Indirect competitors

Indirect competition comes from crowdfunding platforms, especially those focused on supporting artistic projects. The most famous case is that of Kickstarter, which was founded under the same concept of sponsorship, although it has evolved into something broader.

Kickstarter has enjoyed tremendous success, with nearly 20 million backers by July 2021, over 70 million total pledges, over 250,000 successfully funded projects, and nearly $6 billion in pledges. The platform generates revenue through a 5% commission fee on pledges, and an additional 3-5% fee for processing payments.

Like most crowdfunding platforms, Kickstarter operates as an open marketplace, where backers search for projects to fund, without having to get to know the artists they are backing or develop any personal contact with them.