Sellaband CDs To Be Available On Amazon; Not As Big A Deal As You Think
from the step-in-the-right-direction dept
For all the awful stories we have around here concerning the record labels making dumb mistakes in dealing with the modern market, we've always been optimistic that others will figure out the new business models eventually (and what's left of the record labels will either co-opt those models or die). There are certainly a few interesting companies out there, experimenting with a variety of models -- and one of the most interesting has been Sellaband. The Amsterdam-based company has put in place a more formalized version of a model that's been discussed for years: getting a wide variety of fans to pony up small amounts of money into a pool, which the band can then use to record, press and distribute its album. Sellaband has done a few nice things on top of that. Everyone who ponies up for a "share" has the potential of getting some money back from sales of the albums or from ad revenue from the band's page. The music is still given away for free for promotional purposes, and there are a number of other nice features as well -- including letting the band (rather than the company) retain the rights to the music after a certain time period. While some folks may never get their money back, they're still supporting the music, and at least there's a chance they'd get their money back, rather than shipping it off to an RIAA label.Of course, the big trick for an outfit like Sellaband is getting that critical mass of users, and certainly a deal with Amazon.com could help, which is why it was exciting to see a bunch of headlines indicating that Amazon has now partnered with Sellaband. However, the details suggest this may not be as big a deal as various blogs and press outlets are making it out to be. It doesn't sound like this is really Amazon supporting the Sellaband process -- just selling the completed CDs that Sellaband releases. That's really not such a big deal, as it's not all that hard to get your CDs sold via Amazon. In fact, while the announcements keep saying that Amazon "announced a partnership" with Sellaband, the details suggest that Sellaband simply secured distribution through Amazon via Digital Orchard -- who helps lots of musicians sell their stuff on Amazon. Amazon doesn't seem to have a press release up or anything -- so it may just be Sellaband "announcing" things and the press misinterpreting it (though, Sellaband did get a quote from someone at Amazon). It would be a lot more powerful if the rest of the Sellaband process was available via Amazon and if Amazon were really bought into the process, rather than just offering a simple retail outlet that almost anyone can sign up for. Also, while many are saying that this covers all of Amazon, it appears that it's really only for Amazon UK. Overall, this isn't a bad thing, but it may not be as big a deal as some think it is.
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Filed Under: business models, music
Companies: amazon, sellaband
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Sellaband/Amazon deal
http://www.sellaband.com/tribune/edition63/
you'll see that Proper Distribution (major UK distribution co.) helped the two companies meet, and that Sellaband will have their own shop on Amazon.co.uk, get alot of cross promotion ("You bought a Janis Joplin cd, you may also like Mandyleigh Storm") etc. Amazon have also started investing in the top artists on Sellaband. That's putting their money where their mouth is.
I don't think Sellaband is perfect (who is), but it's the best new music company I know of... especially because the artists/investors/label all share the profits equally. If Amazon sends Sellaband $30,000 they would all get $10,000 each. Can't get fairer than that :)
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Free MP3's
256kbps drm-free.
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SellaBand/Amazon
Really cool article and thank you for the kind words about SellaBand. Where you do go a little overboard though, is by suggesting that this is not an official partnership. Well, from the horse's mouth (as I am the CEO for SellaBand), I can assure you that this partnership is official. In fact, the deal was initiated by the fine music people at Amazon.co.uk, And, one of the most important reasons for us to close the deal lies in the fact that Amazon is showing commitment to our concept as a whole. Bands on the way to 50,000$ will get a $1,000 pledge by Amazon.co.uk and as soon as they are at $35,000 Amazon will give them exposure on their site to help them complete the full 50K. Also, as part of the Amazon Associate program, there will be a direct link to Sellaband.xom on Amazon.co.uk.
Just wanted to put the record straight here.
Best regards,
Johan Vosmeijer
CEO SellaBand
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Re: SellaBand/Amazon
My band, Conflict In The Sky just signed up on sellaband last week, and we've gotten a nice response so far w/o any real promotion on our part. Nothing crazy, but enough to be encouraging.
I hope the progress for Sellaband continues. It can only help music.
Chris
Conflict In The Sky
Official Website | Free EP Download | Sellaband Profile
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