Words    Words    Words

For this paper, we chose to present the different potential income streams in the same format we are using for Continuous Coast, the project which grew alongside (and was informed by) our business model research. We provide specific examples and links where possible, and encourage you to modify the information here as best fits your own project’s needs. Later on, we’ll include several other options for how to organize the pieces of your project into something coherent and manageable. As we mentioned in the beginning, most of our suggestions presume that your project has at least a rudimentary presence on the internet, even if it’s only a simple webpage.

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Water imagery is among the important elements of our newly-created shared world, so when discussing the various stages of releasing our project we began imagining it like waves of the tide coming in: first the water just a little further in, than a bit more, creeping slowly enough that it’s easy to miss at first, and then you notice the beach is flooded. (Remember the “incoming tide” effect described in an earlier post.) Since we have much more time than money–and not enough of either–in the early stages of the project, we decided to start with a small and solid structure that was designed from the beginning with the potential to scale up (we’re optimists at heart).

We examined the available models to determine for which wave they were particularly suited based on the projected growth of our project, and within each wave we determined whether a model’s potential income derived from: interaction with and support from the fans; physically or mentally tangible items associated with the world; or outside-the-project money sources (or some combination of these).

There is a lot of overlap between some of these models, and while some are specific to the phase in which they are introduced, many are meant to be launched at a particular time and then continue through one or more additional stages of your project. In our first wave, we are focusing on revenue streams which required the least up front investment of resources while still presenting what we believe to be substantial potential for income both for us and our collaborators.

Next we’ll begin looking at specific revenue streams, starting with the use of donations to encourage patronage.

Other posts:

• Part 0: Series Announcement
• Part 1: About the Series
• Part 2: The Five W’s
• Part 3: DMAIC
• Part 4: 4 Simple Steps
• Part 5: Time Vs. Money

The Artist Business Models series is based on a paper written by Reesa Brown and Kit O’Connell, with assistance from Steven Brust, Ken Brown, Deborah Ibarra, and many others. At the close of the series, the entire business model paper will be posted to Continuous Labs. The business model paper and blog posts are released under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial 3.0 license.