U3 Test

Instructions: Part 1

READING PRACTICE:

• Before you read the passage, answer questions 1-3 below.
• Then, read the passage.
• Finally, read each question and choose the correct answer.

Crowdfunding for the Arts

A       Do you like unusual productions by small theatre groups? Are you a fan of a particular singer or group? Do you like the work of a little-known artist who you think has great potential? If the answer to any of these is "yes," then you might have some experience with crowdfunding for the arts. Crowdfunding is where people raise small amounts of money from large numbers of people on the Internet. Although individual contributions are small, the total can add up to a sizable amount to fund an artistic project. Sometimes the project is a start-up, something to launch a new career. By contrast, it can also be a venture to bring an established group to new audiences. Either way, crowdfunding is the modern way to raise money.

B       For hundreds of years, talented people in the arts have needed support from other people in order to perform or create. In Europe, artists like Michelangelo and musicians such as Mozart had wealthy patrons from royal families who supported their work. Typically, the patron would commission or order a particular work such as a painting or piece of music for an occasion. The artist would get paid when the work was finished. Such financial backers are known as angels, but the concept is the same: providing money to support an artistic project.

C       Crowdfunding is different because the money comes from many people, not just one wealthy person. The first major example of crowdfunding for the arts was in 1996 when the British rock band Marillion used its website to raise $60,000 for a North American tour. The band's fans contributed the money, so this technique became known as fan-funding. More recently, artists have used an agency to organize the contributions instead of doing it through their own website. For example, in April 2012, musician Amanda Palmer used the organization Kickstarter to raise money for her new album. She hoped to raise $100,000, but by May 2012 she had collected $1.2 million from 25,000 participants.

D       Harvard Business School professor Ramana Nanda has researched crowdfunding for the arts and found some interesting trends. Since Kickstarter got established in 2009, it has raised more money for the arts than the arts agency for the U.S. government. Moreover, some of the artistic projects that have been crowdfunded are quite different from those supported by government grants. Part of this difference is that small groups or beginning artists are not likely to go through the process of applying for grants, but can easily seek money from online supporters. The public votes with their contributions to support small or unusual projects, many of which ordinarily would not get grants. Professor Nanda thinks that crowdfunding creates a more democratic way to get money for the arts.