Back when our band was playing regularly, we didn't have a huge following however, the people that did follow us were very supportive. Combine that with friends, family, coworkers etc. and you've got hundreds of people that you can tap on the shoulder for a kick starter campaign. If you are smart about it and don't ask too often, or too much of people then you can have a very successful kick starter campaign without being a very popular group. The problem is some people are fantastic artist but they are very bad marketers. These are the people that still need representation in this modern climate.
I've donated to a lot of failed Kickstarter album campaigns, and to some successful ones. The successful ones were always bands that, while not hugely popular, had fans who really wanted another album. I don't doubt you, but from what I've seen, Kickstarter has only worked for the latter.
I think kickstarter campaigns fail when they are improperly marketed. So many people think that if you create one, people will just naturally flock to it. These same people think that if you have a show, put up a few fliers, that people will come. You have to really challenge people these days if you want a piece of their wallet or a chunk of their time. It's HARD WORK and the artists that treat it as such win.