This article can also be found in the latest issue of H漫画 magazine.
When Rose Cousins (BScK鈥�99) writes a song, it鈥檚 a solitary process: alone, with her guitar, pulling chords and phrases out of the ether to communicate an idea from the heart.
To make it truly sing, though, takes a community.
The lush, inviting sound of the Halifax singer-songwriter鈥檚 third album, We Have Made a Spark 鈥� emphasis on 鈥渨e鈥� 鈥� was built in Boston, in collaboration with a group of musicians and singers that first welcomed Ms. Cousins into their circle eight years ago. But the record is also a collaboration with her friends and fans, who donated more than $25,000 via the fundraising website Kickstarter to support the production of the album and its accompanying documentary, If I Should Fall Behind.
鈥淓very record I鈥檝e done has been at least partially fan-funded,鈥� says Ms. Cousins, whose do-it-yourself ethos reflects a modern music industry quite removed from the clich茅d rock fantasy of signing a big-money label deal. 鈥淚 helped fund the first couple of albums through PayPal, having forms at shows and sending out emails. But in the last couple of years, there鈥檚 been these new online tools that allow you to organize that process a bit more.鈥�
Through , Ms. Cousins offered rewards for different levels of support: advance downloads, signed CDs, mentions in the liner notes and even homemade cookies. As the pledges increased, she filmed videos to thank her supporters, and in just a month and a half surpassed her original target of $20,000.
鈥淵ou never quite know what people are going to do when you give them an opportunity to be part of something,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut I feel like my fans are the sort who are invested in my career, and some have been supporting my career for the entire time I鈥檝e been doing this. I鈥檓 committed to my music, and it鈥檚 amazing to have others who are committed to me in return.鈥�
The ties that bind
Ms. Cousins鈥� commitment to music was first sparked as a Dal student, during her kinesiology degree. She鈥檇 always wanted to play guitar, and was soon borrowing her friend鈥檚 acoustic six-string so often that it practically lived in her dorm room all semester. After purchasing her own acoustic guitar with her birthday money and contributions from her fellow dorm residents, Ms. Cousins began frequenting the now-defunct Halifax club The Tickle Trunk, playing the open mic circuit alongside scene staples like Matt Mays and Charlie A鈥機ort.
At first, she performed covers, but in time began showing off her songwriter鈥檚 voice, with heart-stirring compositions that offered intimate accounts of the ties that bind people to one another, and the tensions that break them apart.
After graduation, she worked as an alumni liaison officer with Dal鈥檚 External Relations office, continuing to grow her music career on the weekends. It was while hosting an alumni event in Boston that Ms. Cousins discovered Club Passim, noticing that many of her favourite artists from the New England area had played there. On a whim, she left a copy of her first EP, Only So Long, with a club employee. Nine months later, she got a call, and was asked to perform as part of a benefit festival.
鈥淚 ended up travelling to Boston to play that festival for several years, each time meeting more and more people and getting drawn into this community,鈥� she says.
Combustable sparks
Just prior to releasing her debut album, If You Were For Me, in 2006, Ms. Cousins left her job at Dal to focus on music full time. In the years that followed, she released a second album (2009鈥檚 The Send Off) and collaborated with artists such as Jill Barber, Meaghan Smith and Joel Plaskett (that鈥檚 her singing throughout Plaskett鈥檚 Three album). She also racked up accolades, including the Canadian Folk Music Award for Contemporary Singer of the Year and three East Coast Music Awards. H漫画 joined in the action as well, presenting her with the Christopher J. Coulter Young Alumnus Award in 2009.
Throughout, she kept returning to Boston. As she immersed herself deeper into its collaborative, welcoming music scene, she realized that she had found the right people, and the right place, to record the songs for We Have Made a Spark. 鈥淚t鈥檚 that same kind of supportive community that I come from in Halifax,鈥� she says. 鈥淎s a team, there鈥檚 room for everybody, and everyone brings their own flavor. It鈥檚 not like there鈥檚 a complete lack of ego, but they鈥檙e able to play a song as a skeleton and then we all shape it together.鈥�
Songs that had been written alone 鈥� some of them in a secluded cabin on a New Hampshire island 鈥� became living, breathing entities at Q Division Studios in Somerville, Mass., where the likes of James Taylor, Aimee Mann and Patty Griffin have recorded previously. The group of players working with her, sometimes as many as 15 at a time, performed together in a single room, adding a plethora of voices, rhythms and textures to the songs.
The album has quickly become her most acclaimed release to date; just last week, it was longlisted for Canada's top critics award, . And she has plans to tour it across North America this year. It seems fitting that a record funded by fans, and made with friends, seems poised to expose Rose Cousins鈥� music to new communities from coast to coast.
鈥淚 feel closer to [this album] than my other ones because I know everyone that鈥檚 on it, and I know that everyone on it cares about me, and that I care about them. It was made with a group of people that represent a lot of love and heart.鈥�
DIY digital branding
Just like Rose Cousins, artists and entrepreneurs are discovering how new technologies can be used to mobilize fans, friends and supporters. We asked Dan Shaw, marketing expert and director of Dal鈥檚 Bachelor of Commerce program, to offer advice on building a career using social capital.
Be industrious: 鈥淚t takes a different skill set than just being an artist鈥ou have to not only be IT savvy, but marketing savvy. You have to think about these tools as an opportunity to tell your story: as an artist, as a business, as a brand.鈥�
Be connected: 鈥淚n personal selling, you start with your centres of influence. And especially in the Maritimes, that can take you rather far. It鈥檚 not six degrees of separation here; it鈥檚 more like one or two.鈥�
Be supported: 鈥淚n the music industry, there have often been street teams: groups of fans in each city that would put up posters, sell merchandise, request the song on radio or TV and spread the word. We call that support 鈥榮weat equity.鈥� Now, that support has gone digital; it鈥檚 now 鈥榗lick equity.鈥欌��
Be yourself: 鈥淐onnecting with fans the way Rose does works because it鈥檚 authentic. Getting an offer from Rose directly isn鈥檛 like having it come from a big label rep from New York or LA. It鈥檚 more intimate.鈥�