Sellaband, the platform designed to let musicians crowdsource funding from their fans, is celebrating its first chart success as singer Hind entered the Dutch album charts at number 8.
The singer, who represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008, raised €40,000 via Sellaband in just 11 days last year. The resulting album, ‘Crosspop’ shares the top 10 in her native land this week with big names like Phil Collins and Robbie Williams.
It’s worth noting that Hind was already famous before seeking funding from her fans, having been a finalist in Dutch TV talent show Idols in 2003, and having released two previous albums through Sony BMG with traditional funding. This will have undoubtedly made it a lot easier to to find enough people willing to put their hands in their pockets to help fund the release.
Still, Sellaband’s CEO Michael Bogatzki is keen to note that it proves the viability of the crowdsourced funding model for music. “It proves that fan funding really works. Together with the fans we are not only able to build up artists but also take them to the next level.” Hind is now crowdsourcing funding for her next project, again via Sellaband.
Amsterdam-based Sellaband works by allowing fans to invest money in acts, getting rewarded either with a cut of the profits or with exclusive merchandise and benefits as the acts see fit. Other acts using the service include rap legends Public Enemy.
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