The global edition of our Internet Statistics Compendium saw further expansion this month as the e-commerce chapter grew to accommodate fresh data looking at the rise of crowdfunding.
Crowdfunding platforms (CFPs) such as KickStarter, Indiegogo and Sponsume are providing another option for musicians, social enterprises, writers, artists and start-ups to raise capital for their projects.
During a month which saw a number of high-profile crowdfunding milestones – including cult musician Amanda Palmer reaching $1m to fund her new record via KickStarter and Indiegogo closing a $15m series A funding round – industry website Crowdsourcing.org have also published a report bringing together data from themselves and Massolution, as well as from 130+ CFPs.
CFP numbers grow
The emergence of CFPs around the globe is accelerating. By the end of 2012 there are expected to be more than 530 platforms, up 60% since last year. Crowdsourcing.org breaks these down into four categories: Donation-Based, Reward-Based (accounting for the majority), Lending-Based and Equity-Based.
The US leads the crowdfunding trend, with 191 CFPs currently based in the country. However, crowdfunding is also booming in Europe too, with 44 CFPs in Britain and 100+ in existence across the rest of the Eurozone.