Supporting Priest, Surviving the System, and Building Something Real

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how artists get paid. Not just big names—but the working artists. The ones making music that hits your soul in the middle of the night. The ones building weird, cinematic, honest art without a label, just hoping someone out there gets it.

Priest is one of those bands for me.

If you don’t know them: ex-Ghost, synthpop/industrial/electro-goth magic. It’s sleek, haunting, and human. They’re funding a new EP called Chaos on Indiegogo right now—and they’re doing it exactly the way they should: going direct to the audience. No middleman. No algorithm. Just music, made and shared because it matters.

But here’s the thing: the CD tier, with shipping to the U.S., comes out to about $44.

And I can’t justify that right now.

Not because they’re not worth it. They are. But because the system is broken. We’ve trained audiences to expect music—like all art—to be nearly free, and now we don’t even know what fair looks like anymore.

I think $10 for a digital album or $20 for a CD is completely reasonable. But with fees, shipping, and small-batch production, that number balloons. Suddenly, supporting what you love feels like luxury spending—and a lot of people, myself included, just can’t swing it every time.

And here’s the harder truth: the system also lies to the artists.

The tools to make music have been democratized.

Anyone with a laptop can produce an album that sounds amazing. What used to take a full studio can now be done in a bedroom.

But the tools to share that music?
To build an audience?
To make a living?
Those are still gatekept, fragmented, and flooded with noise.

There’s no clear path anymore. No ladder. No map. Artists just throw things out and see what sticks. That’s freeing—but it’s also terrifying.

Priest is doing what I think more artists should: building direct support through Indiegogo and Patreon. The Sulphur tier—$5.50/month for early access, setlist votes, and exclusive materials—is fair. But here’s what would really hook me:

Give me a song a month. Even a demo, a rework, a live session. A full course meal. Priest’s music is that rich. If I knew I was getting that regularly? I’d fund it in a heartbeat.

Because people will support artists—they just need to feel like they’re getting something meaningful in return. Not extras. Not filler. The real thing.

Which brings me to my own work.

I’m trying to figure out how to make this sustainable, too. I’m writing essays, memoirs, novels—trying to build something honest and lasting. But I don’t know how to ask for $6/month yet. Not really.

The blog is still finding its voice. The Substack is still growing. And while I’ve done this kind of writing before, monetizing it feels like a different beast.

Here’s what I won’t do:

• Water down the work to fit algorithms.
• Turn every idea into a sales pitch.
• Pretend this isn’t personal.

Here’s what I might do:

• Offer behind-the-scenes process posts.
• Share early drafts of my longer works.
• Post audio readings, limited zines, or raw notes.

But I don’t want to just guess. I want to ask:

What would feel worth supporting to you?
What would make this feel like a space you want to be part of?

If you’ve read this far, you’re part of it already. And I’m grateful.

Let’s figure it out together.
Let’s support what matters—art, voice, risk—and build something functional, beautiful, and real.

For Priest, for me, and for anyone else out there still trying.

👉 Support Priest’s CHAOS EP
👉 Priest on Patreon

And if you’ve found something here that speaks to you, I’m building my own next chapter too:

👉 Support Unto a Golden Dawn on Kickstarter

It’s part metaphysical thriller, part literary time capsule, and all heart. Every share and backer helps keep the light on in this strange little archive we’re trying to bring to life.