SONG CONTEST BLOG

POPcuts, a Y Combinator company, is an indie MP3 boutique with an interesting twist.  Similar in nature to Amie Street, the online store provides music fans with an incentive to discover and purchase new music.  Each time a track you purchased sells, you get a cut of the proceeds.  Previous buyers get a larger cut, so it pays to be a “trendspotter”.  The element of A&R role-play is one that I am discovering more and more of in various forms across the web.  See yesterday’s post on Slicethepie & Bebo.

Slicethepie and Bebo announced a co-venture this week whereby Bebo members will have the opportunity to grab the A&R seat at Slicethepie’s artist career-funding network.  Strikingly similar in concept to Sellaband, Slicethepie is tapping into the leading British social network’s community assets while Sellaband remains very much an independent platform.  The music “business” role-play idea has been embraced by a number of players in one form or another, including Songness, TheNextBigSound, and  Soundout, a Slicethepie imprint, based on the belief that if potential fans are provided with both a true hand in an artist’s fledgling career as well as a financial incentive, consumer loyalty and word-of-mouth shall follow.  Perhaps the shape of things to come.