Take a Billionier’s Chance with Ireen Bill
Fast rising female double bassist, singer and songwriter, Ireen Bill finally took her destiny in her hands when she decided to embark on crowd funding to support her African Music Project. Crowdfunding is a method of raising capital through the collective effort of friends, family, customers, and individual investors.
As part of her ingenuity, Ireen Bill has found an inspirational and motivational name for her fans and patrons. She calls them ‘billioniers’. She has set a target to raise $7,000 (N3. 5 million) on Indie-gogo to accomplish her African Music Project, without having to rely on any major label or limit her creative power while delivering unique contents to her fans.
“My team and I decided to try this funding model, after we turned down some labels that approached us with contracts which were going to limit my creative power and connection to my fan base (the Billoniers). Planning this Crowdfunding campaign took more than six months. From producing a unique pitch video (featuring the mystery-bassman and message), crafting and editing the story, reaching out to family and friends, down to creatively planning out my exciting rewards /perks and budgeting the viable minimum amount needed. I hope people from all over the world and the diaspora would support me at reaching my crowdfunding goal, so other indie artistes can embrace this new music-business funding model, get creative, stop making excuses and help African music advance quickly,” said Ireen.
Her music borders on a rich mix of afro- fusion, urban highlife, soul and jazz, all laced with her bass lines, solos and strong vocals. Ireen Bill describes her brand as one which ‘stands to showcase the creativity, beauty and strength of the African woman; inspiring and entertaining at the same time.’ The Album is titled B.I.L.L which is an acronym for Bass Inspiring Love and Life. According to her, “It will feature African sounds, languages, loads of percussion, bass, strong vocals, soul and Afrobeat. And it’s going to be hot like the African weather.”
Ireen is working hard to bring her compositions to the frontline by creating her own ‘body of works’- album and also host an Inspirational Bass-Charity-Concert for children in Nigerian IDP camps. Every year, she marks her birthday by organizing a local girl-child support programme. In recent times, she has become more ambitious. “I want to do something bigger starting from this campaign, by going to some IDP camps in Nigeria and inspiring those kids with my story, music and charity donations.”
The Afro-Singing-Bassist is currently raising funds via a unique crowd-funding campaign strategy on Indiegogo, a creative pitch video and offering exciting and exclusive ‘bass-banging’ rewards in exchange. Some of these perks include; a private African bass concert in your living room, Ireen Bill cooking you an African dish for dinner live, executive producer credits, pre-ordering the exclusive signed CD album and digital downloads, 100years of immortality for you on the B.I.L.L Album, Ireen Bill Billonier T-shirts, two free tickets to Ireen Bill Concerts, one-on-one Skype chat/bass lessons and Ireen Bill’s Secret videos (including the Mystery-Bassman videos).