> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.hypebot.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Case Study: Musician Crowdfunds His First T-shirt Using Teespring
- URL: https://www.hypebot.com/case-study-musician-crowdfunds-t-shirt-on-teespring/
- Published: 2013-07-04T11:30:00.000Z
- Updated: 2013-07-04T11:30:00.000Z
- Description: Creators Freedom Project has a nicely focused case study of a crowdfunding project they did with musician friend Keith Medley. Together they created and funded a t-shirt with no up-front. Continue reading [https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2013/07/case-study-musician-crowdfunds-t-shirt-on-teespring.ht
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: DIY Advice & Tips, Music Business, Startups & Funding, CafePress, Contributor Clyde Smith, Crowd funding, Flux Research, Hypebot, Indiegogo, Shirt, Teespring, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-01-21 10:43

[![Keith-medley-shirt-back](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e20192abdde55b970d-150wi "Keith-medley-shirt-back")](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e20192abdde55b970d-popup?ref=hypebot.com)

Creators Freedom Project has a nicely focused case study of a crowdfunding project they did with musician friend Keith Medley. Together they created and funded a t-shirt with no up-front cost using Teespring, a t-shirt crowdfunding platform. The modest experiment was a solid success and revealed why Teespring is particularly well-designed for its niche.

Teespring has gotten a lot of tech media coverage due to their [strong start](http://venturebeat.com/2013/03/19/yc-startup-teespring-the-kickstarter-for-t-shirts-growing-50-monthly-hits-750k-monthly-sales/?ref=hypebot.com) including hitting $750k in revenue per month while they were still at Y Combinator.

By [working with](http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/11/teespring-wants-to-be-the-place-where-you-can-crowdfund-anything-is-starting-with-t-shirts/?ref=hypebot.com) a network of screenprinters Teespring offers a higher quality product than digital printing services such as CafePress at a lower price.

[Teespring](http://teespring.com/?ref=hypebot.com) allows you to create a design, test demand via a crowdfunding campaign and then Teespring handles fulfillment. You won't have to pay Teespring anything to make this happen.

Creators Freedom Project [partnered with Keith Medley](http://creatorsfreedom.net/post/54536411440/artist-merch-how-to-successfully-design-market-and?ref=hypebot.com) on a modest t-shirt project. Medley is known for his 27 string guitar and sells CDs of his music through his [website](http://keithmedleymusic.com/?ref=hypebot.com).

Using one of the designs etched into Medley's guitar, they [launched a campaign](http://teespring.com/kmedleytrisun1?ref=hypebot.com) for a limited edition that quickly hit goal. Sales then continued until the end of the campaign at which point t-shirts were created on-demand and delivered to participants.

An important point to remember is that this is the first time Medley had offered merch so it was also a no-risk experiment for him in that regard.

The [case study](http://creatorsfreedom.net/post/54536411440/artist-merch-how-to-successfully-design-market-and?ref=hypebot.com) goes into the details of a no-budget campaign. It's an excellent example of how even relatively simple projects combine a lot of different elements.

**More:**

- [Easy Ways To Offer D2F Music & Merch Pre-orders](https://www.hypebot.com/easy-ways-to-offer-d2f-music-merch-preorders/)
- [Music Crowdfunding Tips from #IndiegogoToronto](https://www.hypebot.com/music-crowdfunding-tips-from-indiegogotoronto/)
- [Music Crowdfunding Without A Fanbase](https://www.hypebot.com/music-crowdfunding-without-a-fanbase/)

*Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith ([@fluxresearch](https://twitter.com/fluxresearch?ref=hypebot.com)/[@crowdfundingm](https://twitter.com/crowdfundingm?ref=hypebot.com)) also blogs at [Flux Research](http://www.fluxresearch.com/?ref=hypebot.com) and [Crowdfunding For Musicians](http://www.crowdfundingformusicians.com/?ref=hypebot.com). To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact:*

clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com

.Related articles

[![](http://i.zemanta.com/180404845_80_80.jpg)](https://www.hypebot.com/music-crowdfunding-tips-from-indiegogotoronto/)[Music Crowdfunding Tips from #IndiegogoToronto](https://www.hypebot.com/music-crowdfunding-tips-from-indiegogotoronto/)

[![](http://i.zemanta.com/178547005_80_80.jpg)](https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2013/06/publicize-your-music-crowdfunding-campaign-through-these-sites-.html)[How To Publicize A Music Crowdfunding Campaign \[Top Sites\]](https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2013/06/publicize-your-music-crowdfunding-campaign-through-these-sites-.html)

[![](http://i.zemanta.com/179686993_80_80.jpg)](https://www.hypebot.com/music-crowdfunding-without-a-fanbase/)[Music Crowdfunding Without A Fanbase](https://www.hypebot.com/music-crowdfunding-without-a-fanbase/)

[![](http://i.zemanta.com/noimg_103_80_80.jpg)](http://www.prweb.com/releases/crowdfunding-guide-news/endertech-crowdfunding/prweb10893109.htm?ref=hypebot.com)[New Crowdfunding Guide Website Aims to Educate More People About…](http://www.prweb.com/releases/crowdfunding-guide-news/endertech-crowdfunding/prweb10893109.htm?ref=hypebot.com)

[![Enhanced by Zemanta](http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_h.png?x-id=b88c6273-214a-4810-bb9a-626c95e35d71)](http://www.zemanta.com/?px&ref=hypebot.com "Enhanced by Zemanta")