Bandstocks Brings Investing to Fans
Fans, have you ever wanted to promote the bands you like? Bands, have you ever wanted to be sure you were going to be able to pay for that expensive recording studio? Bandstocks finally found a way to bring you together.
Working like a Grameen Bank for bands, Bandstocks allows you to invest money into your favorite bands so they can record their albums. First you have to vote the band into the investment stage. Then invest 10₤ into the band of your choice. After the band has enough money they can record their album. In return you get special access to shows, news, special band releases, and a free download of the album. Best yet you and the other investors share a percentage of the profits that the band makes from CDs.
This may be one of the best ideas we have seen in music to date. It takes the risk out of those pricey studio costs for bands. Also it gives pre-release buzz. It’s a great thing for bands.
But it’s also a great thing for music in general. With profits plummeting for record labels bands will still need a guarantee for their production costs and this site finally found a way to make it happen.
The site and the idea is new so there are some problems, like guarantees that the bands will get through the recording process, but as long as bands can stay honest and generate sales, investors could find money in their pockets after the album is made or at least some of the investment cost returned. And with backing from bands like Kaiser Chiefs it might just work. Also right now it’s limited to UK residents only but hopefully we’ll see an American version coming soon.
This can only be a good thing for bands as they search for new ways to navigate the ever increasing difficulty of making money in a collapsing music world.
Check out the article by The Guardian for more.