Using New Site, Sellaband, To Replace Traditional Ways Albums Are Funded 09-Oct-09
Pioneering hip hop group Public Enemy has announced that it plans to fund its new album online, asking "true believers" to follow and contributed to the project using the the new site SellaBand.
“SellaBand's financial engine model goes about restructuring the music business in reverse,” says Public Enemy frontman Chuck D. “It starts with fans first, then the artists create from there. The music business is built on searching for fans and this is a brand new way for acts to create a new album with fans first, already on board.”
In effect, SellaBand lets you buy stock shares in a musician or band's project.
Public Enemy plans to raise $250,000 for the project. Parts will be priced at $25 each and will entitle "Believers" in the project to a unique, numbered digipak edition of the CD, as well as a pro ratio share of 33.3% of net revenues generated with this album.
Public Enemy is the first established act to sign up with SellaBand. Two days into the venture, they've raised over $25,000.
This is kinda similar to the way Marillion worked on a few of their albums. The fans essentially paid in advance for a 'Deluxe' version of the album to finance it, got their name (albeit microscopic!) in the album liners, and got entered into a competition to win various goodies, including a chance to play on the album, and tix on the tour.
Interesting concept as far as a share in the profits though. I wonder how that share would be distributed to the buyers, and for how long?
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