-question poll. I know it didn't cover a lot of ground - we were trying to get a general sense of the direction to ...
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The Black Piper
over 1 year ago
LIGHTBRINGER + Anthology: We Need Your Responses; Next Steps
Hi Everyone,
What a month this last month has been! I know it may seem like Saturday should feel like a bummer as we didn't hit our "big goal", but there are actually some m...
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The Black Piper
over 1 year ago
Black Prism: Last Few Days - Unlocking (Almost) Everything
Hi everyone,
We are now in the last few days of the campaign, and we have a big push ahead of us! There is certainly a ways to go, and it may seem massive, but there are a few ...
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The Black Piper
over 1 year ago
Sneak Peek At Reflections/Refractions
Here at The Black Piper, our brand has focused a lot on the epic and on fantasy. But that's not all we do! As we consider what might make up the twin-ish albums of Reflections a...
First of all, thank you to all who completed surveys for our initial Black Prism campaign launch. Your feedback was invaluable, and it has helped us analyze and restructure the campaign.
It has taken us a bit to sift through and streamline everything, but based on your enthusiasm and encouragement (and our desire to make something awesome), we have decided to relaunch the campaign. Here are the details:
Launch Date/Time: Tomorrow - Thursday, September 8, 2022 9AM PST End Date: September 30, 2022 (only 3 weeks!) Changes:
Focus: We will be focusing heavily on what The Black Piper does best: the music. This means that we have pulled back on nearly all of the associated merchandise. While the merch was almost all developed up front and ready to be manufactured at the push of a few buttons, the abundance of options was too much. As a result, we're beginning this new campaign with the music (and a little bit of art) only.
Anthology: Data and feedback from the previous campaign suggested that the anthology piece was, on its own, rather successful. But in the interest of streamlining our focus, we are splitting the anthology into its own campaign. We will update you with details on this later, but we are very excited for the possibilities with this.
Fewer Tiers: In the interest of simplification and due to the removal of merchandise, we have reduced the number of pledge tier options.
Starting Small: One recurring theme in your feedback is your interest in quality. To that end, we will be starting small, and our first "album upgrade" (stretch goal) will allow us to record with live musicians (soloists). From there, stretch goals will add additional tracks to the album (effectively allowing us to add additional composers, who will bring new perspectives - and thus a deeper quality - to the album).
We are deeply grateful for your willingness to help us succeed and your willingness to provide feedback. As a reminder, you were not charged for your pledge on the last campaign. We would love your help in making this new campaign a resounding success. We'll provide you with a link tomorrow, where you can come, check out the new structure/tiers, and make a new pledge.
Thank you all! You are the reason we do what we do, and we hope to see you there tomorrow, making some noise!
All the best, Michael & The Team @ The Black Piper
Thank you again for your amazing encouragement and support.
I'm writing to let you know that we are now live with the new campaign, and we hope that you'll join us today to help make the relaunch the best it can! Here is the new page:
Thank you to all who participated in the brief 4-question poll. I know it didn't cover a lot of ground - we were trying to get a general sense of the direction to go based on your responses.
As of right now, thanks to your continued support, we are definitely considering a follow-up campaign to make both the album and the anthology happen. We have been looking at ways to change the campaign internally to allow for success, and we have some ideas, but we need some specific feedback from you.
We've put together a follow-up survey to find out what you think went well, what you're excited about, what was confusing, and what could be done better. We've tried to make it as multiple choice as possible, but we've also left some room for short form text feedback, if you feel inclined to provide more in-depth answers.
Here is the survey - if you could have this one completed in the next couple of days, that would really help.
All,
As this seems like such a worthy project, I was wondering if you folks will run another Backerkit to meet the funding goal? If so, how do we stay in the loop as to your future plans.
Respond back when you can. All the best.
Take care.
Dave N.
What a month this last month has been! I know it may seem like Saturday should feel like a bummer as we didn't hit our "big goal", but there are actually some major positives to this last month.
The Wins
We made a lot of new and amazing friends!
You all (both OG friends and new friends) showed up to support us in a big way. That means a LOT!
We got to be a part of the launch for this new BackerKit platform and have been building a great relationship with them. (We love that they listen to the creators and are so agile and fast to respond.)
And something pretty huge:
Together, you pledged more than 93% of all music Kickstarters!
I'm going to say that again, because, honestly, that bears repeating: YOU PLEDGED MORE THAN 93% OF ALL MUSIC KICKSTARTERS - EVER! That is not a small feat. That is a very large feat.
#ImNotCryingYoureCrying
The Next Steps - We Need Your Help!
It would be a shame to let that success go to waste, and we have some ideas on how to move forward. But we need input from all of you in order to make the right decision. We've made it super simple for you to respond, with four multiple-choice questions:
Please visit this link, and fill out the short multiple-choice survey in the next two days. (We have to move pretty quickly, due to licensing timing.) If there is anything you'd like to address or answers you'd like to expand upon, please feel free to drop your thoughts in a comment on this update.
Will I Be Charged?
I do want to mention that, as of right now, you will not be charged for your pledge (for this last month's campaign.) We hope that you will be a part of the next campaign.
You are all amazing. Seriously! We can't thank you enough for everything.
We are now in the last few days of the campaign, and we have a big push ahead of us! There is certainly a ways to go, and it may seem massive, but there are a few (small, yet huge) things that you can do to help make this a success.
1. Bring a Friend
Given our current average pledge amount, if each one of us brings just one friend to pledge, we will hit the goal. Is there anyone you can think of who would love a particular reward? Tell them how awesome it is in a personal message!
2. Increase Your Pledge
Some of you are already pledging a lot - above and beyond! We thank you deeply for your love of and patronage of the arts and your belief in our mission to flood the world with music.
For those willing to increase their pledge, we have been making some adjustments to allow us to offer you more goodies - which means more cool stuff for you and/or gifts for your friends and loved ones. (Think Christmas and birthdays and other celebrated gift-giving days.) This means that:
We're unlocking all of the following:
Reflections (available in pledge levels 2A and higher)
Physical Illuminated Chant Sheet
Metal bookmark
7-pointed star Pendant/Necklace
Drafter Pack
Ultimate Pack
Tier 6: Merch
Tier 8: The (almost) Everything
Additional Anthology Entries
We are also adding on the option for anyone entering the anthology to add additional entries for $100 each (up to 5 total). (Initial entry is still $350 for the tier or $300 as an add-on). Each additional story will receive the same treatment (professional editing, soundtrack) as the main pledge. You can even use this option to gift an entry to someone else!
Easy Additions
Using a simple feature that BackerKit implemented, we've made it easy for you to add funds to your pledge for things you want. All you'll need to do is to click the image in the Add-Ons section for the thing they want. This will take you to the pledge adjustment page with the amount for the add-on added to your pledge, and there, you can "Confirm Your Pledge". (Please note that if you have already increased your pledge beyond the tier amount, you may still need to do some calculations to be sure you're adding the right amount for any increase.) But this should help make things easier.
Only With Your Help...
... can we make this campaign successful and ultimately keep doing what we do. We are deeply grateful for your efforts and encouragement so far.
Now, let's show the world what we can do together!
Will I be able to upgrade to the Anthology tier in Backerkit. Can't quite afford it with the timing, but for sure want to do it. Just a week shy of a paycheck when the campaign ends.
Here at The Black Piper, our brand has focused a lot on the epic and on fantasy. But that's not all we do! As we consider what might make up the twin-ish albums of Reflections and Refractions, we are diving into the beautiful, the majestic, and the dramatic (among other things).
To that end, we have started compiling tracks that have the potential to make an appearance on the albums. While there is no guarantee yet that these will make the cut, we wanted to share with you a little taste of the "behind-the-scenes" process.
Have a listen, then let us know what you think! Would you like to see these tracks among the final selections?
I'm happy to announce a contest you won't want to miss out on. We're going to be giving away entire stick of TEN Quintar coins (x 2), as well as some Black Piper swag and possibly some leftover goodies from the Kaladin Kickstarter that we are unable to sell.
These in-world coins are high quality and are produced by Shire Post Mint. They'll be coming on an actual "stick", in similar fashion to how they would have been carried in Lightbringer.
RULES
Entrants must pledge at least $10 or more (on any tier other than the $1 Tier).
Each social media post (see below) must encourage people to check out the campaign, invite them to sign up, and provide the following link to the campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/c/the-black-piper/the-black-prism?ref=quintargiveaway
Mention the Black Piper for the specified platform:
Reddit: u/theblackpiper
Facebook: @theblackpiper
Twitter: @epicbookmusic
Instagram: @theblackpiper
TikTok: @theblackpiper
Include appropriate hashtags for the platform. Here are some examples: #epicfantasy #epicfantasybook #epicfantasymusic #newmusic #fantasymusic #bookstagram
Tailor the message to the particular group. For example, a writer's group could benefit from knowing about the Anthology.
(Optionally) link to this giveaway
Please follow all the rules of any and all groups you post in. Be tasteful in your messaging. Only actions taken after the timestamp on this update are eligible. Contest award is contingent on campaign success and winner will be announced after the campaign.
ENTRIES
Each of the following actions constitutes one entry into the giveaway. Additional entries may be earned by completing additional actions. Posting more than once in a given forum/group constitutes as one entry per applicable group.
Share a public post on any major social media platform, then post a comment here with a link to the post. Platforms may include (but are not limited to): Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok.
Share a post in a group on social media, and then post a comment here with a link to that post.
Share a public post on your own social media page, account, blog, etc, and then post a comment here with a link to the post.
Like and comment on any one else's public posts (that they have linked to as part of this campaign in their comment below) and then reply to their comment below saying that you have done so.
Ten entries awarded for video posts that include a rave review/recommendation of The Black Piper, Kaladin, the Lightbringer theme by Nikhil Koparkar, and/or an excited mention about specific rewards from the campaign.
Post/shoutout in a newsletter that goes out to more than 300 people. Newsletter must be forwarded to [email protected].
Post in a Discord server (one entry per server), and share the server/channel details in a comment on this update. Five bonus entries if that post is an announcement.
If you happen to be connected with any significant fantasy news sources and can connect us with someone who can get an article out before the campaign ends, this may constitute a significant number of entries, which we will consider based on the opportunity.
While it will not constitute additional entries, we would very much appreciate any additional personal marketing you choose to do, such as directly messaging friends and family members. Please do comment below if you do any of this, so we can all get excited!
POST TOPICS
Discussion about The Black Piper and the Lightbringer crowdfunding campaign is mandatory. Additional (optional) topics may include:
Details about this giveaway
Specifics about rewards you are excited about. (Show that excitement!)
Reviews surrounding The Black Piper, Kaladin, the Lightbringer theme by Nikhil Koparkar
The Tales of The Black Piper anthology
The desire/need/excitement to fill the world with book soundtracks and scores
IMAGES
The images attached at the end of this post are approved and available for use in posting. You can also use screenshots of anything you find on the campaign page.
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We look forward to seeing you flood the world with excitement!
I hope you're enjoying the Lightbringer Theme we promo'ed last week!
I just want to share an update/opportunity and put in a couple of shout outs.
Dark Tower
Today, I want to announce a little something we're doing with Restoration Games, who are running their campaign for Return to Dark Towerright now (they have 30 hours left in their campaign).
We've offered to gift their backers a free song inspired by the game, and they accepted! I don't know how the track will be gifted yet - if anyone who backs at any level will receive the song, or if you need to back at a certain level. But I do know that the game is awesome! We've been playing it over here, and the mechanics are a lot of fun. I'm kind of in love with the connection of the tower via Bluetooth to an app on the phone - it controls monster placements, dungeons, tower rotation, monster upgrades, and more. Also, all the materials for the game are so well crafted. They've put a lot of thought into every detail. You should really check it out and maybe end up with an additional Black Piper track!
Shout Outs
I want to mention a project that my friend and cherished collaborator Scott Wiser recently launched on Kickstarter called Masked Magic. It's a story he's publishing about masks that unlock any identity imaginable but will steal your actual identity. I've said this elsewhere, but Scott's projects are always inventive and deeply meaningful. It's not "epic fantasy", but it's fantasy worth checking out!
Lastly, make sure to share the campaign with everyone you know, and let them know how excited you are for more Black Piper music and Black Prism goodies!
We have something exciting to share with you. Here is a behind-the-scenes promo/first look at music from THE BLACK PRISM. Presenting the LIGHTBRINGER THEME, composed by Nikhil Koparkar and creative directed by Sae Sae Norris.
When we go to compile the final album, there will be edits (mixing / mastering / etc), but we're so excited to show you this now!
