SponsorSmith Program

Usually, Tom Doesn't Like Being Patronized, But In This Case....

Being an indie musician is exciting and fun. But it's also fraught with peril. I don't have a steady income -- it's all downloads, CD sales at gigs, and donations from fine folks like you.

Some people feel strange about it; it's an awkward question -- How much do I throw in the guitar case? Fortunately, now there's an answer. Same answer it's always been, actually: You don't have to throw in a dime. I've even put up the player program, so you can listen to pretty much everything for free. If, however, you would like to contribute, I'll try to make it worth your while.

Please note that this is in addition to the "Mr. Smith Goes To The Hospital" album. Which means that I'm going to be going back and contacting everyone who donated for that, and thanking them personally, and hooking them up with the SponsorSmith program. It's gonna take a few weeks. So please don't panic; if you kicked in, I will get in contact with you. I mention this so that if you feel like you want to contribute, but you don't want to miss out on the Sponsor goodies below... you won't.

When the SponsorSmith program goes live, there are several levels of sponsorship available, each with its own perqs:

Minion of Fenton or Friend of Mister Gumpus ($5)

Any three downloadable songs

Your message displayed next to your chosen handle and Fenton or Mr. Gumpus icon for a week

Digital Acoustic Fanboy or Fangirl ($10)

Any five individual downloadable songs, or a download of any $4.99 album (Live At GAFilk, Sins of Commission, or Homecoming: MarCon 2005)

Your message displayed next to your chosen handle and DAF icon for two weeks

iFan ($20/year)

Any downloadable album

At least an hour of Sponsor-special audio, unavailable anywhere else

Honorary SmithTone ($50/year)

Same as above, except any three downloadable albums

Legion of Groupies ($120/year)

Same as above, except any and all download albums (if you've already got 'em all, I can send a copy of each one as a gift to whoever you'd like -- e-mail me and we'll talk about it), plus whatever I release during the next year (if I only manage to release one album, you will receive the next two)