Recently the rise of Kickstarter-funded band projects (records, tours, documentaries) has created a bit of a stir. One side (generally) sees it as an innovative way to fund the production of new art and the other (generally) sees it as way of copping out of paying your dues or taking risk upon yourself for your art. As we've watched it grow and the debate gradually take shape, we've realized that our fairly well-informed readers and community could have some interesting insights into this.

For those not in the know Kickstarter is a method of crowdsourcing funding for projects. From their FAQ, "Kickstarter is powered by a unique all-or-nothing funding method where projects must be fully-funded or no money changes hands." The idea is that you pledge a certain amount of money but do not pay unless the goal of the Kickstarter project is met. Bands and labels have used this and similar to methods to fund the pressing of LPs, recording of albums and one can easily foresee a future where tours, gear and merch are funded in a similar way.

So what do you think? Is Kickstarter and other crowdsourced funding options the future of independent music or is it momentary blip on the radar? Annoyance or boon? Take our poll and let us know what you think in the comments!