Sellaband Spawns an Imitator

The Dutch music site Sellaband was one of the pioneers of the crowdfunding model (think crowdsourcing, but with money instead of labor). I wrote about the company in the way back era of 2006. Essentially, Sellaband lets anyone capable of wielding a guitar (and many who can't) post a profile on its site, complete with images and music. Visitors to the site can invest in the band's future by buying shares at $10 a pop, becoming—in Sellaband parlance—"believers." Ideally the believers go out and spread the word, recruiting yet more believers. When the band raises $50,000, Sellaband takes them into the studio with a veteran producer and mixer, then presses a limited edition CD that get sent out to each believer. The band can then purchase additional CDs at cost, using them to sell at gigs, send to radio, etc.

I was somewhat dismissive of Sellaband when it first launched, but the site has done very well in the last two years. Hundreds of bands have posted their music and profiles, and 25 have reached the $50,000 target. A few have even garnered mainstream attention. Success always spawns imitation, and today's Guardian notes that a few music biz veterans have launched a strikingly similar effort, called—aptly—Bandstocks. I'd like to briefly chide the Guardian—normally one of my favorite papers—for failing to mention that Bandstocks' is a pretty naked attempt to capitalize on an existing model for financing musicians. Instead it gives Bandstocks the sui generis treatment. This despite the fact that the Guardian itself was one of the first mainstream outlets to write about Sellaband.

For any serious student of crowdsourcing, however, it's a useful read. While Bandstocks shares many attributes with Sellaband, the differences are revealing. I'll go out on a limb here and guess that Bandstocks founders studied Sellaband and decided to plug a few holes. I'll get into that later tonight when I return to this post, but I'm supposed to be on a stage at my book party in exactly 22 minutes, and have to run.

Comments

[Ed Chappel]

I completely agree that it was naughty of the Guardian to present Bandstocks as the trailblazer, particularly when they've given Sellaband so much attention. I've got to say though, I don't think Bandstocks is an improvement from what I've seen. Its so halfway house between trying to satisfy investors and reach out to fans that it does neither. With Sellaband, if you invest your $10, you are guaranteed either to get your limited edition CD or your money back if not enough believers back you. Not the case with Bandstocks, firstly they can't guarantee you any return on your investment, secondly they tell you that you're unlikely to make any profit, only invest if you love the music. I think Sellband offers a much safer proposition for fans.

Also having taken 4 years to get Bandstocks up and running, watching Sellaband and Slicethepie sprint off with the same ideas, it seems that the company is positioning itself as the fan-funded model for 'good' bands, for bands that 'would have got signed anyway'. Raising their nose at models like Sellaband and Slicethpie in such a snobby way plus siding with the traditional record industry establishment is hardly going to endear fans to Bandstocks.

These mixed signals - we are the professional outfit for the 'good bands', but stay away grubby investors, only music lovers please, - we'll have to wait and see how it all pans out but from the outset I'll say that I prefer the values and offering of Sellaband.

[Jeff Howe]

Ed, Great points. I find Bandstocks both improved over the Sellaband model, and also lacking in democratic impulse, along lines you mention. It seems to want to have its cake and eat it too: Looking for support from the audience, but denying them the opportunity to help choose the bands.

[Ed Chappel]

Thanks Jeff!

I'd be interested to know where you think the improvements are!

I think it breaks the cardinal rule of both crowdsourcing and one of the main principles of web 2.0 - don't supersede the wisdom of crowds with the authority of the few. If Bandstocks want to attract the music fans who have helped over 25 bands at Sellaband to reach $50k in two years, they need to lose the elitist, expert tone and quickly. I think their ability to circumvent the 1st round of democratic voting and place artists straight into the investment stage also seems like a continuation of the industry's paternalistic 'eat your greens' approach.

They should also remember that both Sellaband and Slicethepie were developed on the basis of perceptive consumer insight: people are tired of being powerless and passively fed music that executives choose for them. If the fans are made to feel like they're only partially in control then it doesn't work. In fact I think it's even cheekier, almost like the industry saying 'we've chosen this meal, you can pay for it'. With their quality control procedures ensuring that they decide on who is worthy of receiving votes, any sense of fan-driven democracy is still controlled by the experts.

Whilst it is true that Sellaband and Slicethepie will have a great deal of rubbish on their sites, the people are allowed to decide what's rubbish and what's good.

Time will tell how it all works out, but I think Sellaband is far more aligned to the democratic, underground, egalitarian instincts of the web's 'hive-mind' and will probably retain most of its users and traffic.

[Pim Betist]

Thanks Jeff for the article. As you know here at sellaband HQs we value your opinion and are also interested to find out how you see bandstock improved the model. In any case it's good to see that more and more companies are inspired by the crowdsourcing/funding model.

[carl]

Hi Jeff,
My addition to this article would be this: http://tinyurl.com/6c2san
;)
See you thursday in Rotterdam!

[Brian]

Another great site for crowdfunding is IndieGoGo.com. Its like Sellaband and Bandstocks,except for movies. Filmmakers can post their projects and users can decide to contribute money to help the projects get made.

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