Sellaband was a music website that allowed artists to raise the money from their fans and the SellaBand community in order to record a professional album. Sellaband used the mechanisms of crowdfunding and was to be seen as a Direct-to-Fan/fan-funded music platform utilising a Threshold Pledge System / Provision Point Mechanism. It was set up by Johan Vosmeijer (ex Sony/BMG), Pim Betist (ex Shell), and Dagmar Heijmans (ex Sony/BMG) in August 2006. Its offices used to be located in Amsterdam, Netherlands, but it was originally incorporated in Bocholt, Germany.

On April 8, 2008, Sellaband raised EU€3.5 million (US$5 million) in their Series A round led by Prime Technology Ventures.Sellaband

In early 2009, Pim Betist left Sellaband to set up Africa Unsigned, using Sellaband technology as a base and supported by the Dutch government.

In January 2010, Sellaband filed for bankruptcy. It relaunched days later, after an investor stepped forward. The office was relocated to Munich, Germany.News - A little message . Sellaband. Retrieved on 2013-09-21. On August 28, 2015, the Sellaband GmbH filed for bankruptcy, too. This was rejected because of lack of mass by the District Court Charlottenburg on January 12, 2016.

For three years, Sellaband supported the sharing of revenue, a form of equity crowdfunding. Research from the Journal of Economics & Management Strategy examined investment data on the Sellaband platform during this time period. The data shows that, while investments can come from funders around the world, distance continues to affect the flow of funding and information.Agrawal, Ajay, Christian Catalini, and Avi Goldfarb. "Crowdfunding: Geography, Social Networks, and the Timing of Investment Decisions." Journal of Economics & Management Strategy Summer 2015 24.2 (2015): 253-74.

Events

Sellaband conducted three official concerts in Europe. "New Years Party" (January 2007), the Paradiso, Amsterdam, NL "London Calling" (June 2007), Gibson Studios, London, UK "Sellabration - Birthday Party" (August 15, 2007 & 2008), the Paradiso, Amsterdam, NL

Artists who reached their goal 86 artists reached their fundraising goal. In December 2009 Cubworld was the first artist, closing his second budget. Less than two weeks after bankruptcy, Aryn Michelle(Press Release) Aryn Michelle_LAST ONE... - album is being pressed and packaged!!. Sellaband. Retrieved on 2013-09-21. was the first artist, closing her budget under the new SellaBand-management. In October 2010 Epyllion closed the first budget on Sellaband that was not used for recording new but for promoting of already released music.

Upon closure of the site, there were over 700 artists registered on Sellaband raising funds.

The following table shows the most notable artists that reached their funding goal on SellaBand:

# Artist Budget Project aim Closing date Country Notes 1 Nemesea $50.000 Album 2006-11-02 first artist ever to complete a funding on SellaBand 2 Cubworld $50.000 Album 2007-12-01 first artist ever to complete two fundings on SellaBand 3 Julia Marcell $50.000 Album 2007-10-05 first eastern European artist to complete a funding on SellaBand 4 BulletProof Messenger $50.000 Album 2007-21-12 artist with most believers on SellaBand 5 Electric Eel Shock $50.000 Album 2008-25-06 first Japanese artist to reach a funding goal on SellaBand 6 Hind €40.000 Album 2009-12-06 collected €40.000 within 11 days and charted on #8 in the Dutch charts 7 Epyllion €1500 Promotion 2010-10-20 first artist raising funds for promotion of an already released record 8 Public Enemy €59.100 Album 2010-11-28 first established artist raising funds on SellaBand 9 Jonathan Davis €25.000 DVD 2011-04-14 lead singer of KORN and first artist raising funds for a DVD 10 John Coffey €4.000 Album 2011-10-23 first hardcore punk band that completed a funding on SellaBand 11 Lana Wolf €3.000 Album 2014-07-05 artist that will record a country album in Nashville

See also Comparison of crowd funding services Crowdsourcing Music 2.0 Netlabel Social commerce Web 2.0

References

BBC Radio 2 Interview (The Weekender with Matthew Wright - 3 November 2006) The Times (UK): Knowledge Section (26 November 2006)

External links Official website (offline)