Community Band Funder · Label 51 Recordings
Independent doesn't mean alone.
Pressing, distribution and community. For artists, by artists.
Community Band Funder is how Label 51 Recordings supports the local indie scene. Use our platform to crowdfund your next project. Your fans can make a pledge, and only when the funding goal is reached do we collect the funds and manufacture at our partner plant. You can create different levels of pledges and give perks. You keep ownership of your masters and all funds raised, except for our 10% fee and the credit card processing charges.
It runs like Kickstarter: fans make a pledge, and the product gets made when the fund goals are reached. Set up perks for different levels of donation and keep the fans updated on the progress.
▹ $0 setup fee ▹ Flat 10% only if it funds ▹ Card processing at cost ▹ Cards are charged the day it funds, and never if it doesn't
$0
Setup fee
10%
Flat, only if it funds
100%
Refunded if it doesn't
100%
Of your masters, yours
About CBF
Community Band Funder is how Label 51 Recordings supports the local indie scene. Use our platform to crowdfund your next project.
Your fans can make a pledge, and only when the funding goal is reached do we collect the funds and manufacture at our partner plant. You can create different levels of pledges and give perks. You keep ownership of your masters and all funds raised, except for our 10% fee and the credit card processing charges.
“Music Made by Humans for Humans.”
There is no contract to sign and no rights change hands. The music stays yours, and so does what it earns.
Out now on Label 51
The last six releases
These came off the same presses your record would. Same plant, same printers, same boxes.
Campaigns open soon. The pre-order platform is live and taking applications. Apply to run one of the first campaigns, or see what a campaign page looks like.
The fan pre-order model
How it works
It runs like Kickstarter: fans make a pledge, and the product gets made when the funding goal is reached. Set up perks for different levels of pledge and keep the fans updated on the progress. What a fan is buying is a product — vinyl, a CD, a cassette, a download or a perk — not a share in your band, which is why a label can run it and an equity platform can't.
For the fan
You back it by pre-ordering
- 1
Choose your product
Vinyl, cassette, CD, a signed edition, a bundle, or a perk, if offered.
- 2
Make the pledge
You enter your card at checkout. It isn't charged that day — it's only charged when the campaign closes, if the goal is reached.
- 3
It presses and ships
Cassettes and CDs press in about two weeks, vinyl in about eight once the test pressing is approved (about twelve in all), and then it ships. All timing is approximate. If the goal is missed, your card is never charged.
For the artist
Get the record made without fronting the money
- 1
Apply and get your quote
Tell us what you want to press. We quote the project, and that quote helps set your goal. The quote will guide how much you want to raise.
- 2
Build your crowdfunding page and start sharing
Fundraising is set for 45 days. If your goal isn't reached, you can always add the difference to get it going. We will not charge you the admin fee for any funds you personally add.
- 3
Label 51's partner plant presses it
The order is shipped to one address, and you ship it out, or you can use a D2C shipper. We can recommend a partner.
For artists
How you build the campaign
Create your account, fill out the information, and you'll be good to go. It's automated and easy to create. The screen saves as you type and shows you what the numbers do while you work.
The six steps to creating the campaign
- 1
Basic info
Title, artist name, cover art, one line about the record, and a short video of you explaining why you're making it. The video is optional, but it makes the single biggest difference between campaigns that fund and campaigns that don't.
- 2
The pressing process
Select your format, run size, pressing, and setup, with the quote we got from the plant sitting right there. Cassettes and CDs press in about two weeks; vinyl takes about eight weeks after you approve the test pressing, which itself takes about two to arrive — call it twelve. Shipping follows, and all timing is approximate.
- 3
Funding and dates
Pick the products, the length of the campaign (45 days unless agreed otherwise), and your launch date. Using our quote as a guide, you can add shipping, recording, and other costs as line items; the goal is calculated from all of it plus the fee and the card costs, so it can't be a number that sounds nice but doesn't pay for the record.
- 4
Reward tiers
Three to five tiers is optimal (e.g., $10 for the digital album two weeks early, $20 for a CD with it, $29.98 plus shipping for the album, $40 plus shipping for a hand-signed copy). Each perk needs a price, a list of contents, an order limit, and what it costs you to pack and mail (or one shipping budget for the whole campaign). The page tells you what each tier makes or loses before a fan ever sees it.
- 5
Your story
Tell the story of why you are making this record, who you are, where the money goes, and what it cost to make. Fans back records that show the arithmetic.
- 6
Questions fans ask
You can create an FAQ for your project, or add questions you've received to answer for your fans.
What happens around you
- ▸
The quote comes first
Once we get you the quote from the plant, we'll help you create a final goal. Until then the goal on your screen stays at zero.
- ▸
Partnering for success
A list of what's still missing will keep you on track. You won't miss a step. You can't launch your page until all steps are met. Next to it, the goal, how many backers that means, and what you'd be paid.
- ▸
Preview before anyone sees it
A private link shows the page exactly as a fan will get it. Send it to the band, change what you want.
- ▸
A member of our staff reads it
Once you submit, we'll review, and we'll approve and launch it or we'll return it with suggested changes. No page goes public without being double-checked.
- ▸
The launch
It runs for 45 days, a fixed period, with a screen showing your progress and indicating the next required action. On closing day every saved card is charged at once.
- ▸
How long the whole thing takes
Up to a month to get your page up and running (it can be much quicker), 45 days to hit your goal or self-fund the difference, then the plant: two weeks for cassettes and CDs; for vinyl, about two weeks for test pressings and eight more once they're approved, plus shipping. It's about three months from the day a vinyl campaign closes until it reaches your fans.
Create your account and start the process. We'll give you all the information you need to get started.
Why backers trust it
Nobody pays until the product is real
PledgeMusic went under in 2019 owing fans and artists millions, because it spent the pledges before the records were made. On CBF there is nothing to spend: your card is saved, and it is only charged on the day a campaign reaches its goal.
Your card, not our account
Stripe holds the card, we never see the number, and no money moves before the campaign closes.
Miss the goal, pay nothing
If the deadline passes short, the charge never happens. There's nothing to claim back and nobody to chase.
The label stands behind it
Label 51 is a working label with a real catalog. You're not trusting a stranger with a landing page.
Made where we say
A named plant, dates we'll stand behind, and an update every time the record moves.
The label's factory
Buy the pressing right here
Already have the money, or don't want to run a campaign at all? Order the pressing from Label 51 on its own. You get a fixed quote before you commit, with cassettes and CDs pressed in about two weeks and vinyl in about eight weeks after the test pressings are approved — about twelve in all, and approximate.
Vinyl
quoted per project
48h
fixed quote, no obligation
8 weeks after test pressing approval (~12 in all), then shipping
- 7", 10" and 12" formats
- Color variants and picture disc on request
- 180g audiophile options
- Vinyl-specific master included
- Test pressing for approval (about two weeks, plus your approval time)
Cassette
quoted per project
48h
fixed quote, no obligation
2 weeks pressing, then shipping
- Chrome or ferric, any shell color
- Printed J-card
- Shrink-wrap included
CD
quoted per project
48h
fixed quote, no obligation
2 weeks pressing, then shipping
- Digipak or jewel case
- Booklet up to 8 pages
- On-disc print
Merch
not open yet
Coming soon
tees, hoodies, posters, pins
quoted with the run
- Tees, totes and posters
- Screen print or DTG
- Bundle it with the music
Sleeve and insert design, obi strips and specialty packaging are quoted on request, and merch-table quantities are fine. Anything outside the 250-unit vinyl run comes back as a fixed quote within 48 hours, with no obligation.
How we compare
Community Band Funder vs. the usual options
What an artist in North America is really choosing between, and where a label-run platform sits in it.
| Platform | Model | Fee | Who owns the fans | Fulfillment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community Band Funder · Label 51 Us | Pre-order + label cover | 10% flat, charged only if it funds | You + the label | Label presses, you fulfill |
| Kickstarter (+ MAKE Vinyl) | Reward crowdfunding | ~8–10% | Platform keeps emails | You / Qrates partner |
| Qrates | Press-on-demand pledges | Built into unit cost | Marketplace | Qrates presses & ships |
| Bandcamp pressing | In-house crowdfunding | ~25% unit markup | You | Bandcamp presses |
| Wefunder / StartEngine | Equity (regulated) | ~7.5% + legal | Investors, not fans | N/A, sells shares |
The other platforms' figures are their own published ranges, put here so you can compare. Ask them for a quote, not us.
The label as your umbrella
You're not on your own: Label 51 has your back
You make the record. We give you what a label has and a band usually doesn't: a pressing plant that answers the phone, freight that arrives, and an audience to announce it to. What you do not get is a contract. Nothing is signed over, nothing has a term, and you can use us once and never come back.
- Your masters stay yours. This is a fee-for-service, not a label deal. You keep 100% of your physical sales revenue.
- Shipping. Your finished run ships to one address, yours or your distribution center.
- Factory at label rates. Vinyl, cassette, CD and merch pressed at negotiated cost, not walk-in pricing.
- Promotion. Featured on Label 51's indie artist page, release announcements across the label's social channels, and your live shows promoted when you keep us in the loop. We promote on our socials and help you share your fundraise, but this is your fundraiser: you are responsible for spreading the word.
Optional add-on
Digital distribution · 50/50 revenue split
Want the release on streaming too? Add digital distribution through Label 51's Flatiron Music Distribution pipeline. Entirely optional, and never a condition of pressing.
What you get
Your record everywhere fans already listen — and it never touches your pressing money.
- Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Tidal and every major DSP worldwide
- ISRC codes and metadata management
- Release strategy and waterfall singles support
What it costs
Only a share of streaming — your vinyl, CDs and masters stay entirely yours.
- 50/50 on streaming revenue only. Your physical sales are untouched by it.
- Masters remain 100% yours. Opting in transfers no ownership.
- Take it or leave it. Nothing else about your pressing changes either way.
The community piece
You're in the room either way
Campaign or straight run, every artist in the program joins the Label 51 indie community. We push your release and your shows the same way we push our own roster's, and you don't have to be signed for that.
Featured artist page
Your release gets a placement on Label 51's indie artist page.
Release announcements
Your record announced across the label's social channels.
Live show promotion
Share your live calendar and we push your dates out with the release.
Cross-promotion
Other artists in the program find your record, and their fans find you.
"Independent doesn't mean alone."
Frequently asked
Questions & answers
No. Wefunder sells shares in companies, which is a regulated investment. Here you're pre-buying a product: vinyl, a cassette, a CD, a download, merch, the same as on Kickstarter, Qrates or Bandcamp. Nobody owns a piece of the band at the end of it.
Talk to the label
Our address
United States
Label 51 RecordingsDenver, Colorado
Our contacts
Email us
Call us
Ready to fund your next release?
Tell us what you want to press. We'll quote it, help you build the page, and press it once your fans have paid for it.