Then there’s asking your fans to pick up the cost.

Singer-songwriter Jill Sobule is trying the last option. She’s set to record her next album, and has famed producer Don Was ready to helm it. But she’s a little short of green to pay for it all.

So she’s turning to her fans, offering them different levels of financial participation, with each level offering something in return.

It’s kind of like the various tiers of fund-raising used by politicians, where a few bucks might get you a thank you and a six-figure check might get you dinner with the candidate.

In Sobule’s case, she’s offering 11 levels of monetary participation. The first level is priced at $25 and called “Polished Rock,” which gives the fan an advance copy of the CD before it drops. Fans with big bucks can opt for the $10,000 “Weapons-Grade Plutonium Level,” which gives the fan a chance to sing on the CD.

“Don’t worry if you can’t sing,” says Sobule. “Engineers can fix that.”

And if singing isn’t an option, for $10,000 Sobule is offering “cowbell-playing privileges.”

Other donation levels include the $200 bronze level, which gives the fan free admission to all of Sobule’s shows for the year, the $500 Gold Level for which the fan’s name will be mentioned in an instrumental track on the album, and the $1,000 Platinum Level, which gives the fan a personalized theme song written by Sobule that can be used on an answering machine.

And you gotta love the description of the $750 “Gold Doubloons Level.”

“Exactly like the gold level, but donors give Sobule more money.”

In a message to her fans, Sobule likened her method of financing to the days of yore when musicians were sponsored by royalty and / or the very rich.

“In these dark days (for some in the music industry), I am finding new inspiration: the patronage system of old,” writes Sobule. “My fans and empathetic friends, acting as Kings and Medicis will fund my next record (give me money). However, in exchange for their support, they will receive a vast array of fab gifts and services – like a house concert or their own theme song!”

Those interested in participating can make their donations at JillsNewRecord.com.