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04/02/2013 by
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How Crowd Voting Gets Unsigned Bands A Record Label?

Unsigned bands and musicians can now get connected to record labels via crowd voting platform Chartburst. We investigated a few social music platforms from the UK, US and the Arab world.

Chartburst: How Crowd Voting Gets Unsigned Bands A Record Label?

First Fanatic.fm provided a way for musicians to get support and finance from brands.

Now UK-based Chartburst is connecting unsigned acts with record label representatives through its crowd sourced charting system.

How Does Chartburst Work?

Chartburst features a chart-based ranking system. Artists can submit one song at a time to one of the charts, which reset every two weeks.

Chartburst: How Crowd Voting Gets Unsigned Bands A Record Label?

At the end of the two-week period, the top five artists in terms of fan votes on each of the charts will have their music forwarded to genre-specific talent scouts.

Representatives from the record labels will then provide feedback to the artist via e-mail within two weeks. In theory, this connection could lead to record deals for said Chartburst artists.

Chartburst has teamed up with A&R staff at major record labels – including Columbia, Sony, Interscope Records and Warner Music – who have agreed to appraise those topping the Chartburst lists on a regular basis.

If the concept works, ideally those with the greatest backing from discerning music fans will have their work put in front of record labels with the facilities to nurture their talent.

Bands pay $5 a month to upload tracks under the genre that best describes their music, although this is currently $2.50 while the site is in beta. Voters and record labels can use the site for free.

See the video below with more information about Chartburst:

YouTube Preview Image

Music Marketing in the Arab World
Alfan Group seeks to capitalize on the Middle East and North African market with a focus on Arabic and Islamic content.

Alfan Group: Music Video Marketing for the Arab World - viralblog.com

The Alfan Group now has over 20 artists, television channels, and public figures as clientele from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and other countries in the region.

The company owns the rights to all of the content these artists produce on YouTube.

Alfan’s YouTube channel just exceeded 60 million views on YouTube.

The Alfan team also manages the social media for each artist, part of the package deal when signing with Alfan.

To make money, Alfan first charged the artists a monthly fee of $300 for their services, but has moved away from this strategy.

Now Alfan delivers its services for “free”. Free meaning: In return for a 50-50 split of the YouTube ad revenues.

Make Money with Music Video & Ads?
We hear the stories around us. Many people around us think they can monetize video content or their YouTube channels with music videos.

Want to know more about music, marketing, YouTube and video? Check out our recent story: Gangnam Style Cash Cow: PSY Makes $6 Million For YouTube.


My Opinion?

Turning music from a hobby into a paid profession can be difficult, even for the talented bands.

Especially to the musicians that don’t have viral video clip power like PSY’s Gangnam Style, Fanatic.fm and Chartburst could offer new opportunities.

I like the fact that Chartburst gives the crowd a say in which bands get noticed by major record labels, while labels themselves have a way to determine if a potential signing has appeal.

Platforms like Vevo in the US, Alfan in the Arab world and Chartbust in the UK, they all make “underground” musicians and bands less depending on TV talent shows like: X-Factor or The Voice Of


What About You?

How do you like platforms like Alfan, Vevo, Fanatic and Chartburst? In what other ways can the social web help music talents to get their discovery and recognition? I’d love to see your ideas in the comments below.

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About the Author
Igor Beuker was CMO at 3 listed companies, chairman at the IAB, jury member at Webby, AMMA and Esprix awards, founder of 3 digital agencies (sold to WPP) and global chief social officer at Mindshare. Now he is ‘freejack’ consultant and a sought after keynote speaker.

 

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