Making Wildfires with Jenny Mitchell

Jenny Mitchell is a folk-country songwriter hailing from the Deep South. She crowdfunded her first album with PledgeMe when she was just 15! Now, she’s back (just in time for Christmas!), calling on her crowd to help her produce a new album called ‘Wildfires’.

Why do you think this campaign is important?

This is actually the second time I have crowdfunded an album. I was a bit nervous before I launched because I wasn’t sure how people would react. But from the start, my crowd has been really supportive. They understand why I am crowdfunding: making music independently is hard!

My last album has taken me to some amazing places and I’m so grateful for that journey. However, I do feel that I’m now really confident in my musical skin and know the artist I want to be and the music I want to create. I’m so lucky to be working with one of Australia’s best producers and I can promise that I couldn’t be more proud of every word in Wildfires. Hence why I’m so excited to release it!

What motivated you to reach out to your crowd?

I was only 15 when I released my first album. I didn’t have a plan about what the future might look like at that time. But three years down the track, I’m ready. I have had so many experiences and opportunities in music since releasing my first album. This is an opportunity to show my crowd how much I have learnt about crafting songs and everything that goes with that – the lyrics, the music, and the feelings they evoke.

I’m really passionate about the songs I have created for this album, and the possibility of sharing that passion with my crowd is definitely a driving factor behind this campaign. And the best thing is that I have had so many people jump on board since I launched the campaign. I would love to see my crowd grow even more, as every single pledge goes to funding just half the cost of my album.

What do you have planned for the rest of the campaign – anything for us to look forward to?

My favourite reward is the $40 ‘All Access Pass’ that I devised when I was trying to think of rewards that I would want to pledge on. Basically the Pass gives you access to a secret Facebook group where I post exclusive behind the scenes content – like the first draft of my album cover. There is something new each day. It is where I will first release the album track list, videos of my song recordings in the studio, and sneak peeks of what it is like backstage at my gigs. I love this reward because my crowd is invited on my journey of making the music they love to listen to.

When I was planning my campaign, I knew that rewards should be valuable; something I would want to buy. This is the fortunate side effect of being a crowdfunding alum! I have tried to create some exciting rewards for my Gore/Southland-based crowd that include live concerts and tickets to locally held gigs like the NZ Country Music Awards. Other rewards can be sent anywhere in New Zealand, like a gift box where everything is handpicked by me. I’ve tried to make everything personal for my crowd, so please check it out!

Anything you would like to shout out to your crowd?

At the moment I am actually in Ireland. The time difference means that pledges come in while I’m asleep. It is so exciting to wake up to notifications from my awesome crowd! I am so lucky to have a great partner-in-crime, Katie, who has been holding the (campaign) fort while I am away.

As I mentioned, I was feeling nervous before I launched this campaign but every pledge that comes in makes me feel more and more excited. My crowd wants to invest and me and what I have been working on – so definitely want to shout out to everyone who has pledged so far! It has been so interesting to see who has supported me – new friends from my first year of uni who don’t have much money but still want to help me; old time supporters; and total strangers – these people blow my mind!

My final shout-out is to those in my crowd who might not have gotten around to pledging, or know someone who might be interested. My campaign finishes on Sunday and I would love to for us to invest in Wildfires, together.

To treat your ears to some excellent country-folk music, jump onto Jenny’s campaign page here.