Help Sour Widows Record Their Debut Album!

Hello sour friends!

The time has come - we are ready to record our first full length album! When we recorded our first EP, we asked our community for help in order to reach our goals, and we were so touched by the support we received. We couldn't have become the band we are now without the love and generosity you all continue to show us with every step we take.

Our project has grown significantly over the last 3 years, and along with it, our creative visions; the experiences we've had recording both inside and outside of the studio have helped to inform the budget we expect we will need to realize our record to its fullest potential. We are honored to be working with producer Maryam Qudus at Tiny Telephone for this album, and can't wait to get started!

Since the conception of Sour Widows as just a group of close friends finally living in the same city at the end of 2017, we have organized over 10 DIY tours that have taken us all over the country and to SXSW, played hundreds of local shows, and self recorded our most recent EP 'Crossing Over' over the course of the pandemic, which we released in 2021 to critical acclaim. Each year yields momentum and growth that motivates us to keep working, and affirms the choices we make to continue this band.

However, as is the case for most small bands at this time, the pandemic continues to be a major financial obstacle for us - without the cushion of revenue generated from live shows over the last 2 years, in addition to the rising gas prices and static guarantees that often mean operating at a loss on tour, we have not been able to create the savings we will need to reach our goals. We have calculated that between the studio time for recording, mixing, and mastering, payment of engineers and session players, and transportation, we will need $15,000 to create this LP.

While we are lucky enough to have the support of a fantastic label (Exploding In Sound), the reality is that nearly everyone working in the independent music industry operates within razor-thin margins. EIS is able to cover production costs of our physicals (vinyl, cassettes, CDs) which is an enormous help, but is only a fraction of the overall financial cost of making and releasing music on a professional level.

We understand this is a big ask, and acknowledge the widely felt financial struggles that have persisted in all communities and creative industries through the pandemic. In recognizing the sizeable sum that we’re hoping to crowdsource, we feel compelled to share that none of us have ever made a personal profit from this project - every cent we have made since the beginning has gone back into sustaining the band, while we work other jobs and put our all into this dream. Many countries offer federal support to creatives because they understand the cultural value of the arts - here, crowdsourcing within our communities must take the place of such support, and often it becomes the only way many artists can pursue their work. We feel honored and touched by every one of you who sees something important in what we create.

Below is the estimated cost breakdown of the creation of this record - we ultimately expect to spend more than our crowdfunding goal of 15k, as it doesn’t include transportation costs, or meals for band members and our engineer which we plan on providing during the recording/mixing process. We will be working to supplement the cost of this LP outside of the gofundme through merch sales and local shows.

Tiny Telephone (Recording Studio): 400 / day for 12 days = $4800

New Improved Recording (Mix Studio): 300 / day for 8 days = $2400

Production/Engineering/Mixing fees: 300 / day for 24 total days = $7200

Session Bassist: 200 / day for 4 days = $800

Mastering: $400

Total = $15,600

Above monetary support, we thank you for listening to our music - it is truly a gift to share our songs, and we can't wait to show you all what we've been working on. To know that what we create resonates with other people in the world is a magical experience that we wouldn’t trade for anything.

Our gratitude is endless.

With love,

Susanna, Maia & Max from Sour Widows (not Windows) ❤️ ;)