John Berry Is Using Kickstarter To Fund New Album

John Berry performed some of his biggest hits at the Durango Music Spot Stage inside the Music City Center during this year's CMA Fest.
John Berry performed some of his biggest hits at the Durango Music Spot Stage inside the Music City Center during this year's CMA Fest.
John Berry performed some of his biggest hits at the Durango Music Spot Stage inside the Music City Center during this year’s CMA Fest.

It’s been four years since John Berry released his “Real Man. Real Life. Real God.” CD and he plans to have new music out this November.

Since he’s not on a label now, Berry is using the popular crowdfunding website Kickstarter to record the new music. “I’ve used it before,” Berry said. He used Kickstarter to make his last CD. Berry said that it makes sense not to just involve friends and family, but also involve people who support his music.

Berry’s new project will consist of two discs: one will be a collection of ten country songs and the other disc will be a mix of Christmas and inspirational songs, which Berry said would include a version of the National Anthem.

There is a risk of doing a Kickstarter campaign: Berry won’t get any money if he don’t meet his goal. Berry’s goal for this campaign is $50,000 and he has until Aug. 8 to meet that goal. Supporters can make a pledge to Berry’s project between now and then using a credit card. Their card will be charged on Aug. 8 if Berry meets the goal.

Berry said the $50,000 goal is for recording costs. “That will cover recording barely,” Berry said.

Berry has offered numerous rewards for supporters of his Kickstarter campaign. The rewards start with just a $10 pledge to the Kickstarter campaign, which will get the supporter a digital copy of Berry’s five song Christmas/inspirational CD. A $15 pledge will give the supporter a digital copy of the ten song country CD and person pledging at least $25 will get a digital copy of both.

Fans can receive autographed merchandise with a pledge as low as $40. A person pledging $40 will receive a CD autographed by Berry and a person pledging at least $80 can get a Hatch Print Show poster that has been signed and numbered by Berry.

Other rewards that are offered as a part of Berry’s Kickstarter campaign include an opportunity to attend a CD listening party, an opportunity to spend time with Berry in the recording studio, a mini-concert with Berry via Skype or Facetime, a private concert with Berry and more.

Berry said someone from California selected an acoustic concert as the reward on Wednesday night.

He also included an acoustic version of a new song called “Enough Enough” in an update earlier this week for the supporters of his most recent Kickstarter campaign. Berry said the song talks about stuff that doesn’t matter getting in the way of relationships. He said he passed a place that seemed to have a lot of storage buildings and wondered how much stuff people could possibly have.

“Enough Enough” will be one of the songs available on the new CD.

Berry will be on his Christmas tour in November and December. One of the songs that Berry performs on that tour is “O Holy Night,” a song often played by radio stations during the holiday season. Berry explained that they had been discussing doing a Christmas CD. In 1994, Berry had brain surgery. He said they sent a CD with two Christmas songs on it to radio to thank stations for supporting him during a very difficult year. “O Holy Night” was one of the two songs on the CD. When radio started playing the songs, the response from listeners was incredible.

When Berry had brain surgery, “Your Love Amazes Me” was climbing the charts. The song eventually became Berry’s first number one song. Although a singer never knows how a song might do on the charts, Berry said he “knew there was something awfully special” about that song.

One of Berry’s favorite songs he has recorded is the title track of his “Those Were The Days” CD.

Berry loves his fans. “We couldn’t do it without them,” Berry said. He said he hopes that people enjoy the new batch of songs.

People wanting to contribute to Berry’s Kickstarter campaign at www.kickstarter.com/projects/1711455387/john-berry. People can also connect with Berry on Facebook (www.facebook.com/JohnBerryMusic) and Twitter (@JohnBerryMusic).

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