Ben Allison is the ultimate DIY jazz artist, blending jazz, rock, folk, and 20th century classical music into sonically compelling tapestries.   His 11 albums have garnered considerable critical acclaim, and he has toured the world extensively with his groups The Ben Allison Band, Think Free, The Easy Way Trio, Peace Pipe, and Medicine Wheel. For his latest album with Think Free, Ben decided to try a new approach to funding it: crowdsourcing.   His campaign ends December 28th, and he is closing in on his funding goal. We dig into all kinds of topics like: the many ways in which making a living as an independent artist has changed The actual business model of streaming music companies tapping into the base of "super-fans" recording at Maggie's Farm in Pennsylvania how mixing has become an addiction to Ben the potential alienation of technology his role as President of the Board of the New York chapter of the Recording Academy It was a great conversation--Ben's a great guy and an interesting artist, and I can't wait to see how the album turns out! Links to Check Out: Ben's website Ben’s YouTube monetization experiment Takedown Notices and Malware Kevin Kelly 1000 True Fans Zen and the Art of Mixing by Eric Sarafin (Mixerman) The Stars Look Very Different Today (Ben’s previous album) Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to your inbox! Learn how you can support the show at contrabassconversations.com/support Thanks to our sponsors! This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut. Enter the D’Addario strings giveaway for Contrabass Conversations listeners at contrabassconversations.com/strings! Hosting for Contrabass Conversations is provided by Bass Capos.  Bass Capos are an excellent choice for any bass player using or looking to implement a double bass extension. Easy to install and adjust, cheaper and more reliable than hand-built latches, also lighter and quicker in operation.