Who has the guts to try "Sell A Band" for their music?

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Who has the guts to try "Sell A Band" for their music?

Post by RockMyMonkey »

http://www.sellaband.com/

Users can buy shares, or "parts," of a cool band and once that band reaches $50 K, they record an album. As stakeholders, Sellaband users share in sales revenues. So far 27 bands have reached the coveted $50,000 mark.

Here is a great talk show where they interview someone from the site to talk about how it can help unsigned bands. http://www.cnet.com/8301-13952_1-10074703-81.html
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zach
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Post by zach »

This idea sucks. What happened to bands busting ass and earning their place? My respects go out to the locals here who have worked tirelessly for their noteriety and don't rely on others to pay your way (other than album and merch sales of course)
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Post by imperator_Drakul »

zach wrote:this idea sucks. What happened to bands busting ass and earning their place? My respects go out to the locals here who have worked tirelessly for their noteriety and don't rely on others to pay your way (other than album and merch sales of course)
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Post by RockMyMonkey »

zach wrote:...and don't rely on others to pay your way
You mean like what labels have done for bands for decades? This is just a replacement for the record label. For those band's that are ready for that next step, but don't want to sign away their music.

This is not for band's that don't want to work hard, because if you actually read the thing you would find out that to do this you will need to work harder than 99% of the band's do. It will take more than just playing the same local clubs over and over again. It would take a band that has been able to develop a large fanbase that loves the band enough to believe in them enough to front them some cash to get their music to that next level.

I am sure many will want to dismiss this as something similar to some American Idol or Ozzfest Battle Of The Band's crap, but with just a little reading you will find this has zero in common with that.

Of course if it's too much of a challenge for your band I understand. It's more easy for you to dismiss it than take up the challenge. :cheers:
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Post by zach »

Isn't that what putting out demos and self released albums is for though? Give the fans a product that they pay for (thus funding the band) rather than asking for handouts? I'm not shit talking any band that wants to go this way... good for you if you chose to do that. I prefer the old school way. Hard work, word of mouth, etc, as well as taking advantage of technology such as myspace. I just think this is something that boils down to asking for a handout. I don't agree with that. I think bands have an absolute responsibility to offer a product for people to take in and consume, and those people will pay more for the disc than you paid to press it, you tour to get out there and spread the word of your band, and most of all, you make quality music that people want to listen to. There are probably 5 metal bands in seattle that i can think of that make music that is something special enough to be listened to outside of the area.

And mark, don't be silly and insinuate that my band is not "up to the challenge". i wouldn't still be in debt for a 3 day trip to germany to play in front of a few hundred people in a place not much bigger than studio seven last december because we wanted to take advantage of a good opportunity to play for people who would love our music if we "weren't up to the challenge". And getting signed to a tiny label in Italy and seeing our cds actually sell both in america and overseas is fucking amazing, and it's all because of US, no one else. That's a killer feeling to have die hard, hardcore fans all over the world. Hell, we've got people who are apparently covering our songs. That's fucking killer. So, with that said, if you still feel it's fair to say that we're not up to a challenge, that's fine.

So we probably could do that, maybe we wouldn't make the cut, but it just doesn't make sense to ask for handouts from fans. We'll make music and if people like us, they'll show up to shows and buy our cds and merch. ANd they have been.
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Post by RockMyMonkey »

Well your band is signed so you would have no use for something like this. I also honestly don't think you have enough mass appeal to do it. Not a slam, but more like that style tends to have a small but passionate following. So my comments were not necessarily directed at your band specifically. More of an 'in general' type of thing.

As far as being a handout, nothing could be further from the truth. This is more like investing in the band. Just as a label would. You invest in the band and then get a cut if the investment pays off.

I don't know about you, but there have been many times that I hear a band I know could really do some great things if they had a decent budget to do things the way they need to be done to take things to the next level. If something like this was around when I was in my 20's there would have been several band's I would have invested in. There are a few band's around here I would invest in no problem too. Subject 2 Change being one of them. A label would screw them up big time! But if they did it with something like this I think things would explode for them. The question is, would enough of their fans and friends put their money where their mouth is about their love for the band? That is what this is about. Not a hand out at all.

I also want to make it clear that I have zero connetion to this site other than thinking it is a great idea.
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Post by Irrylath »

Hmph. Interesting concept.
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Post by Vocaltremors »

Some known bands have already done something like this before. For example, the prog rock band Marillion, who have a very dedicated and loyal fanbase, went to their fanbase and asked them that if they helped finance their next studio album, that in return they would get a thank you by getting a free album and their name listed in the liner notes in the CD booklet. The English soccer team, the Darlington Quakers did something similar like this as well, but the donations to the team got the donator's name on the team's new away game uniform. So, this concept isn't something entirely new, but it is an idea that does work.
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Post by zach »

RockMyMonkey wrote:Well your band is signed so you would have no use for something like this.
Yes and no... our album that is on the label is just a re-release of old material. The original album we offered them was something that was done already by the band. It's a very small label and the only thing they did is press the discs and do some distro (on a very, very small scale over here... but it's still something). Now, i'm not going to say that didn't save us money because it did, as well as the headache of being our own distro, but it's a bit different than a label paying our way. So i wouldn't say we'd have no use for it, but point taken.
RockMyMonkey wrote:I also honestly don't think you have enough mass appeal to do it. Not a slam, but more like that style tends to have a small but passionate following. So my comments were not necessarily directed at your band specifically. More of an 'in general' type of thing.
Surprisingly, I absolutely 100% agree with you and don't take that in any way as a jab at me or Skelator. We don't play popular pantera/lamb of god rip-off metal. We play the much less popular Manowar/Priest/Agent Steel/Helstar rip-off metal haha! But you're right... we have a small and devoted fanbase... which is also a very broke fanbase. In the end, we don't have mass appeal and I wouldn't have it any other way. However, everything we get is because of work WE have done, which to me is much more satisfying to me.

RockMyMonkey wrote:As far as being a handout, nothing could be further from the truth. This is more like investing in the band. Just as a label would. You invest in the band and then get a cut if the investment pays off.
I suppose it has me wanting to do things the old school way, and like i said, when we do it ourself and take the risk and go broke to get a product that we like, it does make it that much more awesome when it is a success. And if it fails, we owe nothing to anyone. It's different with labels too, because if they lose money on us... well, fuck them haha. In the end, the goal is to put out a quality product for those who buy it, and while the idea may work for some, I'm just opposed to it. Glad it's worked out in the past thoguh and it's always good to explore new ideas.
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Post by RockMyMonkey »

zach wrote: I suppose it has me wanting to do things the old school way, and like i said, when we do it ourself and take the risk and go broke to get a product that we like, it does make it that much more awesome when it is a success. And if it fails, we owe nothing to anyone. It's different with labels too, because if they lose money on us... well, fuck them haha. In the end, the goal is to put out a quality product for those who buy it, and while the idea may work for some, I'm just opposed to it. Glad it's worked out in the past thoguh and it's always good to explore new ideas.
I think most metal fans are broke, but the good news is that the site strongly discourages large investors. The smallest investment you can make on a band is $10, but the highest is $500. The $10 investment is strongly encouraged though as it is more about the "believers" (aka fans).

So the question is pretty much if you have 5,000 fans willing to invest $10. Most don't, but for those that do it is a way to get all the good parts of being signed without the negative. So kind of like the old school but the label is your fan collective.

First band from these forums to sign up gets my $10 though...even if I think you suck! :D

http://www.sellaband.com/site/faq_artist.html
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Post by Irrylath »

RockMyMonkey wrote:
First band from these forums to sign up gets my $10 though...even if I think you suck! :D

http://www.sellaband.com/site/faq_artist.html
Me too!!

I feel like this is kinda like what S2C was trying to do. I wonder how much they made. Fellas?

Do you know if the bands get to keep what they make even if they give up before they reach the 50,000 goal? Or does it stay within the site to keep it up and running?
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Post by wadruid »

RockMyMonkey wrote: There are a few band's around here I would invest in no problem too. Subject 2 Change being one of them. A label would screw them up big time! But if they did it with something like this I think things would explode for them. The question is, would enough of their fans and friends put their money where their mouth is about their love for the band? That is what this is about. Not a hand out at all.
I would do this in a heartbeat, for S2C, Enkrya and one or two others.
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Post by Scott (S2C) »

Irrylath wrote:Me too!!

I feel like this is kinda like what S2C was trying to do. I wonder how much they made. Fellas?

Do you know if the bands get to keep what they make even if they give up before they reach the 50,000 goal? Or does it stay within the site to keep it up and running?

Honestly, it didn't do well at all. :devil: Many people loved the idea, but when it came down to it, we received almost no donations. Now, considering how broke we are and how broke we know our fans are, we can hardly hold it against anyone, but it was a bit surprising. Looking at the economy and the recession, it seems like we picked the worst possible time to attempt this little venture, but it is time for us to release a new album regardless, so a good time to attempt this project as well. Considering the amount we were aiming for compared to the amount needed to "release the album" through the Sell a Band project, it would take quite a bit of backing and work to gather up $50,000.00, even if it was an investment. I love the concept, but people are in a state of fear when it comes to their money, and have a hard time willingly dishing it out when there is no guarantee of a return, AND their pockets aren't as deep as they were in the first place.

<begin blatant plug> Of course, we'll still happily take donations if people want to prove the above wrong. </end blatant plug> :cheers: But regardless, it's a hard time for fans and bands to gather up any money, so even though the concept is strong,$50 grand is a sh*tload of money.
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Post by Irrylath »

Scott (S2C) wrote:Honestly, it didn't do well at all. :devil: Many people loved the idea, but when it came down to it, we received almost no donations. Now, considering how broke we are and how broke we know our fans are, we can hardly hold it against anyone, but it was a bit surprising.
heh. I just forgot and then when I would remember, I wouldn't have any money or I'd remember and wouldn't be standing next to one of you with money in hand and then it would disappear or I'd be standing beside one of you and remember and then not have any money or I'd forget. :smoke: :D
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Post by LIVE FO RETSINIM »

Vocaltremors wrote:Some known bands have already done something like this before. For example, the prog rock band Marillion, who have a very dedicated and loyal fanbase, went to their fanbase and asked them that if they helped finance their next studio album, that in return they would get a thank you by getting a free album and their name listed in the liner notes in the CD booklet. The English soccer team, the Darlington Quakers did something similar like this as well, but the donations to the team got the donator's name on the team's new away game uniform. So, this concept isn't something entirely new, but it is an idea that does work.
Another great idea that works is, get some decent lube and finger your butthole for a while, I mean really get in there, then go to public places like the library or college or something and use all the keyboards and doorknobs etc... touch everything. Then have people pay you to stop doing it and put their names on your uniform. People like to see their names on you, even when you don't have one hand up your rectum and the other updating your myspace page. Or we can always pull the Darlington Swindle on old people who own houses. We just need a few 2x4s and a truck that can pass as a work truck type thing.
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Post by IRONDICK »

LIVE FO RETSINIM wrote: Or we can always pull the Darlington Swindle on old people who own houses. We just need a few 2x4s and a truck that can pass as a work truck type thing.

You find the old people and 2x4's I have the truck....Money money money.......Money.
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Post by RockMyMonkey »

Scott (S2C) wrote:Honestly, it didn't do well at all. :devil: Many people loved the idea, but when it came down to it, we received almost no donations. Now, considering how broke we are and how broke we know our fans are, we can hardly hold it against anyone, but it was a bit surprising. Looking at the economy and the recession, it seems like we picked the worst possible time to attempt this little venture, but it is time for us to release a new album regardless, so a good time to attempt this project as well. Considering the amount we were aiming for compared to the amount needed to "release the album" through the Sell a Band project, it would take quite a bit of backing and work to gather up $50,000.00, even if it was an investment. I love the concept, but people are in a state of fear when it comes to their money, and have a hard time willingly dishing it out when there is no guarantee of a return, AND their pockets aren't as deep as they were in the first place.

<begin blatant plug> Of course, we'll still happily take donations if people want to prove the above wrong. </end blatant plug> :cheers: But regardless, it's a hard time for fans and bands to gather up any money, so even though the concept is strong,$50 grand is a sh*tload of money.
You are totally the band I was thinking of when I heard about this site. The plus side on this is that people get to make some cash for investing in the release. Plus, since it is a network there could be new fans that are not local that might invest. Just people looking for a band to believe in.

My offer still stands. I will invest in the first band from these forums to sign up.

As far as what happens to the money if the band never makes the goal, from what I understand you can pull it from one band and give it to another. The website only keeps the money if you forget about it. I guess it stays in limbo or something. I could be wrong though.
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Post by LIVE FO RETSINIM »

IRONDICK wrote:You find the old people and 2x4's I have the truck....Money money money.......Money.
all the old people i know i have already milked using some variation of the Darlington Swindle... and unfortunaltely the only 2x4s i know about I am currently using in my time machine. I have already said too much about this subject I am sure. Although there is a variation of the Darlington, called Marillion Millions that I have never tried. It involves several bottles of elcetra shave and nursing home residents. Not everyone has the stomache for THIS version. We will still need that truck too.
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