Application of crowdfunding in publishing

The article describes the application of the collective financing technology "crowd-funding" in the publishing field. It is focused on publishing projects placed on two of the most popular Russian Internet platforms Boomstarter and Planeta. This theme actualizes the current crisis of reading and publishing in general, decreasing circulations of printed products and the national economic crisis. All these factors lead to the search for alternative forms of financing. The necessity of the issue investigation is also confirmed by the lack of the research on crowdfunding in the publishing sphere. The aim is to identify the specifics of crowdfunding as a form of project financing in the sphere of publishing in present socio-economic conditions. In the research the principles of the publishing project functioning on a crowdfunding platform are considered, characteristics of projects and categories of project authors are identified, crowdfunding is also compared with traditional forms of financing. The results can be summarized in the following theses. Firstly, placing a project on a crowdfunding platform claims a detailed description, a system of member greeting, additional materials (illustrations, videos, etc.), the required amount of money for project implementation and promotion on the Internet. A project can have a positive or a negative result, depending on whether the claimed funds were collected on time. Secondly, there can be both the publisher and the author, popular or unknown, directly among authors of projects. Thirdly, book projects are placed in the "ready-made" condition and require funding for the print edition, or are placed only as a "concept" and text that requires full funding of all the phases of editing and publishing preparation. Finally, in addition to raising funds on the platform, the book is simultaneously advertised, and the question of the distribution of circulation is pre-settled, which is a great advantage over traditional forms of financing in the current conditions of publishing. However, the authors identify a range of problems connected with financial risks in case the project is not successful; among them are the absence of a legal framework in Russia to regulate relations within crowdfunding and a low level of trust of Russian Internet users to new technologies and electronic systems of calculation. Mechanisms of implementation of a successful project are most promising for a further study of the theme.

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