General Music Chat

Website Makes Fans into Investors (Called... Believers)

http://www.sellaband.com






"Sell a Band" is a new concept in the music industry.

Fans who sign-up, become the investors, referred to as "Believers" in the site community, and if they "Believe" in someone's music they can fund the act's next album, in $25 dollar increments, and buy as many increments as they like.

Artists sign-up too, and can set their own "target amount" that they want to raise for their project, with $10,000 dollars set as the default amount, but target prices can be almost anything.

What does the investor "Believer" get?

They receive a special numbered edition of the resultant CD, as well as a piece of the profits. Not bad, huh? Becoming a record producer for $25.00!

It is an intriguing concept, and famed rap group "Public Enemy" has raised $50,000 dollars in less than 1 month, with a target price set at $250,000 dollars. This will be their 13th studio album, and they are expected to release it in next year, in 2010, presumably, "IF" the target price is realized.

I haven't read any reviews or read the fine print, but thought it seemed like something worth sharing.



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Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

If enough of you send me $25 apiece then someday (perhaps) I'll be able to afford to go into the studio and I'll (eventually) (perhaps) send you a numbered autographed copy of my new CD!

LOL @ Bob


Neanderpaul,

You are one of the first ones I thought of when I found this site. I think it is an interesting concept, and the "believers" get to be stock holders, in effect, of the completed project, and can reap some profits potentially, as well as supporting a deserving act they believe in.

But I don't how the payout works, what percentage the site gets, and how the fans get paid, and the artists especially. But they have a famous group from the past involved "Public Enemy", and news stories because of that, so it may be a good thing to try?

I think I'm going to check it out a little more myself too!

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I don't get how the "investors" will get their percentage distributions - who will oversee that? The website? How much will they skim off the top? Will the artists become marginalized financially by the potential dozens or hundreds of splits of every cd sold?

I'm going to dig deeper to find these answers, but I'm skeptical, very.. very.. VERY skeptical.

hmm:

7. Get rewarded

Receive free downloads and other goodies artists might offer like exclusive CDs, t-shirts, free lunches etc. And artists might even let you get a cut of their revenues.

http://www.sellaband.com/pages/how_it_works

they use the word "Might" liberally. Seems like it's a bad investment for the fans, more so than the bands.

Not sure I like the implications of bands "using" fans to achieve goals.. seems like the opposite end of the extreme of when bands get used/abused.

Are you endorsing this Craig?

Are you endorsing this Craig?

Don't know enough about it.

It seems worth investigating though, don't you think?

Especially for people who have little money to work with and have had little success in sending demos out, which in this business is NOT an automatic indicator that you suck.

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Just asking Craig?


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Don't know enough about it.

It seems worth investigating though, don't you think?

Especially for people who have little money to work with and have had little success in sending demos out, which in this business is NOT an automatic indicator that you suck.

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