Sellaband

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.

Sellaband
Sellaband Logo
Type of site
Crowdfunding / Music
Available inEnglish, German, Japanese
OwnerSellaband GmbH
Created byJohan Vosmeijer, Dagmar Heijmans
RegistrationRequired for buying parts, not required for listening
LaunchedAugust 2006 / Bankrupt Feb 2010 / Relaunched Feb 2010

On April 8, 2008, Sellaband raised EU€3.5 million[1] (US$5 million)[2] in their Series A round led by Prime Technology Ventures.[3]

In early 2009, Pim Betist left Sellaband to set up Africa Unsigned,[4] using Sellaband technology as a base and supported by the Dutch government.

In January 2010, Sellaband filed for bankruptcy.[5] It relaunched days later, after an investor stepped forward. The office was relocated to Munich, Germany.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8] Less than two weeks after bankruptcy, Aryn Michelle[9] 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:

#ArtistBudgetProject aimClosing dateCountryNotes
1Nemesea$50.000Album2006-11-02 Netherlandsfirst artist ever to complete a funding on SellaBand
2Cubworld$50.000Album2007-12-01 United Statesfirst artist ever to complete two fundings on SellaBand
3Julia Marcell$50.000Album2007-10-05 Polandfirst eastern European artist to complete a funding on SellaBand
4BulletProof Messenger$50.000Album2007-21-12 United Statesartist with most believers on SellaBand
5Electric Eel Shock$50.000Album2008-25-06 Japanfirst Japanese artist to reach a funding goal on SellaBand
6Hind€40.000Album2009-12-06 Netherlandscollected €40.000 within 11 days and charted on #8 in the Dutch charts
7Epyllion€1500Promotion2010-10-20 Canadafirst artist raising funds for promotion of an already released record
8Public Enemy€59.100Album2010-11-28 United Statesfirst established artist raising funds on SellaBand
9Jonathan Davis€25.000DVD2011-04-14 United Stateslead singer of KORN and first artist raising funds for a DVD
10John Coffey€4.000Album2011-10-23 Netherlandsfirst hardcore punk band that completed a funding on SellaBand
11Lana Wolf€3.000Album2014-07-05 Netherlandsartist that will record a country album in Nashville

See also

References
  1. Pfauth, Ernst-Jan (2008-04-08). "Sellaband closes a round of € 3.5 million funding for international expansion". the Next web. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  2. Butcher, Mike (2008-04-08). "SellaBand wins $5 million in Series A". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  3. Sellaband Archived 2008-04-12 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Africa Unsigned - Brands, Bands & Fans". africaunsigned.com.
  5. Van Buskirk, Eliot (2010-02-24). "Bankrupt, Crowd-Funded SellaBand Acquired by German Investors". Wired.
  6. News - A little message Archived 2013-05-28 at the Wayback Machine. Sellaband. Retrieved on 2013-09-21.
  7. 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.
  8. SellaBand. "(Press Release) Sellaband - News - Cubworld becomes first artist to close his 2nd budget". SellaBand.
  9. (Press Release) Aryn Michelle_LAST ONE... - album is being pressed and packaged!!. Sellaband. Retrieved on 2013-09-21.
  • BBC Radio 2 Interview (The Weekender with Matthew Wright - 3 November 2006)
  • The Times (UK): Knowledge Section (26 November 2006)
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