CMF Crowdfunding Study

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    Canada Media Fund | Fonds des mdias du Canada

    Cnin in aCanaian Cntxt

    Prepared by: Nordicity .m-m.

    Exploring thePotential oCrowdundingin the CreativeContent Industries

    At, 2012

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    2 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

    1. IntroductIon 3

    2. crowdundIng deIned 4

    2.1 ci M 6

    2.1.1 The Donation Model 6

    2.1.2 The Lending Model 9

    2.1.3 The Investment Model 13

    2.2 Mk t 15

    2.2.1 US Market Trends 17

    2.2.2 European Market Trends 18

    2.2.3 Canadian Market Trends 20

    3. deMand or crowdundIng In canadas

    tV and dIgItal MedIa IndustrIes 22

    3.1 t b f iv i 22

    3.2 Bf c 25

    3.3 rik Bi c 27

    4. IMpleMentatIon consIderatIons

    or the canadIan tV and

    dIgItal MedIa IndustrIes 29

    4.1 ci sii l piv ii 30

    4.2 t civ c i em 33

    4.2.1 Certied Independent Production Funds and

    other unding grants 33

    4.2.2 Provincial and Federal Tax Credits 33

    4.2.3 Broadcast and Distribution Partners 35

    5. suMMary and conclusIons 37

    aix a ci ci pm 39

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    3 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

    1. IntroductIonCrowdunding is an emerging alternative nancing vehicle that

    has experienced a recent boom in Europe and North America,

    primarily driven by recent multi-million dollar record-breaking

    successes on platorms in the US. In the wake o the increased

    media attention or these campaigns and recent changes to

    securities laws in the US to accommodate crowdunding, this

    nancing model has become more visible in Canada as well.

    A number o Canadian-based crowdunding platorms have

    emerged and discussion has been abundant among regulatory

    and industry bodiesrom the tech sector to the creative media

    sectorregarding how crowdunding ts into Canadas current

    legal, regulatory and unding environment.The Canada Media Fund (CMF) commissioned Nordicity to

    conduct a study on the topic o crowdunding in Canada with a

    mandate to provide both an overview o the global crowdunding

    phenomenon as related to the creative content industries and

    also a domestic environmental scan to determine what the

    demand or crowdunding might be among content creators,

    how they might best leverage this type o unding and how it

    might t into the broader structural environment or the creative

    content industries in Canada.

    Thro ugh secondary researc h, case study analys is and

    stakeholder interviews (with producers, interactive digital media

    (IDM) content developers, industry and regulatory bodies, andlegal and nance experts), Nordicity explored the opportunities

    and challenges regarding the regulatory, nancial, social and

    operational deployment o crowdunding within the Canadian

    creative content environment.

    The ollowing report rst provides a working denition o

    crowdunding and a description o the various crowdunding

    models, as dened by Nordicity. The report then goes on to

    provide an overview o global market trends in crowdunding.

    Finally, the report outlines the needs and key considerations rom

    the perspective o content creators as well as key considerations

    related to the regulatory, legislative, and nancial environment or

    the creative content industries in Canada.

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    4 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

    2. crowdundIng deIned

    This sect ion pro vides a working de in i t ion o the term

    crowdunding and a broad overview description o the concept;

    what it is and how it is used. The sub-sections that ollow provide

    an overview o the three basic existing crowdunding models.

    Crowdunding:

    A wk deft

    Cnin i th aiin

    n thh th cctin

    ma cntitin m th

    na ic (knn a th

    c) in th Intnt an

    cia mia

    1 Crowdfunding: Disintermediated Investment Banking. Brian J. Rubinton. McGill University. April, 2011.2 SEC Regulations Barricade The Crowdfunding Floodgates. Kevin Lawton. Hungton Post. November 30, 2011.

    http://www.hungtonpost.com/kevin-lawton/crowdunding_b_789088.html?.

    ci i i i i

    i, which is the broader concept o an individual

    reaching a goal by receiving and leveraging small contributions

    rom many parties.1 Crowdunding is the application o this concept

    to the collection o unds through small contributions rom many

    parties in order to nance a particular project or venture.

    Interpreted in this way, Crowdunding has existed or a long

    time in the not-or-prot world, where undraising campaigns

    are ubiquitous. It has also existed in what is commonly reerred

    to as a riends and amily nancing round in the technology start-

    up sector.

    t k i i x i i

    ixib ik i i ki i bii

    i mmii i x

    j mi fi ii. Indeed,

    the social networking aspect o crowdunding is the primary

    driving orce behind its success.2

    From the beginning, crowdunding was based on the shared values

    and relationships built between those seeking support and the

    donors, oten resulting in repeat donations. By leveraging existing

    communities both online and ofine, crowdunding relationships

    are strengthened through increased engagement and instant

    gratication via social media, as opposed to the limitations o one-way messaging with broadcast media and direct mail. While the

    concept o donation is not new, the ability or online crowdunding

    to engage unders on such a large scale enables it to raise large

    amounts o money in shorter periods o time rom a larger pool o

    potential investors.

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    5 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

    t -f f m

    i i i i m. Two notable and

    oten-cited early examples o successul crowdunding eorts

    include the Hurricane Katrina disaster relie undraising campaign

    and President Barrack Obamas rst-term election campaign

    back in 2008.

    M , i i bmi ii

    mm m ii i

    mi ii; ii mi, fm vi m.

    Although internet crowdunding has existed in the music and lm

    industries or almost a decade, it is only in the last ve years that

    crowdunding in the media industries has gained momentum.3

    tii, i i i m vm -f, i j (another

    key characteristic o crowdunding being that it is an ex ante orm

    o nancingmeaning that sponsors, backers, customers or

    investors nance a project that is still in the development stage).4

    As such, it has become particularly eective in projects where

    individuals have an anity or the cause or or the creative team

    involved. Acting as a social media platorm in their own right, some

    crowdunding platorms acilitate a world o communities where

    individuals can und their interests and passions.

    t m iv fi

    bi fi j,

    b v iiz iv.Producers o all sizes have increased their access to nancing,

    contributing to the democratization o content production.

    Increasingly, new entrants have the potential to be recognized and

    rewarded or their crat, where they may not have conventionally

    been able to secure unding or distribution or their projects due to

    traditional value chain barriers.

    ci iq i vii

    bivii ibii

    i j. The power o the investor as ambassador

    is uelled by the high impact o social media, where projects or

    the undraising initiative have the opportunity to go viral. Oten,

    beore a production has even begun, crowdunding can generate

    3Crowdfunding Plan may Open Pandoras Box for Investors. Robert J Metzler. April 16, 2012.http://hbweb.sx2.atl.publicus.com/article/20120416/PRINTEDITION/304169981.

    4Crowdfunding: Disintermediated Investment Banking. Brian J. Rubinton. McGill University. April, 2011.5Putting your money where your mouse is: Crowdfunding: Artists, musicians and writers are using the Internet to aggregatelots of small donations to fund their work.TheEconomist. Sept 02, 2012. www.economist.com/node/16909869.

    audience engagement through the projects investors, who will inturn become the consumers. A crowdunding network can be a

    projects best source o cost-ree promotion. Investors and unders

    become ambassadors o the cause, infuencing their networks

    through social media and word o mouth. Indeed, due to the trust

    involved in personalized endorsements, social media can be more

    infuential than many promotional campaigns, committees, CRM

    networks and websites. Crowdunding also allows project creators

    to engage more closely and more directly with those audiences

    and ambassadors, who are increasingly attracted to this type o

    direct connection and deeper engagement with the development

    and production process o the content they are consuming.5

    As such, crowdunding is redening the relationship between

    producer, investor and consumer, oten resulting in some orm

    o convergence and democratization o the three. Producers

    are compelled to be as open and honest as possible in their

    crowdunding campaigns in order to earn enough trust rom

    audiences to secure their nancial support. It is thereore in the

    producers best interest to maintain higher levels o transparency

    and accountabil ity in their practices. However, levels o

    transparency can vary and can become the object o public

    scrutiny. For example, the crowdsourced undraising campaign

    behind the Invisible Children Inc., and their short lm Kony 2012,

    has been criticized or a lack o transparency on expenditures.

    ci vi m iv

    v i m vii b

    i. Through crowdunding campaigns, content creators

    can crowdsource public reactions and critiques to a projects

    concepts and eatures. In this way, creators are equipped with

    vital inormation to help with business and editorial decision-

    making that respond directly to their audiences expressed

    needs and desires. Useul back-end analytics that can come

    rom crowdunding campaigns include click-through rates, time

    spent on the site, the amount o money raised, and the number

    o contributors as well as more open-ended qualitative audience

    eedback in the orm o comments, suggestions, community

    promotion and viral marketing.

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    6 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

    2.1 ci MThree models o crowdunding are emerging or the creative

    industries: The Donation Model, the Lending Model and

    the Investment Model. Each model has its own unique

    eatures, unctions, levels o applicability, and advantages and

    disadvantages.

    2.1.1 The Donation ModelThe Donation Model encompasses approaches to crowdunding

    that are based on donations, philanthropy and sponsorship. It is

    also sometimes reerred to as micro-patronage.

    I diM, iivimkii

    ibi j i xi

    fi ibi. The primary driver behind

    individual contributions in this model is a personal desire to support

    the development and realization o a project that is in some way

    meaningul to the contributor. Projects and platorms that employ

    the donation model typically also use a reward or incentive system

    to help stimulate contributions. Incentive rewards, gits or tokenscan range rom named recognition o contributors in the projects

    credits or acknowledgements to branded merchandise or

    opportunities to meet with creators and/or attend special events

    related to the project such as a launch party or premiere screening

    event. Typically, a range o incentives is oered or any given

    project and contributors receive dierent rewards depending on

    the amount that they contribute.

    With its roots in philanthropy, the Donation Model is derived rom

    the online donation model used by charities. The key to this model

    is that while contributors might receive recognition or rewards or

    their contribution, they do not receive any rights or equity in the

    project. The Donation Model o crowdunding is currently the mostcommon means o crowdunding in Canada and around the world,

    due primarily to securities regulations. Indeed, a recent report by

    Massolution/Crowdsourcing LLC determined that donation-based

    crowdunding initiatives raised the most money in 2011 at a total

    $676 million (USD) rom platorms around the world.6

    6Crowdfunding: $1.5B Raised, 1M Campaigns Funded In 2011; Figures Set To Double In 2012.Rip Empson. TechCrunch. May 08, 2012. http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/08/crowdunding-state-o-the-union/.

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    7 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

    7How Double Fine Raised $3.3 million on Kickstarter and Changed Game Financing Forever. Dave Their, Forbes.com. March 14, 2012.http://www.orbes.com/sites/davidthier/2012/03/14/how-double-ne-raised-3-3-million-on-kickstarter-and-changed-game-nancing-orever/.

    Record-breaking Donation-based crowdfundingcampaign: Double Fine Adventure (Kickstarter)

    Type of production/project:Digital Media (game)

    Funding Target: $400,000 (USD)Funds Raised:$3.3 million (USD)

    The Company:Double Fine

    Based in San Francisco, and founded in 2000 by industryveteran Tim Shafer, Double Fine is an award-winningindependent games development company with a strongtrack record on different games platforms includingXBOX and Playstation.

    The Story: Double Fine set out to raise an ambitious targetof $400,000 (USD) for a point and click game and behind thescenes video. On March 13, 2012 when Double Fines Kick-starter campaign concluded, the company had raised sevenand a half times that amount, reaching $3.3 million (USD),more than enough to fund the development of their game.The campaign set a precedent for how independent gamesKIVVIVKM\PMQZXZWRMK\[_Q\PW]\MVOIOQVOX]JTQ[PMZ[

    Analysis: Of all genres, games arguably have the most activeKWUU]VQ\QM[IVL[]JKWUU]VQ\QM[IZW]VL[XMKQKproperties such as the phenomenally successful and persis-tent World of Warcraft. Games are interactiveand attract users who want to be members of a community

    and participate in it. Double Fine recognized this communitydesire and engaged potential investors by offering themexclusive access to development forums and to brainstormwith developers. Double Fines success proves that avidgamers will pay for this privilege.

    For the independent games producer, Kickstarter providesthe promise of creative freedom. Games developers thatmeet their funding targets with consumer support canmove forward without the compromise that often comeswhen working with publishers. According to Double Fine,crowdfunding democratizes the process giving developersthe freedom to experiment, take risks, and design withoutanyone else compromising their vision. Its the kind ofKZMI\QMT]]Za\PI\UW[\UIRWZM[\IJTQ[PML[\]LQW[[QUXTacant afford. At least, not until now.7

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    8 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

    7MPMTOWNWMNMMTMOPWMaTSMP-Ma?WUIV3QKS[\IZ\MZ0W\,WK[+]ZI\ML8IOM

    Type of production/project:Documentary (Film/TV)Funding Target: $50,000 (USD)Funds Raised:$56,525 (USD)The Company: /WTLMV6]OOM\8ZWL]K\QWV[

    Toronto-based Golden Nugget Productions is a relatively newKWUXIVa_Q\PW]\IVM[\IJTQ[PMLZMX]\I\QWVIUWVOUIRWZJZWILKI[\MZ[1\Q[LQNK]T\NWZVM_MV\ZIV\[\WN]VL\PMQZ

    LWK]UMV\IZQM[][QVO\PMKWVMV\QWVITUM\PWLWNVIVKQVOthrough broadcasting development funding or a broadcastinglicence. They often pay to pitch before licensing executives atforums such as Hot Docs or the Banff World Media Festival.

    The Story: The pitch forum at HotDocs in 2011 is the route GoldenNuggets director, Tiffany Hsiung, tookto crowdfunding in order to raisefunding for Within Every Woman(www.wewoman.org). Hot DocsForum and Market Director, ElizabethRadshaw recommended Within Every

    Woman for the HotDocs curated pageon Kickstarter. Initially, Hsiungsproducer wanted to target $100,000but the company was late to takeadvantage of their 60-day fundingwindow; they did not begin to promotethe Kickstarter campaign until 30days after the campaign had been kicked-off, which is halfway through the allotted 60-day funding period imposed byKickstarter. As such, given that the producers effectively hadonly 30 days to raise their funds, they decided that a goal of$50,000 was more realistic. The $56,000 (USD) raised fallswithin the range of development funds typically offered by

    broadcasters and did kick-start Within Every Woman butQ\Q[VW\MVW]OP\WVIVKM\PMN]TTXZWL]K\QWVWN\PMLWK]UMV-tary. Hsiung estimates she requires another $200,000 and isseeking a broadcasting license as well as private investment,but does not plan on starting another crowdfunding campaignNWZ\PQ[XZWRMK\

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    9 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

    2.1.2 The Lending Model

    t li M i i imi i

    i i, iivi m j

    m i xi i i b i. In the

    context o crowdunding, the lending model can take a number o

    orms, shown below:

    s!TRADITIONALLENDINGAGREEMENT standard terms are used

    and there is an expectation or a monetary reimbursement

    in the orm o interest. In this case, the loans may or may not

    be guaranteed, depending on the crowdunding platorm

    being used.

    s!FORGIVABLELOAN contributions are reimbursed to the lenderonly i one o two possible conditions is met: a) i and when the

    project begins to generate revenue or b) i and when the project

    begins to make a prot.

    s0RESALES the nished product is promised in return or the

    contributors pledge. In the case o a pre-sale lending model,

    the contribution amounts are determined according to an

    assessment o the air market value o the product. In addition,

    larger contribution amounts are typically accompanied by a

    promise o more copies o the product equal to the value o the

    amount o the contribution.

    According to Massolution/Crowdsourcing LLC, Lending Model

    campaigns tend to reach completion in hal the time it takes or

    Investment Model campaigns.8 The Lending Model is similar to

    micro-nancing schemes common in developing countries or

    micro-lending platorms, such as Kiva, which allow individuals

    to solicit and provide micro-loans to support individuals or

    communities in developing countries or support small businesses.

    These micro-lending platorms have helped pioneer the concept

    o individual investment through micro-lending.

    Lending-based crowdunding also accounted or $522 million

    (USD) o the crowdunding monies raised globally in 2011, making

    it the second-largest orm o crowdunding in terms o the amount

    o money raised.9

    8 Crowdfunding Industry Report: Market Trends Composition and Crowdfunding Platforms. Crowdsourcing.org. May 2012. P. 22.9 Crowdfunding: $1.5B Raised, 1M Campaigns Funded In 2011; Figures Set To Double In 2012. Rip Empson. TechCrunch. May 08, 2012. http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/08/crowdunding-state-o-the-union/.

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    10 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

    A successful DIY lending-based crowdfunding campaign:

    My Million Dollar Movie (DIY Campaign)

    Type of production/project:Feature Length MovieFunding Target: $1 millionFunds Raised:$1.9 million

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    11 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

    A record-breaking pre-sale crowdfunding campaign:

    8MJJTM?I\KP3QKS[\IZ\MZ

    Type of production/project: ,QOQ\IT5MLQIPIZL_IZM?I\KPFunding Target: $100,000 (USD)Funds Raised:$10,266,845 (USD)The Company: 8MJJTM

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    12 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

    2.1.3 The Investment Modelt IvmMmbqi

    ivm, iivi iv qi i i

    i fi. There are two standard sub-categories

    o Investment Model crowdunding:

    Securities Investment Model

    shares in the company are bought by investors. In this model,

    contributors would be buying ownership in the parent company

    or rights in a project.

    Prot or Revenue-sharing Model

    a share o the revenue or prots o the project is earned by

    investors, as opposed to shares in the underlying company. Thisis also known as a Collective Investment Scheme.

    Typically under a crowdunding investment scheme, the investment

    would be passive rather than active. In other words, investors buy

    ownership or revenue or prot shares but do not have an active

    role in creative or management decision-making.

    The investment model is currently not legal in Canada due to

    current securities laws. However, The US recently passed the

    Jumpstart Our Business Start-ups (JOBS) Act, which opens

    the door to investment-based crowdunding. Although the act

    outlines some initial regulations related to the new law, the ull

    extent o the new regulations are currently being developed by the

    National Securities Regulator and will not be known until the new

    law comes into eect in early 2013.

    There are currently a number o platorms based in the US

    and other countries that oer investment-based crowdunding

    models, including SellABand.com, Appbackr, EquityCircle,

    SEEDUPS and Motaavi.

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    13 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

    Investment Model Case Study: The Age of Stupid

    Type of production/project:DocumentaryFunding Target: N/AFunds Raised:730,000The Company:Spanner Films

    The Story: .IVVa)ZU[\ZWVOIVL=3JI[ML;XIVVMZTU[

    LMKQLML\WKZW_LN]VL

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    21 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

    ci

    b

    m

    mm

    m

    i fmmk - j,

    vii i j m mm

    iv i

    m.56 In particular, documentary lms seem to be one o

    the most common types o projects eatured on crowdunding

    platorms.57 It is harder or television producers to use crowdunding

    because the cost o producing a traditional broadcast television

    production is too high or a typical crowdunding campaign.58

    However, web series are very well suited to a crowdunding model

    because their production cost is signicantly less than a traditional

    broadcast production.59 Similarly, k

    i m i xm i iiv

    ii mi j, because o the project-based businessstructure o IDM content developers (much like that o smaller,

    independent production companies).

    ci i i iv i

    jivi. Projects

    aimed at niche markets are typically much harder to und through

    traditional unding options. Crowdunding provides creators o

    these projects with a way to access unding by directly appealing

    to the audiences that would consume the product or support. In

    many ways, crowdunding provides an opportunity or projects to

    be created that might not otherwise have been possible.

    Stakeholders seemed to show the most reluctance when

    considering selling equity or giving up intellectual property rights or

    their projects. M i x

    i i v iv i

    qi.This reluctance is most oten related to equity structures

    that would complicate or even prevent additional nancing and

    that could require such substantial legal maintenance to make the

    project nancially unsustainable.

    56Mobcaster Crowdfunds Its First TV Season. Anthony Ha. TechCrunch. March 09, 2012. http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/09/mobcaster-crowdunds-the-weatherman/. Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. May-June, 2012.

    57 Stakeholder interviews; conducted by Nordicity; May-June 2012.58Time to Join the Crowdsourcing Trend?. Playback. Spring 2012. P. 13-117.59Time to Join the Crowdsourcing Trend?. Playback. Spring 2012. P. 13-117.

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    22 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

    IngredIents or a successul

    crowdundIng caMpaIgn

    stakh an cnay ach intif

    a nm ky chaactitic that inca

    th chanc a cnin camain in

    cc, th inc:

    CoMpellINgproJeCTThe most successul projects are

    ones that manage to capture an audiences emotions and

    get people excited. People need to care about and believe

    in the project in order to be motivated to contribute to it.60

    s!NEISTINGPASSIONATEAUDIENCE. Projects that appeal

    to already existing, highly supportive and passionateaudiences (e.g. projects that deal with topics that have

    strong grass roots ollowing) are ar more successul

    because those audiences help support and promote the

    campaign on behal o the project owner.61

    s! STRONGEISTINGNETWORK. Successul crowdunding

    campaigns typically start o being promoted in the

    project owners network and spread rom there. A strong

    existing social networking presence and network o

    ollowers make it easier or creators and project owners

    to leverage the power o the social networking side

    o crowdunding.62

    shi qi mi mi i v mi . Successul campaigns typically

    result rom strong promotional eorts by the project owners

    throughout the entire duration o the campaign. In

    addition, the quality o promotional materials, such as a

    promotional video or trailer, need to be o good quality.

    The promotional materials need to inspire condence

    among potential contributors that the nal product will be

    worth their contribution.63

    sOOD AUDIENCEENGAGEMENT Part o the appea l in

    crowdunding comes rom the audiences desire and ability

    to participate in the development process. Campaigns that

    provide their audiences with regular updates on the projects

    progress or other promotional and unding activities related

    to the project will tend to be more successul.64

    s#OMPELLINGCONTRIBUTORINCENTIVESTypically, tangible

    goods (i.e. branded merchandise) or pre-sale copies o

    a product are the most compelling incentives as well as

    advanced access to the product. Unique experiences

    related to the product and/or its creative team are also

    good incentives.65

    s! REALISTICFUNDINGGOALProjects that succeed in

    reaching their unding goal tend have a goal that makes

    sense rom the perspective o potential contributors. An

    amount that appears too high can make it seem like the

    creator either does not have a good understanding o the

    cost o producing his/her project or that they are simplygreedy. A unding goal that seems too small similarly

    makes it seem like the producer does not know the real

    cost o producing their project and could create doubt in

    a contributors mind about whether or not the project will

    actually get made.66

    s! CLEARLDElNED FUND ALLOCATION PLAN Projects

    are more likely to be successul i the creator clearly

    demonstrates why they need to raise the unds they

    are asking or and how it will be used to urther their

    project. Contributors need to eel condent that their

    contributions will be well-used.67

    60Whitepaper Presents Community Sourced Approach to Better CrowdFunding Campaigns, PRWeb, June 12, 2012,http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/6/prweb9596475.htm; Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. May-June, 2012.

    61RocketHub founder Brian Meece on crowd funding, Russ Martin, Canada.com, June 12, 2012,http://blogs.canada.com/2012/06/12/rockethub-ounder-brian-meece-on-crowd-unding/

    62RocketHub founder Brian Meece on crowd funding, Russ Martin, Canada.com, June 12, 2012, http://blogs.canada.com/2012/06/12/rockethub-ounder-brian-meece-on-crowd-unding/ ; Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.

    637 Reasons Why Crowdfunding Projects Fail. Justin Kownacki. CrowdFundingHelp., January, 2012. http://crowdundinghelp.com/7-reasons-why-crowdunding-projects-ail/; Some Thoughts on Kickstarter. Celcius Game Studios. May 2012. http://www.celsiusgs.com/blog/?p=446#more-446; Stakeholder interviews.Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.

    64 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.65 http://blogs.canada.com/2012/06/12/rockethub-ounder-brian-meece-on-crowd-unding/ ; Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.66 http://crowdundinghelp.com/7-reasons-why-crowdunding-projects-ail/ ; Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.67 http://www.celsiusgs.com/blog/?p=446#more-446

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    3.2 Bf cci mi vi i mb

    bf, b i fi i, including:

    s!RAISEDPROlLE A successul crowdunding campaign or

    a compelling project can help raise a producers prole and

    provide a boost to their reputation.

    s!PROVENMARKETCrowdunding is a great way or creators to

    develop proo that the concept or their project has an existing

    audience and market. In the case o an unsuccessul campaign,

    it provides good market eedback that a certain concept is not

    viable. Beyond simply reaching the unding goal, which provides

    one level o proo, analytics regarding the number o backers,contributors or pledges are invaluable in terms o estimating the

    size o the projects audience. I the campaign ails to attract

    attention, then creators have solid market eedback that the

    project may not have an audience in its current incarnation. This

    is a very important run-o benet o crowdunding as market

    research is oten weak or non-existent or dicult to amass or

    creative content producers.

    s!UDIENCEBUILDING The unding campaign itsel and all the

    promotional eorts around the campaign have the add-on benet

    o promoting the project itsel among existing and potentially

    new audiences. In this way, a crowdunding campaign can

    help a producer reach existing audiences, as well as build and

    grow new audiences or their project beore they even begin to

    produce it. Producers are also excited by the direct distribution

    potential behind crowdunding platorms, such as with pre-

    sales-based models.

    s!UDIENCEENGAGEMENT Stakeholders agree that one o the

    most unique add-on benets o crowdunding is its role as a

    orum where content creators can engage with their audiences

    and audiences can engage with meaningul content. Audiences

    are increasingly interested in the creation o the content they

    consume and producers are increasingly looking or new ways

    to engage with their audiences more deeply.68 Crowdunding

    acilitates just that. Audiences can both contribute nancially to

    a project they care about, and engage in the production process

    by ollowing progress through updates rom the creators and

    sharing eedback via comment eatures on the projects

    crowdunding page.

    s!UDIENCEEEDBACKOne o the ollow-on eects o being able

    to engage with audiences through crowdunding is that content

    creators can use crowdunding websites to gather important

    creative eedback rom their audiences as the project develops.

    For example, beyond just the proo o concept eedback that

    comes rom completing a successul campaign, project owners

    can gather more specic creative eedback rom contributors

    or other visitors about specic aspects o the project through a

    comment eature on their campaign page, which is available on

    most crowdunding platorms. In addition, oering pre-release

    access to content and/or the opportunity to beta-test content

    as part o a unding incentive package provides creators with

    instant access to good market testing eedback data on the

    project beyond just knowing whether or not there is a large

    enough audience that supports the concept or idea.69 It provides

    an opportunity or audiences to give more specic creative

    eedback on various aspects o the project.

    s)NTERNATIONALSUPPORTFOR#ANADIANPROJECTSCrowdun

    provides a unique opportunity to attract audiences and investors

    rom around the world to support Canadian productions, thereby

    expanding the market reach o Canadian-produced content. This

    is a very important potential benet o increased crowdunding

    eorts among Canadian screen-based content creators.70

    68Time to Join the Crowdsourcing Trend?. Playback. Spring 2012. P. 13117.69 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.70 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.

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    3.3 rik Bi cci m i mb i ik

    bi mi i i i mi

    i m among screen-based content creators in Canada.

    The risks and barriers identied by stakeholders include:

    s!WARENESS Crowdunding is just beginning to emerge as a

    serious industry in Canada and as such, the majority o content

    creators do not have a ully developed understanding o the

    crowdunding environment or how they could use it.71 The

    general public is even less aware o crowdunding and do not

    necessarily know that they can support creative projects they

    care about in this way, let alone where they can go to do so.

    s!$AMAGED2EPUTATIONI a content creator starts a campaign

    and does not meet his/her unding goal or receives very little

    support, this is a very public ailure. There is a certain measure

    o apprehension among producers about what impact this type

    o public ailure could have on their reputation. Producers are

    also concerned about what could happen to their reputation in

    the event that they successully gather a large amount o public

    support or a project but are not able to complete it or some

    reason. Similarly, producers are concerned about not meeting

    the expectations o their supporters once the project is complete.

    s#OST AND RETURN ON INVESTMENT Many producers are

    apprehensive about the costs in resources and eort thatare needed in order to manage a successul crowdunding

    campaign. First, there are hard costs such as the cost o creating

    promotional material (e.g. a promo video) and those associated

    with producing and shipping any tangible goods incentives.

    Second, there is the time and eort cost associated with

    creating and promoting the campaign as well as the ongoing

    eort needed to engage and update contributors on the projects

    progress both during and ater the campaign. On the fip side is

    the ever-present risk that the campaign will be unsuccessul and

    that any time, eort or other resources invested in the campaign

    would have no return.

    s3KILLSGAPMany producers do not have the necessary skills

    to carry out the various activities related to the campaign (e.g.

    promotion, audience engagement, ulllment management

    related to honouring incentives) and would need to engage

    additional internal human resources or pay or external services

    just to be able to manage the campaign.

    s)0PROTECTIONMany Interactive Digital Media (IDM) developers

    and content producers are reluctant to publicly announce the

    details o a project beore production starts due to concerns

    about idea thet and protecting their IP rom plagiarism.72

    s$ONOREHAUSTIONThere is always the risk that i a content

    creator reaches out to the same network multiple times, that

    network will eventually cease to supply the necessary support.

    When producers are leveraging their existing online networks

    to promote their crowdunding campaigns, there is a risk that

    the network will cease to be supportive i they are approached

    too many times. In addition, as crowdunding grows and thenumber o platorms and projects to choose rom increases,

    it will become increasingly dicult or projects to distinguish

    themselves rom the masses and attract the necessary support.

    s0UBLICFEAROFABUSE Amongst the investors and venture

    capitalists that we interviewed, there was a shared concern

    that without a regulatory ramework, the likelihood o a scam or

    abuse o unds was quite high. This valid concern could become

    a barrier to public engagement and unding i the regulatory

    ramework in Canada does not quickly address the addition o

    crowdunding nancing in a non-accredited investor context.

    71 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.72 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.

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    25 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

    4. IMpleMentatIon consIderatIonsor the canadIan tV and dIgItal MedIaIndustrIes

    There are a number o structural considerations to take into

    account when thinking o how crowdunding applies to screen-

    based content creators in Canada. Due to the emergent nature o

    crowdunding, particularly in the Canadian market, it is dicult to

    ully understand what implications there might be in the broader

    legal, regulatory and unding ecosystem. That being said, there

    are a ew potential implications that are commonly raised in

    discussions on crowdunding in Canada.

    crowdundIng platorMs: structure

    There are i m,

    based on what types o projects they eature:

    s3PECIALIZEDPLATFORMSCertain crowdunding platorms

    cater to specic industries such as music recording

    (SellABand), video games (Gambitious), or independent

    television (Mobcaster).

    s!CTIVITSPECIlCPLATFORMS Other platorms cater

    to a variety o industries but ocus on certain types o

    projects (e.g. creative projects, technology or hardware

    development). For example, Kickstarter only eaturescreative projects, though they can t in any number o

    categories (e.g. Music, Art, Film, Video Games).

    sENERAL0URPOSEPLATFORMSThese platorms have no

    restrictions on what they will eature. These platorms

    eature campaigns that range rom individuals soliciting

    support or a medical procedure or a wedding to artists

    seeking to und creative projects and technology

    start-ups seeking to und the development o a new

    innovative product.

    a i i j i

    d-i-y m i m j bi. This requires a great deal more

    administrative eort rom the project creator, but allows

    them to engage directly with their supporters (rather

    than going through a third-party platorm) and means

    that 100% o the unds raised go to the creator without

    having to pay a commission to the platorm operators.

    There are i i i m

    i i :

    s4HEMAJORITOFPLATFORMSUSEATIMEDFUNDINGROUND

    typically ranging rom 30-90 days.

    st a-i-m-i m. Some platorms award

    any unds raised during the unding period to the project

    owner (e.g. Indiegogo).

    st a--ni m. Many platorms only

    award unds to the project owner i the original

    unding goal is either met or surpassed within the pre-determined unding period (e.g. Kickstarter). In the

    event that the project does not meet its unding goal,

    contributors are either reimbursed or their pledges

    are never ullled (i.e. credit cards or other payment

    accounts are never charged).

    c i m i

    mmii-b bi m where the

    platorm receives somewhere in the range o 2%-5% o

    the total amount o unds raised during the campaign

    rom the project owner. However, a ew platorms have

    adopted a xed-ee approach where a project creator

    pays a pre-determined xed ee to the platorm operatorin exchange or the service o housing their campaign on

    that platorms website.73

    73 Crowdunding Industry Report: Market Trends Composition and Crowdunding Platorms. Crowdsourcing.org. May 2012. P.23.

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    4.1 ci sii l piv ii

    As discussed in sections 1.1.3 and 1.3.3,

    ci ii i i i m

    qi i j m i.

    Under current laws, there are limited circumstances under which

    private investors can buy securities in a company without that

    company issuing an in-depth prospectus used in a traditional initial

    public oering.74 There are some exemptions to the prospectus

    requirement, but these vary across provinces/territories and are

    typically limited to Friends and Family contributions. Nevertheless

    there are two exemptions that do apply in all o the provinces

    and territories: 1) Accredited investors those who have eithera net worth o more than $1 million or annual income o more

    than $200,000 or 2) i an investment is a minimum o $150,000

    or more.75 Current laws also prohibit public solicitation o equity

    investments, which makes the social networking aspect o the

    crowdunding concept inherently illegal when equity is being sold.

    t ci av t ai i

    i - bbi mi i

    v 13 vii ii ii

    ii ii in a manner similar to how

    the ederal securities legislation is currently being changed in the

    US in the wake o the new JOBS ACT. In addition, the Canadian

    Securities Administrators (the umbrella group or the countrys

    13 provincial and territorial securities commissions) is also in the

    process o a large-scale review o the prospectus requirement

    exemptions with the intention o broadening them to potentially

    leave room or crowdunding.76 And the Ontario Securities

    Commission has ocially submitted a notice o review o the

    exemptions in Ontario.77

    I it were to ever become legal to sell securities via crowdunding, it

    would come into direct competition with seed or angel investors.78

    However, crowdunding would not compete directly with venture

    capital nancing because traditional venture capitalists (VC) do

    not typically invest in projects, they invest in companies and

    most content creators are using crowdunding or individual

    projects. Nor do traditional VCs typically invest in an initiative at

    the concept stage, which is where the majority o creative projects

    enter a crowdunding campaign. Furthermore, traditional VCs

    do not typically make investments o less than $1 million, which

    is signicantly higher than the average crowdunding goal or a

    creative project (typically $20,000$50,000). For most VC rms

    looking or higher returns, higher levels o investment are more

    attractive. Investments that all under $1 million would typically getpicked up by the boutique VC community or angel investment

    network.79 On the fip side, VCs might benet rom a crowdunding

    campaign because it can yield useul market analytics that could

    help validate the case or investment at a later stage.80

    Beyond the clear legal restrictions associated with equity-based

    crowdunding, there are concerns among stakeholders about

    how changes to securities laws could aect the publics protection

    against investment raud. There is an inherent risk o raud either

    originating with project owners or with the platorms and services

    that host campaigns. However, proponents o the model claim that

    crowdunding actually encourages greater transparency because

    o the larger role that trust plays in infuencing an investors

    decision, thereby maintaining a relatively low risk o raud. 81 The

    JOBS ACT in the US has a number o provisions to help mitigate

    the increased risk o investor raud, as outlined in section 1.3.1.

    There is also the risk o unintentional raud which can happen

    when a successully unded project never gets produced or some

    reason or when the nal product delivered is not quite what was

    originally envisioned and advertised.82 Furthermore, it is common

    that a creative project never generates revenue or prot making

    it risky to promise revenue or prot share return on investment.83

    74

    A case for crowdfunding. Christine Dobby. Financial Post. April 18, 2012. http://business.nancialpost.com/2012/04/18/a-case-or-crowdunding/.75A case for crowdfunding. Christine Dobby. Financial Post. April 18, 2012. http://business.nancialpost.com/2012/04/18/a-case-or-crowdunding/.76A case for crowdfunding. Christine Dobby. Financial Post. April 18, 2012. http://business.nancialpost.com/2012/04/18/a-case-or-crowdunding/.77 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. May-June, 2012.78Venture capital rejection leads to funding record. Wallace Immen. The Globe and Mail. April 18, 2012. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-

    business/sb-money/business-unding/venture-capital-rejection-leads-to-unding-record/article2405552/.79 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. May-June, 2012.80Venture capital rejection leads to funding record. Wallace Immen. The Globe and Mail. April 18, 2012. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-

    business/sb-money/business-unding/venture-capital-rejection-leads-to-unding-record/article2405552/.81The Crowdfunding Revolution Will Democratize Venture Investing. Kevin Laughton. Hungton Post. December 08, 2010. http://www.hungtonpost.com/kevin-lawton/

    democratizing-venture-cap_b_792498.html.82 US: State acts to boost start-ups through Funding Portals. Chriss Nuttall. Financial Times. July 12, 2012. http://www.t.com/intl/cms/s/0/79363204-a5-11e1-b737-

    00144eabdc0.html#axzz1ypg3rmO5.83 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. May-June, 2012.

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    27 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

    legal consIderatIons or canadIans

    usIng KIcKstarter

    whi Kicktat i nt acci t Canaian,many Canaian c hav ht camain

    thi jct n th a atm. Hv,

    th a a nm cniatin t tak int

    accnt c kin t acc Kicktat:

    Kickstarter is only available to project owners who comply

    with the ollowing eligibility requirements:

    s !REAPERMANENT53RESIDENTWITHA3OCIAL3ECURIT

    Number

    s (AVEA53STATEISSUEDIDENTIlCATIONEGDRIVERS

    license)

    s (AVEA53BANKACCOUNTANDAMAJOR53CREDITCARD

    or debit card

    s (AVEA53ADDRESS

    The eligibility requirements listed above exist primarily

    in order to comply with the requirements o Amazon

    Payments, Kickstarters payment processing partner.84

    In order to host a campaign on the Kickstarter website,Canadian content creators need to engage a third-party

    based in the USbe it a riend or amily member or a

    partner company. Engaging a third-party partner in this

    way comes with a number o implications:

    s !THIRDPARTMANOTOWNTHERIGHTSTOPROMOTEAND

    distribute a product on behal o the creator, and

    thereore not have the legal right to do so.

    s 4HEREISAMBIGUITABOUTOWNERSHIPOFTHEPROJECTAND

    the legal relationship between the platorm, the creator

    and the third-party partner.

    Funds raised through Kickstarter would have to betranserred rom a partners oreign (US) bank account

    to the original project owners Canadian bank account,

    which has a number o legal implications regarding duties

    and income taxes when money crosses borders in that

    way.85 For example, revenues gained rom a reward-

    based and/or pre-sale-based crowdunding campaign

    could be considered revenue rom the sale o goods

    and would be subject to income tax, i the money is not

    properly reported as such when it is passed rom the US

    partner to the Canadian project owner this could have

    legal implications.86

    84 Kickstarter announced in early July, via Twitter, that project owners based in theUK would be eligible to host projects on the platorm beginning in Fall o 2012.

    85 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. May-June, 2012.86 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. May-June, 2012.

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    4.2 t civ c i emAs a relatively new phenomenon in Canada, there remains a great

    deal o ambiguity about crowdunding and what the broader

    nancial implications might be or producers who wish to access

    both crowdunding and other more traditional sources o unding

    or their projects.87 Many o the stakeholders in the unding

    ecosystem are currently either reviewing the crowdunding

    question or using a wait and see or case-by-case approach.

    However, in the absence o clear positions and guidelines to

    ollow, producers who are already accessing unds through

    crowdunding campaigns do not know how to report these unds

    in their unding or tax credit certication applications. As such,

    they could be at risk o penalties should they be audited at a later

    date and it is ound that crowdunding dollars were not reported in

    the appropriate manner.

    The is sues rela ti ng to how crowdunding impacts conten t

    creators access to other orms o unding is only applicable to

    producers who would be accessing both traditional and non-

    traditional sources o unding. However, as section 2.1 discusses,

    those projects and producers that are best suited to crowdunding

    may be the very projects that cannot access traditional unding

    sources to begin with.

    That being said, stakeholders did identiy key considerations

    or potential implications that should be noted in cases where a

    producer might want to access both crowdunding and traditionalunding sources.

    4.2.1 Certied Independent Production Funds andother unding grants

    Currently, there are no clear restrictions on the use o crowdunding

    in terms o how it impacts a producers eligibility or unding

    grants.88 Most unding bodies currently allow producers to engage

    in crowdunding without it impacting their eligibility or unding.

    However, many are also waiting to encounter an application that

    cites crowdunding in order to make a decision or how it will be

    treated.89

    87Time to Join the Crowdsourcing Trend?. Playback. Spring 2012. P. 13117.88Time to Join the Crowdsourcing Trend?. Playback. Spring 2012. P. 13117.89 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.

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    4.2.2 Provincial and Federal Tax Creditstmi mbii

    i mi iibii

    vii x i.

    In act, c rv a i i

    vi xmii qii

    i v b

    i x i.90 In the meantime, provincial and

    ederal tax credit administrators are waiting or the decision beore

    they take action to change their own certication guidelines. It is

    unclear whether or not tax credit administrators have received

    applications rom producers who have accessed crowdunding

    as they may have accounted or that revenue in any number oways on their applications (e.g. as assistance, as a producer or

    distributor arm contribution, as revenues rom sales, etc).91

    The key considerations regarding crowdunding when it comes to

    tax credits include:

    s!SSISTANCE)FTHE#2!CONCLUDESTHATCROWDFUNDINGDOLLARS

    raised via a Donation Model campaign should be reported as

    assistance (much like receiving unding through a und l ike the Bell

    Fund), that amount would become deductible rom the projects

    eligible expenses.92 In addition, the CRA could conclude that

    unds raised via a Lending Model crowdunding campaign which

    takes the orm o a orgivable loan would also be considered

    assistance or the purposes o tax credit calculations.

    s2EVENUESFROMTHEECHANGEOFGOODSATAFAIRMARKETVALUE

    The CRA could conclude that under a Donation Model or pre-

    sale-based Lending Model, the exchange o incentives or pre-

    sold copies o a product alls under the provision o exchange

    o goods at air market value. In this case there would be no

    implications regarding either eligibility or calculations or tax

    credits. Nor would there be any legal issues under securities laws

    because this would be considered a legitimate exploitation o the

    producers rights or money (revenue). However, this particular

    position could become complicated due to issues surrounding

    how the air market value o certain intangible incentives (e.g.

    acknowledgement in the credits, a dinner with the creative

    team, a character named ater the contributor) is ascertained.93

    Intangible incentives are inherently dicult to valuate. Moreover,

    there might be some grey areas about the true air market value

    o goods in the crowdunding world, which could dier rom

    the value o the same goods in a retail, e-commerce or digital

    distribution context.94

    s,OANS A Lending Model campaign that ollows a traditional

    lending agreement would likely be counted in the same way

    as traditional loans, which would have no specic implications

    when it comes to calculating eligible expenses or the purposes

    o tax credits.95

    s%UITCROWDFUNDINGAccording to tax credit administrators,

    an Investment Model campaign would likely automatically

    disqualiy a producer or project rom access to tax credits. There

    are very strict regulations under the tax credit guidelines about

    what entities are allowed to hold interest in a production.96

    s0RODUCERORDISTRIBUTORCONTRIBUTIONI a production com

    is structured in such a way that there is a parent company and

    then a single production corporation or a specic project,

    then producers could conceivably collect crowdunding dollarson behal o the parent company and count it as a producer

    contribution rom that parent entity. Similarly, or companies that

    have set up a distribution arm, the crowdunding campaign could

    be done under the distribution arm o the company and any

    monies raised would be counted as a distributors contribution.

    I the CRA decides to sanction this way o accounting or

    crowdunding dollars then it would not run counter to any tax

    credit regulations and would be considered a legitimate way o

    collecting and reporting crowdunding dollars.97

    90 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.91 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.92 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.93 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.94 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.95 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.96 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.97 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.

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    4.2.3 Broadcast and Distribution PartnersB iib v k fm

    i mi i ii

    i i. For the most part, though

    broadcasters are cautiously observing the developments, they

    generally agree that the money raised through crowdunding

    is legitimate and do not currently have any reason to reject

    a production on the basis that it is not a legitimate source o

    unding. However, one consideration that broadcasters do take

    into account is whether crowdunding would impact the ability

    to access any necessary additional unding or the production,

    thereby putting the project in jeopardy.

    That being said, there are a number o other considerations thatmight have the potential to become barriers or producers utilizing

    crowdunding when it comes time to engage broadcast and

    distribution partners.

    s/WNERSHIP i. In an Investment Model, where

    contributors receive equity in the company or rights to the

    product in exchange or their contribution, a producer would

    likely jeopardize his/her ability to establish a licensing agreement

    with a broadcaster. Broadcaster agreements typically come with

    very specic and very strict limitations on who can own rights

    to the product.98 They typically do not allow any private third

    party investment.

    sOURNALISTIC iii. One o the

    major concerns rom the perspective o broadcasters is the

    risk that crowdunding could pose to journalistic standards and

    policies regarding editorial control.99Any campaign that has the

    appearance o giving up or sharing a creators artistic decision-

    making power with contributors could make broadcasters

    nervous. Any perception that the content o a project was in

    any way infuenced by contributors (e.g. advocacy through the

    sponsorship o ideas) or that a contributor has a specic interest

    in the content could be viewed very negatively by broadcasters

    and those projects are likely to nd it dicult to engage a

    broadcast partner.s%PLOITATIONOFRIGHTSProducers who use a pre-sale-based

    Lending Model could encounter diculties securing broadcast

    license agreements because the broadcaster could perceive

    this as an exploitation o rights that diminishes the value o the

    rights they would be purchasing.100 Broadcasters might eel that

    the market or a production has already been tapped through

    the pre-sale unding eorts. Similarly, it might be dicult to

    secure a distributor advance i the producer is already engaging

    in direct distribution via the pre-sale model.101 However, under

    a Donation Model broadcasters and distributors may actually

    value a project unded through crowdunding. On the one hand,

    a successul crowdunding campaign provides the distribution

    or broadcast partner with evidence that there is an existing

    audience or the production. On the other hand, the production

    will already have been promoted as part o the crowdunding

    campaign which means that the broadcaster or distributor have

    less work to do in promoting the production.

    98 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.99 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.

    100 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.101 Stakeholder interviews. Conducted by Nordicity. MayJune, 2012.

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    5. suMMary and conclusIons

    Crowdunding is an emerging alternative nancing vehicle that has

    experienced a recent boom in Europe and North America, primarily

    driven by recent multi-million dollar record-breaking successes

    on platorms in the US. Indeed, crowdunding has become a

    signicant way or people to und their ideas and projects across

    a number o industries. In particular, it has become popular in art,

    lm, music and interactive digital media.

    In the wake o the increased media attention or high-prole

    campaigns and recent changes to securities laws in the US to

    accommodate crowdunding, this new nancing model has

    become more visible in Canada as well. A number o Canadian-

    based crowdunding platorms have emerged and discussion

    has been abundant among regulatory and industry bodiesrom

    the tech sector to the creative media sectorregarding how

    crowdunding ts into Canadas current legal, regulatory and

    unding environment.

    There are three basic crowdunding models: (i) The Donation

    Model when contributors oer a contributionoten in exchange

    or a small rewardwith no expectation o repayment, nancial

    gain or ownership; (ii) The Lending Model where contributors

    expect a repayment o their contribution in some orm; and (iii)

    The Investment Model where contributors purchase securities be

    they equity or other. All three models have their advantages and

    disadvantages and some are better suited to the creative content

    industries than others.

    Current securities regulations in Canada make it illegal or

    companies to sell securities through crowdunding, meaning

    that an Investment Model is not currently easible or Canadian

    creative content creators. Furthermore, an Investment Model

    is not well suited to the creative content industry because (i) it

    would complicate the nancial structure o companies or lm/

    TV producers and (ii) it does not t the project-based business

    structure o interactive digital media and small independent

    production companies. The Investment Model also carries many

    risks when it comes to accessing unding or building relationships

    with broadcast or distribution partners because o restrictionsaround third-party investment and third-party ownership in unding

    guidelines and licensing agreements.

    Lending Models are not burdened by the same restrictions when

    it comes to a producers ability to access other types o unding.

    However, they come with additional administrative eort to

    contract and manage the lending relationship.

    The Donation Model, with a clear exchange o goods in the orm

    o incentives, or the pre-sale Lending Model are the two best

    suited crowdunding models or content creators in Canada.

    While there are still a number o outstanding questions on how a

    Donation Model might aect producers ability to access existing

    unding sources. These risks become less signiicant when

    the model is accompanied by an incentive program because it

    becomes an exchange o goods or money in a dened market.

    In addition, a pre-sale Lending Model is a simple exploitation o

    project rights and comes with the least amount o risk, barring the

    possibility that it might impact negotiations or broadcast licenses

    or distributor advances.

    There is certainly a demand or crowdunding among Canadian

    creative content creators. However, the highest demand seems

    to be among independent producers or interactive digital

    media content developers working with smaller-scale budgets.

    Crowdunding is typically most eective or raising smaller amounts

    o money rom $5,000$50,000, although there are exceptions

    to this general rule. In addition, emerging content creators who

    cannot access or do not yet know how to navigate other unding

    sources tend to be most interested in exploring this new unding

    vehicle. Projects that deal with niche content or content with a

    very specic grass-roots ollowing also tend to be more common

    on crowdunding platorms. Crowdunding oers the additionaladvantage o direct audience building, audience engagement and

    market testing with the ability to leverage social-media to access

    those marketsall things that lend themselves well to projects

    that need to access niche markets or want to harness the support

    o a strong grass-roots movement.

    That said, stakeholders in the creative content industries

    whether content creators, legal experts or industry support

    organizationsalso expressed a lack o understanding or how

    crowdunding ts into the broader unding ecosystem in Canada.

    There is a valid concern that guidelines surrounding tax credits

    and other unding sources have not yet been established or unds

    raised via crowdunding.Given the lack o clarity regarding legal, nancial and policy

    issues related to crowdunding and the relative novelty o the

    concept, producers exploring the potential opportunities oered

    by crowdunding should adopt a philosophy o experimentation.

    In addition they should proceed with caution, ensuring they are

    aware o all the associated risks o engaging in this type nancing

    activity beore launching a campaign.

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    32 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

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    33 Crowdfunding for the creative content industries in a Canadian Context

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    c Mi

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