Here’s an idea I have that’s been stewing in my head for a couple of years that I think is finally begin to emerge properly.

There are new business models emerging that allow us to skip publishers. Writers can write and sell e-books online. Musicians can write and sell music online. We can skip the middleman. We have blogshops and eBay.

But not all of us have learnt to use this yet, it’s still relatively a new thing. Most musicians I know still think about trying to get record deals. The way I see it, a record deal isn’t the answer to your problems- it’s what you earn once you’ve built relationships with your fans. It’s like a degree- it doesn’t have value in itself, it’s just something that shows what you’ve accomplished. It’s not a substitute for the actual accomplishment, the work that you have to do.

The challenge as I see it is thus: Singapore does have good music, good writing and good art. But it’s not as visible or accessible as it could be, as it should be. At present, it’s far too difficult for well-meaning Singaporeans to support our artists and creators. This shouldn’t be the case!

I encountered kiva.org yesterday, and I loved it so much that I immediately signed up for an account (it’s effortless) and lent US$25 to a girl in Tajikistan to fund her gift shop. And I’m wondering- could we do the same thing for Singaporean creators and entrepreneurs? I don’t see why not!

I want to build a site and community that’s focused on making it easier for Singaporeans to support our creators, modeling it loosely after kiva.org. Here are our artists, here’s their work, click here to buy it and support them. A bonafide marketplace.

The first thing I have to do is to develop a mastery of the sales mechanisms- how to take something and sell it online. Once I do that, I have to teach others to do it too. And then I’ve to create a common space where everyone can buy and sell their work, in a community of people who feel good about supporting one another. It can exist. It should exist. Let’s make it happen.

Please let me know if you’ve thought of something similar, or if you like the idea and would like to get involved. I don’t exactly know what I’m doing yet, but I know that I want to make it happen.