Palmer’s Kickstarter page shows her proffering a Dylanesque hand-lettered sign proclaiming, “THIS IS THE FUTURE OF MUSIC.” She may be an authority on this topic—having asked for two hundred thousand, she got $1.2 million. That is not a particularly folksy sum, but not yet the stuff of ignominy.

Album in hand, Palmer prepared to tour. She advertised for local horn and string players to help out at each stop along the way: “join us for a couple tunes,” as the post on her Web site had it. Even better, “basically, you get to BE the opening ACT!”

Just one thing, local musicians. There would be none of this million-plus dollars available for you. —The Amanda Palmer Kickstarter Scandal : The New Yorker.