Treble has launched an IndieGogo campaign
You might have noticed that Treble looks a little different. We gave the website a fresh coat of paint, and while we think it looks great, we’re also confident our new design offers a better user experience for our readers.
But the improvements we’ve made this summer aren’t just about appearances. We’ve taken this time to reflect on what Treble is, and what it means both to us who work on the site and to the music community at large. It’s a place that celebrates independent voices. It’s a place that believes in the power of music to change lives. And it’s a place that believes the music community is just that—community, and one where all are welcome.
This is why we’ve added some new features to Treble. Our new City Guides highlight the independent records stores and music venues, and readers can even submit suggestions on their city’s favorite music businesses directly through the site. We’ve also added a new store with a zine marketplace, allowing us to shine a light on independent artists and help them showcase their work to a wider audience. Plus you can get a Treble t-shirt, if you’re into that sort of thing. We’re also committed to offering diverse voices in what we cover, who we showcase and who we work with.
That means we’re also not going to be using programmatic ads. As the landscape of publishing changes, privacy erodes and the simple act of reading an article online becomes a baffling ordeal, we’re doing away with advertising that follows you wherever you go. From now on, we’ll be working with brands and companies with whom we have long-term relationships, which is better for everyone.
We’ve also just launched an IndieGogo campaign. It’s been a lot of work getting Treble to where it is, and in addition to being able to fund daily operations, we want to ensure all of our writers are being paid. This campaign will do just that, and we’re offering a lot of cool merch for people who help fund the campaign, including a custom designed t-shirt from Ryan Patterson of Cat Magic Punks and Fotocrime (see below), photo prints (High on Fire, Bauhaus and more) from Chad Kelco, plus koozies, postcards and other stuff we’ll be revealing soon. But even if you’re not in it for the merch, we greatly appreciate the support of our readers, and your contributions will keep Treble alive, our writers compensated, and all your favorite music stories updated every week.
If you’re a fan of Treble, we know you value independent music journalism. We know you value outlets like ours that are willing to diverse, varied artists. And we know you probably understand that there are fewer and fewer outlets out there these days willing to do so, which is why I hope you’ll support our campaign. Together, I truly believe we can continue to provide thoughtful writing about music and make the Treble community even stronger.
Jeff Terich is the founder and editor of Treble. He's been writing about music for 20 years and has been published at American Songwriter, Bandcamp Daily, Reverb, Spin, Stereogum, uDiscoverMusic, VinylMePlease and some others that he's forgetting right now. He's still not tired of it.