Remember Katagory V? We're back (sort of), and we need your help!

[Met-Al]

First off, I want to thank all the folks that have contributed in the past week, including Justin, Shannon, and Scott. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Sadly, though, we have less than four days left to raise more than half of the money we need to put the final touches on this release. Unless a miracle happens and, say, 192 people come out of the woodwork to pre-order this album, I'm afraid we're doomed.

This will be my final plea. If you've ever liked any of Katagory V's music, please visit the Indiegogo page, check out some of the new music, and make a pledge. I truly believe that there is something for every fan of melodic progressive and power metal on this album. The only chance of this band continuing in any capacity lies within this campaign, so it's up to you dedicated music fans.

Does this sound desperate? Indeed, it does. Does it kill me to beg you folks for money? With every last beat of my heart. I just hope you'll look beyond the desperation and find a good band that could use a little help.


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

 

[eppst1]

I'm sorry to hear that the campaign is not going well, especially since I wanted the music! Having said that, I know you all wanted to have the nice packaging and all that fancy stuff. Have you guys considered just releasing it digitally? Have you collected enough funds so far for at least that?

Just curious...

 

[Met-Al]

Thanks for inquiring, Ed. Also, thank you very much for contributing to the campaign! I'm sorry that I overlooked your name on the list when I was thanking individuals on this forum. You've been such a great supporter of this scene, and I wish we had more folks like you around. Getting back to your question, we've certainly considered going the digital route, but there's a bit of a caveat there. As soon as a song is released digitally, the pirates swoop in and make it available for free. At least if you release a physical product first, you can have that split-second of sales before somebody loads the music to their computer and then makes it available for free. It's basically a matter of coming as close to breaking even on the costs of recording, packaging, and distributing the music. Since we as a band are fans of having the physical package, we would hate to see that we would have no point in releasing the album physically. Basically, we're stubborn! Here's to hoping for the 186 pre-orders that we need in the next 60 hours to make this dream a reality.

*Sigh*


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

 

[Dustin]

I'm sorry to hear that the campaign is not going well, especially since I wanted the music! Having said that, I know you all wanted to have the nice packaging and all that fancy stuff. Have you guys considered just releasing it digitally? Have you collected enough funds so far for at least that?

Just curious...

No problem! that is a totally legit question that we have been asked often recently - I will echo what Albert just posted, but want to add this...

Yes, It is something we have considered and discussed... but the point of the campaign was to do it OUR way, not the way the tech industry assumes we should do it. I know that reason seems a bit self serving, but as the creators, we wanted to release the album under our terms, and also so that the minority of our fans that wanted to have a hard-copy of something, would actually get it and not be forced into buying it digital-only.

Also, If we were to release it as digital-only, the chances of us being able to afford to release it on any other form of non-digital media after the fact, would be totally uneconomical and never happen. On top of that, the slow residual income from digital-only and the nearly non-existant income from streaming would not allow the band to continue in any form as it is.

The pie-slices are already too small... the band cannot afford to surviving on nothing. The success of this campaign would at least give the band a fighting chance to weather the storm. There are deep, problematic, economical and political issues with this campaign (and the music industry in general) that most people don't want to know about, or don't care too. so... we leave it to fate at this point.

 

[mattbrood]

add me to the list!

 

[eppst1]

Thanks for inquiring, Ed. Also, thank you very much for contributing to the campaign! I'm sorry that I overlooked your name on the list when I was thanking individuals on this forum. You've been such a great supporter of this scene, and I wish we had more folks like you around. Getting back to your question, we've certainly considered going the digital route, but there's a bit of a caveat there. As soon as a song is released digitally, the pirates swoop in and make it available for free. At least if you release a physical product first, you can have that split-second of sales before somebody loads the music to their computer and then makes it available for free. It's basically a matter of coming as close to breaking even on the costs of recording, packaging, and distributing the music. Since we as a band are fans of having the physical package, we would hate to see that we would have no point in releasing the album physically. Basically, we're stubborn! Here's to hoping for the 186 pre-orders that we need in the next 60 hours to make this dream a reality.

*Sigh*


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

No problem! that is a totally legit question that we have been asked often recently - I will echo what Albert just posted, but want to add this...

Yes, It is something we have considered and discussed... but the point of the campaign was to do it OUR way, not the way the tech industry assumes we should do it. I know that reason seems a bit self serving, but as the creators, we wanted to release the album under our terms, and also so that the minority of our fans that wanted to have a hard-copy of something, would actually get it and not be forced into buying it digital-only.

Also, If we were to release it as digital-only, the chances of us being able to afford to release it on any other form of non-digital media after the fact, would be totally uneconomical and never happen. On top of that, the slow residual income from digital-only and the nearly non-existant income from streaming would not allow the band to continue in any form as it is.

The pie-slices are already too small... the band cannot afford to surviving on nothing. The success of this campaign would at least give the band a fighting chance to weather the storm. There are deep, problematic, economical and political issues with this campaign (and the music industry in general) that most people don't want to know about, or don't care too. so... we leave it to fate at this point.

I understand what you're both saying, and appreciate the candor.

Here's to hearing to hearing the music in the not too distant future.

 

[Dustin]

I understand what you're both saying, and appreciate the candor.

Here's to hearing to hearing the music in the not too distant future.

Thanks for the support and understanding!

..is it stupid that I am looking for a "like" button for this reply? LOL!

 

[JazzMX5]

Thanks for the support and understanding!

..is it stupid that I am looking for a "like" button for this reply? LOL!

That's a habit I think we've all got into.

Sorry it's taken me so long to be able to throw down, but done. I wish I had more to give, and due to difficult personal circumstances I've not been sure if I could do it at all until now. I just hope a bunch of others have just been in the same boat! In the nicest possible way, of course. Such is life, I guess.

Miracles have been known to occur, so I'm not writing you guys off just yet.

 

[TribunalRecords]

www.bandcamp.com

Best indie digital reseller. You control it all, their cut is minimal compared to working with Tunecore, CDBaby or the like which take their cut after Apple takes 30% off the top of sales in the iTunes store. Bandcamp accepts payment via Paypal and offers HQ audio downloads.

 

[Mardoch]

www.bandcamp.com

Best indie digital reseller. You control it all, their cut is minimal compared to working with Tunecore, CDBaby or the like which take their cut after Apple takes 30% off the top of sales in the iTunes store. Bandcamp accepts payment via Paypal and offers HQ audio downloads.

I trust you understand the artist/seller side of Bandcamp so it's good to hear that they're good to the creators. As a user it's also a brilliant service, allowing me to buy tons of music (frequently above list to reward the stuff I REALLY love) with supreme ease and full previews prior.

 

[Dustin]

www.bandcamp.com

Best indie digital reseller. You control it all, their cut is minimal compared to working with Tunecore, CDBaby or the like which take their cut after Apple takes 30% off the top of sales in the iTunes store. Bandcamp accepts payment via Paypal and offers HQ audio downloads.

Thanks Matt! ...Shawn also hit me up about this option earlier in the week.

It's something we are considering being that the campaign is sure to fail with less than 17 hours left. However, my feelings on this option almost seems anti-climatic being that the band will cease to exists at that point... almost like releasing it this way is a consolation prize or participation trophy for anyone who actually cared about the band and pitched in during the campaign.

I don't know... this is a very emotional situation for everyone in the band, especially for me, and not speaking for them - I personally can't think straight or be totally rational about the next move until the campaign actually counts down to zero. After that happens, I am putting Katagory V out of my mind, taking a wonderful, relaxing AND much needed vacation to Atlanta to hang with the Progpower peeps, see some crushing bands, get my Yuengling on, devour a kitchen sink burger... and hopefully afford to grab some CD's and merch.

After all that... I'll look into the bandcamp option.

 

[OrbWeaver]

It was a good try, guys. We all did our best to try and help get this album out. I wish I had the remainder laying around to add in before the clock runs down.

It's a damn shame.

 

[Met-Al]

...and there you have it, folks.

On behalf of the band, I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this campaign. Whether you pitched in $15 or $350, you gave us that much more hope toward realizing our dream. Unfortunately, despite your support, we weren't able to raise enough money to give this album a proper release. However, we decided from the beginning of this campaign that it would be all or nothing. Therefore, since we didn't raise the amount of money needed to get this album in your hands, you will all be refunded.

Extra thanks go out to Glenn for allowing us to use this forum as a platform for the campaign. A lot of the folks who contributed did so because they saw this thread, so we can't thank you enough for giving us the chance to muster up the support.

Another huge thank you goes out to Deron Blevins for essentially allowing me to (I hate this term) spam numerous band forums on Ultimate Metal. Just like Glenn, you had the authority to boot me off and tell me to get bent. However, just like Glenn, you were supportive enough to let me spread the word throughout this online community. To top it off, you made a contribution to the fund! That was mighty awesome of you.

Dustin will soon have a press release regarding what the future holds for the members of Katagory V. With that, I'll be seeing you folks in Atlanta.


Albert

 

[Justin G]

Damn. Sorry, guys.

 

[sccaldwell]

Sorry to hear this…was looking forward to hearing it. I agree on the bandcamp idea….get it out there *somehow*!!

Craig

 

[Jasonic]

There are many other options to get the music out there!!!!!!

Music is made primarily to be heard. Glorious physical packages are great and all, but at the end of the day you want folks to hear the result of all your hard work.

Sorry it didnt work out.

I hope somehow you guys get the music out.

Al has played me some of this in the past, and it is indeed VERY solid material.

 

[TENTH DREAMER DECEIVER]

Damn. Oh well, guess the $15 will be refunded soon enough. Hope to see the new one on Bandcamp in 2014.

 

[Dustin]

re-post from facebook:

Hello everyone,

Now that the campaign has ended, and was sadly unsuccessful, it is time to make an announcement concerning the future of Katagory V.

As much as I pains me to say this - I am officially announcing that Katagory V is no more. I have been trying to be positive for the past three years in hopes that the band would regroup, release the 5th album and continue on in some capacity, but as of today, it appears very unlikely that it will ever happen. It is financially impossible and economical to do so and still compete on a any level along side our peers. This indiegogo campaign was a true test to see if Katagory V was still relevant, If our fan base was large enough and dedicated enough to rally support & funding, if people still wanted to hear our music, and if we could survive the wild west of the digital age. This did not happen - We and over estimated our popularity and relevance in the heavy metal music scene. Because of this, there is no purpose for Katagory V to continue.

Throw in a recession a few years ago, causing some band members to become jobless or financially strapped, going through divorces, having heath issues and expenses, losing places to rehearse/write/record, record labels being passive and flaky with communication & commitments, or just flat out showing general disinterested in working with us, and the music industry itself as a whole becoming a huge question mark and extremely unreliable; When you take ALL OF THAT into consideration, coupled with our failed indiegogo campaign, the end result made our "Middle-to-Lower-class" band obsolete and unable to survive in the new musical climate of free-culturists, Tech-utopians, and those who feel that there is a money tree outside that supplies us with an endless supply of capitol to harvest from, so we can continue to create our art and exploit it ourselves. It is virtually impossible to do so when you have financial and moral responsibilities OUTSIDE of your music. Sorry for the small diatribe, but this is really what it all boils down to at the end of the day. This is the reality of being a musician today… and this is the future of music.

Concerning the unreleased 5th album, "Resurrect the Insurgence ", which was indeed completed and ready to be release for almost 4 years now; it is now in limbo. We are currently discussing a digital-only release, but because the band is done, it almost seems anti-climatic to do so - as if it is a participation trophy for ourselves and the true Katagory V fans who really wanted us to continue on. This is not what we wanted to see happen, however, we are considering the possibility and discussing the option.

We came so close… yet so far. It is my opinion that this album would have been what finally set Katagory V apart from many other metal bands in our genre, as well as raising the bar for ourselves as musicians and songwriters; Not speaking for other members of the band, I honestly feel that everyone involved with the new album, including the three newest band members, Albert, Kris and Bizzaro, as well as the outside talents of Dennis (Ward), who all put in 110%, created a final product that far exceeded my own high expectations and rivaled anything we have ever released in the past. It could have been the album to finally gain Katagory V the due respect for our creative output, which is something we've always wanted since the beginning, but alas, we will probably never know if that would have been the case or not…

It is unfortunate that Katagory V never really reached a point in it's career where the band was able to create a large respectable following, or foothold in the scene, one that would allow us to be self-sustaining financially in this current musical climate, and permit the band to grow and progress creatively. At best, Katagory V had garnered a small, loyal cult following of fantastic and loving fans & friends scattered across the globe, all of whom we truly love and appreciate for their dedication and support over the years. We would have not even made it this far, or lasted this long, had it not been for their continued interest in our music. A huge thanks goes to them for even making Katagory V possible! Cheers to you!!!

The amps are being turned off, mics and cables are being boxed up, and the lights in the room are turned off. Thanks to everyone for the memorable ride and 15 years of rebellion!

Cheers!
\m/
Dustin

 

[Urban breed]

The amps are being turned off, mics and cables are being boxed up, and the lights in the room are turned off.

I'm sorry to hear that. Yet I fully support your decision to not release this even though I think it is your strongest material (and best performance) to date.
If you can't release it on your own terms then not releasing it at all is the only way to go. So while it is truly sad I fully understand. It really doesn't make sense to make music in this day and age unless you're made of money...

 

[modernwizardry]

I hope you release it digitally. If it is streaming online and the material is as strong as you say then you could potential gain great numbers of new fans. Word of mouth is a strong force in people checking out new bands.