Not Just a Business: The Social Components of Russian Crowdfunding

Abstract

Aleksandra  Latysheva – PhD Student, School of Public Policy, The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), digital producer, Channel One Russia Worldwide, Moscow, Russian Federatiion. E-mail: sasha.latysheva@yandex.ru

DOI: 10.17323/727-0634-2017-15-4-660-668

In this overview, I examine the history of the term ‘crowdfunding’ and analyze different theoretical approaches to its definition. This term primarily refers to a business tactic. Many crowdfunding projects are related to multimedia: music, video-games, book publishing and so on. As mentioned in the work of Manuel Castells, crowdfunding is about alternative economic processes. Sponsors organize their community within one platform so as to facilitate the creation of a product or service that they desire. As many Russian researchers note, most sponsors of crowdfunding projects have a motivation that transcends the purely material, which is lost when examining the phenomenon of crowdfunding as a simple exchange of money for goods and services. I highlight the advantages of the latter approach and propose a definition which unites different points of view. I categorize leading Western crowdfunding platforms (Kickstarter and IndieGoGo), list preeminent specialized platforms, perform an in-depth analysis of the largest Russian crowdfunding services (Planeta.ru and Boomstarter). In addition, I examine the website Sbor-nik, which is used to crowdfund the publishing of books, as an example of a specialized platform. Statistics regarding the number of projects launched, active users and funds collected are presented for each platform. Particular attention is paid to non-material motivations of users: I present examples of social and charity projects in the abovementioned platforms, as well as cases where users actually refused material rewards or chose non-material ones. I highlight the socio-cultural preferences of backers and sponsors on various platforms. Finally, I attempt to define crowdfunding as a societal and cultural phenomenon, and analyze the particularities of crowdfunding in Russia. I argue that crowdfunding is viewed by its sponsors as a supplementary method of funding important projects in areas, where social and cultural policies of the state fail.