With the changes to the Sellaband website and particularly its terms and conditions it's time to have a proper weed of all the dead wood that's been floating around since June. Hence hatchet day returns in record-breaking size. In this particular issue I'm going through the reasoning behind my parts changes, so you can perhaps get an idea of what has actually happened in the whirlwind of decimation you will have seen if you have visited my profile. I'm also going to give you some of my own thoughts on how I view the changes, but I suspect you'll have to wait for further postings before you get the full picture of what's been going on in my head.
Firstly, what has prompted such changes? Basically the clauses in the Terms and Conditions which now basically remove Sellaband from any liability when it comes to artists making offers on its site. Secondly, the fact that a Limited Edition CD is no longer guaranteed (indeed, there's no guarantee of a CD at all) which is a fundamental move away from the reason I signed up to the site in the first place. As far as I'm concerned, there now needs to be a reason for me to buy into a project. i.e. if I will get exactly the same thing at the same price or cheaper after the project is complete, then where's the reason for me to tie up money now? The limited edition CD for its price was the original draw into the site for me, and whilst it didn't quite perhaps work as intended due to believer shops etc. meaning those CDs were still on sale to people who waited, the original idea that the LE CD would only be available to people who bought parts was enough of a reason to want to buy into a project rather than wait. I already buy albums from all over the world so I have a very good idea of the cost of getting something after release. As a result, I'm basically not interested in artists who only offer a download option. Downloads to me are something you pay for and get now, not something you pay for and then wait an unknown amount of time to receive. It also doesn't take much effort to work out how many tracks are required at 99 cents a track for it to be preferable to paying 10 dollars. And remember one track has usually been offered for free via the Sellaband shop!
As a result, I've had 3 main priorities - to check that artists are still out there, to check what's going on with regards to them putting a plan online and to see how their plan fits with my view on how I'll be spending money in future. As a plan is required under the terms and conditions, I am automatically very uncomfortable about leaving even one part in any artist which does not have one.
However I'm also very aware that such a change in the site has also caused many artists to re-think their plans. No more waiting until the budget is reached and then deciding what you need to be doing. One month since the site went live isn't necessarily enough time to get all the details sorted. As a result I'm having a phased hatchet process between now and the end of January.
This hatchet day has been the first phase and changes have taken place based on how artists responded to the message I left on their page in the first week of October. A more detailed breakdown of this follows.
Artists who didn't respond at all
Where I received no response of any kind from the artist, then I looked first at 2 criteria - the number of parts I owned and the "last seen" date of the artist.
1. For artists where the last seen date was "unknown"
If I owned one part it was removed. If I owned more than one part, then the number of parts in the artist was reduced to 1.
2. For artists with a last seen date
Profile was then checked for existence of anything in the plan or blog section. If nothing there and the artist hasn't been seen that recently, then the actions outlined in 1 were taken. For artists where I found something to tell me they're still about e.g. a blog entry which says they're working on the new plan, they've escaped this time around, but I won't be so generous next month if there's been no obvious progress. In a couple of cases I've decided to try chasing up with a PM to see if I can get any response. I really don't like removing parts from artists and if an artist is still around but basically considering their options, I'd rather know and give them that bit more time.
Artists who responded
If I only own one part and the artist responded then it's been a case of no change for now. Next hatchet day is when I'll look more closely at these. The exception to this is mooncrow where he is unsure if he is even going to continue with the site, so I've withdrawn the part for now as he requested in his post to me. Where I own more than one part, it's been a case of looking at the plan that has been posted and I have reduced parts in some cases already. I do have a number of artists that did respond that are working on plans, so in those cases it's a case of no change this time around.
I have a few artists giving me a headache in terms of their plan changes, as they don't quite fit with what I'm after, but the case is borderline rather than an obvious case where I'd radically change the number of parts I've got. So even if you've changed your plan already, there's still a chance of a small parts adjustment in the pipeline over the next month, when I've stopped scratching my head on the do-I-or-don't-I-change-parts that's the case now.
It also looks like I may need to make some upwards re-adjustments now the majority of the "weeding" process is done. There are some artists in my list of belief where I've received incentives in the past for buying parts. Having thought about it, as long as they don't break the 3 month "last seen" date rule I've set, then I feel it's only fair that I maintain the parts corresponding to the incentive I received in the past, even if it doesn't match an incentive they're currently offering. So apologies in advance to anyone who is currently on less parts than they really ought to be, and I promise it will be sorted by next hatchet day or you're quite welcome to chase after me with a knife then!
The artists who didn't respond at all but where I still own parts basically now have one more month to contact me and/or put their plan on the Sellaband website. Never let it be said that I don't give people second chances!
Phase 2 is when I deal with the remaining non-responders and start to take some more preliminary decisions regarding plans posted. This will take place on December 1st.
Phase 3 will take place early in January when I will be removing parts from any artist who still doesn't have a plan available and/or who can't be found in the search/listings, and making a decision regarding any plans that haven't been dealt with in phase 2.
The alarm bells will also go off if an artist reaches 80% of the budget they are currently showing as target on Sellaband. If the plan, incentives and/or budget still don't tie up properly for the level of parts I have by then, there's a good chance I'll be reducing or even possibly removing all parts in that artist, until such time as the situation is rectified or I have written confirmation from Sellaband themselves (direct, not forwarded) to confirm the artist's plans have been agreed differently to what is shown in the incentives section. Artists can get this information changed if they contact Sellaband, so there is no excuse. It's already happened in several other cases and in one case I've even landed up following an artist I would otherwise have ignored as a result. If you are an artist, take this warning very seriously. There is a principle here. I wouldn't buy a part in a new artist I'd never heard of before if their plan and incentives didn't match, so why should I treat artists I already hold parts in any differently?. The view I hold on this is actually being reinforced by some of the plans I'm seeing out there (more about this later). Even if I've got to know the artist to the point I feel I can trust them, the chances are the discrepancy will put other potential believers off (just as it does for me when the artist is new to me), so it's actually in the artist's own interest to ensure this is right anyway. You should have seen from the havoc in my profile today that I'm quite prepared to follow through on this. And if you missed it - over 100 artists removed from my following list and more than 50 artists removed from my belief list, should give you some idea of the scale we're talking about.
Particular warning bells for next month have to be ringing in the direction of a number of artists where I've reduced to one part, as a result of them not being visible in the search or because their "last seen" date is unknown. Black Jack, MDATA, Heartshine, Silverimage, Tarek Sidani, Achilla and Six Eyes Lost are among those.
New parts
As you can probably work out from the above, rather a lot of money has been freed up back into my balance. I've found a new home for some of it already, but I'm now actively looking for places to spend it, so expect my following list to start exploding in size again. Best get my interest fast though, because it's likely I'll be attempting a payout some time between now and Christmas if my balance stays where it is and as the money now goes to Paypal, that means I'll be buying some things I've been putting off buying because there were no funds of the correct currency in my account and the exchange rate has not been favourable. But before my profile gets deluged with comments to listen, you better make sure you've read the "About Me" section on my Sellaband profile and acted accordingly. The basic rules are as follows:
1. Do I like your music? I only buy parts in artists whose music I like. There are people around Sellaband who can testify to the fact I've even turned down gift parts if I didn't like the music enough.
2. Are you only offering a download? Sorry, I'm looking for a Limited Edition album. If I'm interested enough in your music I might buy a download after it's available, but you'll need something pretty special to get me to buy parts in any project which doesn't offer a CD. I need a reason to tie up my money for an unknown length of time if all I am going to get is exactly the same as those who wait for you to finish your project and then buy. Unless it's love at first listen, I'll be looking at things such as likely price to buy afterwards or what else is within the incentives if the CD you're offering is not a limited edition or of shorter length than an album.
3. What incentives are you offering? In general I'm looking to only buy one part, but if I find your incentives interesting enough to me there is a chance I'll buy more. I'll need to have become absolutely, irreversibly hooked on your music to even start looking higher than a 10 part incentive though.
4. As far as revenue share is concerned, I don't care. I've done the numbers and I've also got a large selection of "already funded" artists and all the evidence suggests no more than a few cents. If a miracle happens and you are offering revenue share then I'll probably love you forever, but I think my chances of winning the lottery are better. I'll therefore buy parts irrespective of whether you offer revenue or not.
5. What's your last seen date? If I ever spot this date as being "unknown" or more than 3 months old, you haven't sent me a message/visited my page and I don't recall seeing you elsewhere on the site (e.g. the forum) either, then you can expect to be visited by my hatchet day.
6. Can you be found if I type your artist name into the search? Does your plan look at least halfway reasonable or does it give the impression you don't have a clue? If you're giving a bad first impression, or indeed can't be found at all by others, then where's the point of me spending my money on you?
So having been forced to sit through reading everything I've written in this section, now to the bit you're really interested in. Where have I actually bought parts and why?
The first "new era" part I bought isn't really a purchase but just a straight move of the part I had in MAYHEM to Mysti Mayhem's new profile. The main thing bothering me at the moment is that her plan is stating a CD for every part you buy, but this isn't reflected by the incentives panel. (and the CD icon = 1 CD per believer, not per part). I've met Mysti in real life so I'd say I have more trust in her than on average over the artists I believe in, she's nowhere near the 80% threshold yet and with only the one part anyway at the moment, I'm prepared to let this problem go for now. But Sellaband really need to do something about this to make it easier. I've seen they will change things if asked (Gayle Skidmore for instance recently had her "1 cd per believer" activated where it wasn't before, and I started following as a result) but it's surely a lot of work for Sellaband (never mind hassle for the artist) if artists have to keep asking until it gets done right.
Matthew Ebel becomes the first artist where I've actually increased the number of parts I had already. I said back at the beginning of the year when he joined the site that he was, for me, the best discovery of 2009 so far. It's looking like it won't be long before I can remove those last two words, unless there's a last minute surprise. This is one case where I've officially crossed the border from music lover to fan (and fast seeing as I'd never even heard of him before he joined Sellaband). I'd actually been planning to buy a subscription to his site if I landed up paying money out into Paypal, so for me this is really a case of having your cake and eating it too, as his lower level incentives (5,10 and 15 parts) basically amount to getting a year's subscription (at the relevant level) plus the album. He does a live concert online pretty much every Tuesday night, so if you really want to check for yourselves if he's the real deal I say he is, then this is probably the best place to do it.
Aly Cook finally gets a part, having been sat on my wishlist while the site was in chaos and I wasn't buying parts. Her incentive is extremely tempting, but I also am left wondering if she's realised just how much the postage cost (of which there's no mention anywhere in her plan) is going to work out to be, particularly if she gets a lot of believers from outside NZ.
John C Fraser turned out to be the returned part I was left wondering about in my previous blog post. He's come back with a 20K budget and the part has gone back in as a result.
The more I see Epyllion, the more I find myself liking them. As well as the music, I think they've got a lot of the "artist spirit" we had back in the early days of Sellaband that seems to have been so lacking recently. A weekly video diary, the fact they actually spotted I'd started following them and sent me a message (even before I bought a part) and the way they've been trying to get involved with the forum, are all things which stand out in this regard. The plan to use Sellaband as a boost to help them finish what they've already got a lot of the funds for and are already working on is something I also think is quite smart, as it means there should be less of a wait between the funds being raised and the album actually recorded, due to the fact they've started recording already. i.e. instead of waiting at least 6 months to a year, I'd say this one is more likely to be nearer a month or two after reaching their target as a result. It's also noticeable that they seem to have a big backer buying a certain number of parts every week, so if things keep up at their current rate, I'm currently expecting them to be somewhere around halfway to their target at Christmas, which should be about the right time for all you late "sheep" to start thinking about spending your Xmas money on them. I'm already convinced this is one artist that will definitely reach their target on Sellaband and probably within the first quarter of next year, unless anyone out there wants to prove me wrong and make it happen faster.
Particular near misses who didn't get parts this time around come in the form of Chris Jones and The Silence.
In the case of the former, a combination of relatively low budget increase and page attendance after the first couple of days of "hype" and the fact the budget is in euros rather than dollars is putting me off. Whilst there's no doubt that 10 euros is still a good deal for me (a lot of the time I pay nearer to 20 including postage if I have to order direct from Europe), it's unclear as to how the transaction change is handled. e.g. if the price converts to 15 dollars to be taken from your balance and you later remove the part, do you get 15 dollars back or whatever it converts to at the time instead? At the moment I have no doubt I'll be buying a part if he stays on the site long enough to raise his budget, but it's looking more likely I'll be a late believer as a result.
In the case of The Silence things are pretty much turned around due to the fact he's not offering a CD if you buy just one part. The 5 part deal is the thing looking most tempting for me - 3 CDs for $50 looks reasonable, particularly when you consider one is a copy of previous work, meaning you're left with one for yourself and only one to either give away as a present or potentially sell in order to get some of the money back. Although the deal itself looks interesting that then leaves the question of the music, and I already know it's very likely there's going to be some on there I won't like due to his inclusion of Maitreya and the fact I don't like rap. Until I get a better feel for the project, you're therefore going to find me sitting on the fence, as there's not enough either attracting me or chasing me off at the moment.
I've got a plan
Here's a section I suspect is going to become a regular feature of hatchet day from now on. In this section I'll be selecting a few artists and taking a look at some of the plans and incentives on offer. And in true knifelady style, not just ones I consider good, but also some of the more entertaining, amusing and even downright strange ones as well.
TheLights are giving me a dilemma at the moment. Whilst they've dropped their budget, they now only plan to record a 6 song mini-album, and as they're based just around the corner from me anyway, I find myself torn between the urge to support a very talented band now and the urge to wait until afterwards. Whilst I'll be waiting a bit longer before making a final decision on that one, the main reason for including them here is to tell you about the incentive you've missed out on. For a mere 2000 parts, you too could sleep with a band member of your choice, but as that equates to their total budget, they already have sold parts and it's meant jokingly anyway, it would appear you're just that little bit too late.
One of the more innovative plans around has to come from Allen Thompson For a certain minimum number of parts (could be 8, could be 15 depending on whether you believe the plan or incentives) he will come round to your house and play a concert. For larger numbers of parts he'll "upsize" and bring his band as well, so effectively you get to pick what level of concert you want e.g. acoustic or full band, depending on the number of parts you buy. Each concert gets recorded and the album produced for believers is basically made up of the "best bits" of those concerts. That's the basics but you'll find a much more detailed explanation in his blog post. There are obvious questions, such as what would happen if I was to go and buy 15 parts (he's in the States and I'm in the UK), and at what kind of point would you feel comfortable having an artist into your own home, but otherwise I find the idea a very interesting one. Whilst it's obvious from his wording he intended this for his existing fanbase, it's also interesting to note his current budget raised is $0 despite the fact he's already been on the site a fortnight. Just not attractive to his existing fans (and he didn't ask beforehand), or something about Sellaband putting people off? I think the answer to this one could be very useful information.
Band Without Borders is one of the new custom projects out there. As someone not interested in revenue share who finds the music interesting, I've been half tempted to buy a part for the CD, but the way things stand at the moment the project itself doesn't make sense once you think about it. For starters, if the idea of the revenue share does appeal, there's rather a lot of holes in the plot. You see, the project itself requires $250,000 to be raised but instead of trying to raise it all in one go, they've decided to split it into 5 phases of $50,000 and that's where the problems start. Firstly the text on the first $50,000 project states a 10% revenue share whereas the incentive icon is stating 15%. We also know the revenue share is meant to apply to the $250,000 which actually means that only 3% of the total revenue will apply to each $50,000 chunk, (assuming it is 15% for the total project). These differences mean you'd better be very good at mathematics if you're interested in the revenue, because it's extremely easy to get misled with the way the information is presented on the profile. There are also other questions to be raised such as the fact the revenue share depends on them being able to sell the project to TV (and that doesn't seem to have happened yet), and the question of how you get people to buy into the second (and subsequent) $50,000 project chunks, which would obviously be an ideal situation to raise money fast - you can't very well offer the same thing to the same people second time around because most (if not all) won't be interested. And if you are going to be offering the same thing, where is the next set of interested people going to come from? All in all, I'd therefore say this is one project which is a great idea, but very badly thought out.
Another confusing custom profile comes in the form of Nylon Pink, who are the only artist not offering a CD that seems to be doing fairly well to date. But is this because potential believers are getting confused? If you're not offering a CD, yet you get your name in the CD booklet for 10 parts, this seems rather strange unless there is actually going to be a CD available for sale later. None of the incentives listed actually say that believers will receive a CD if they buy multiple parts, but how many are going to be fooled into thinking they'll get a CD because of the wording in the incentives section? Or indeed, is a CD actually available for multiple parts, but the information is missing?
Bench Grinder have traditionally been one of the quietest artists on Sellaband, but their changed budget could be of interest to those looking at revenue share. Their plan involves 100% of revenue from their physical sales (yes, you heard right - that's the lot and not a mistype adding an extra 0) and they won't need all of the CDs they are producing to cover believers either. Unfortunately their "extra incentives" section is activated but blank at the moment which means it looks like there's still a bit of work to do there.
I've also seen a number of plans that can best be described as "Help I'm Lost", but I'll leave you to decide whether that statement refers to me or the artist in question.
One such example is Davizion whose plan proudly states "Have one number one hit song". And... well... that's actually all there is to it. Personally I'd consider that more an ambition than a plan. I'm also wondering if the fact there's just a single song in the profile has some relevance here.
We also have Champ with "I Am Trying To Go To School For Audio Engineering So I Can Change Things From Witthin Music Labels"... soo.. I'm actually paying for your college fund? Or..? If you like your rap/hip-hop, he's actually got about 2 albums worth of material posted on his page, so there's actually plenty to check out, and hence might be a shame to see him passed by for want of a decent plan.
As a late edit just as I'm about to post this, I also see we have a new arrival in Steven Marr with "blah blah blah, who really wants to read that". No comment from me on that one - I'll leave you to decide what you think.
I'd also love to know how any of the last 3 artists I've mentioned manages to meet condition 5.5 in the fundraising terms and conditions. Anyone got any ideas? I'm completely lost on that score.
So whilst I have seen some such profiles deleted (such as the artist who was going to spend 50% of the budget on food and drink and the other 50% on booking shows so you could watch them eat that food and drink), I'd say the fact that there's no real regulation going on out there is something that bothers me. Νεφελοκοκκυγία is the first word that comes to mind, because whilst some out there might be very good at music, it's clear they're missing the knowledge, access to advice and often just plain logic required to even sound as if they know what they're doing. And if Sellaband have experts on board, then why aren't they helping to close that gap, rather than just letting these plans slide out there?
Add to this the question of how far you bend the rules, or even what exactly the rules are in the first place and the whole "plan" idea is, quite frankly, a mess. But what do I mean by that previous sentence? Well if you take a look at the fundraising agreement you'll see that 3 types of music project are identified. However if you look at the "how it works" slideshow for artists you'll see on the 7th slide that there is a star in the top right corner which says "Want a bigger budget? Want to raise funds for touring or promotion? Go custom". So are options b) and c) in the fundraising agreement meant to apply to custom projects only? And if touring or promotion/marketing are meant to be custom budgets only, then why the large number of standard artists with plans stating their budget is for these activities?
This whole area needs clarification by Sellaband, and preferably yesterday, otherwise the place is rapidly going to gain a reputation as the funding platform without a clue.
Following
As part of hatchet day I've also taken a big clearout of my following list and removed all artists I don't hold parts in where the last seen date is either "unknown" or more than three months ago. This rule will continue to apply on future hatchet days. I've also removed all artists on my following list on $0 who signed up prior to 2009, as I think it's very unlikely there will be any change in their status. Like many other parts of the site, the following list also has bugs with artists whose profiles have been removed from Sellaband still showing, and it's not possible to stop following them, so I do still have a couple of those lurking in there.
I follow artists for one of several reasons. I automatically follow artists where I own parts. If I own parts and I'm not following as well, do give me a prod! In general I start to follow artists before I actually buy parts though, so this isn't usually a problem. Other artists on my following list are usually there because I am planning to buy parts, am sitting on the fence and want to hear more before I decide whether to buy parts, or I'm thinking about including them in a hatchet day post for some reason.
Of particular interest this month are Phil Tweed and We Love the Underground. Neither have posted plans yet, although Phil has sent several mails my way to gauge my reaction and Brad has mentioned the kind of thing he's thinking of, which resulted in me posting a response to him in this thread on the forum, which many artists will probably find useful as it gives a good idea of the reality of just how far (and fast) postage costs can spiral if you're looking at sending CDs to your believers and there's a move towards one-parters rather than multi-part believers.
Along with Matthew Ebel, these two are the artists currently fundraising on Sellaband where I officially consider myself having crossed that border from liking the music into a real fan, so I'm extremely interested in what they come up with, as it will have a heavy influence on the parts I have in them. Both have also recently posted new tunes. "A few good men" from Phil is up with the best songs I've ever heard from him and could well become my new favourite song of his. At a time when I'm going to have to make some pretty hard decisions regarding parts, it's given me rather an emotional reminder of why I landed up buying so heavily in the first place. "Afire" from We Love the Underground is less commercial than the previous track but also gives me a better feel for where Brad is heading with this project relative to the ones we've heard before. (Niki Thunders/Skitzo Calypso)
There are also a number of artists already added to my following list since the site changes that I'll be keeping an eye on.
My father likes jazz, but my mother doesn't. This simple fact is what led to me gaining an appreciation of it many years ago as my father used to play his tapes in the car when taking me to chess matches in the evening - about the only time he'd get a chance to listen without my mother being around. Whilst I've never been a big fan of the genre as a whole (and there is a wider range to it than most people realise), Abram Wilson therefore becomes of interest, as his particular style matches that of my father's favourite. Even with a relatively modest budget of $30,000 I'd say he's got his work cut out for him on Sellaband though, so I will be interested to see how things develop.
The Esoteric Gender look to be keeping it quite simple. With an 11 song album planned, no extra incentives and a 50% revenue share it looks like something to appeal both to the 1 parters who want the music and anyone who does want to go nuts if they think the revenue is going to be there. I'd actually recommend checking out the video first (home of the whale), which has a very Celtic feel to it.
Gayle Skidmore was an artist I originally passed by because she wasn't offering a CD to believers. That's now changed, and consequently there's a good chance she'll attract a part from me some time soon.
Josianne is looking interesting, but with only the one song at the moment, it's not yet enough to make me jump off the fence.
Modern Day Ruin need to do some work on their profile. There isn't a biography at the moment, but they've got some decent (although not outstanding) songs and tick the boxes on CD and revenue share that most believers seem to be after one (or both) of, so I'm slightly surprised they don't seem to have picked up any interest yet.
Elio Cagnizi also has some nice music going on, but is probably suffering from a combination of no plan and both his music and biography being in Italian. Well worth checking out, and I know people have bought parts in similar artists before.
And finally, here's an interesting one for those who are also on thesixtyone. As well as Loom that I see a lot of you have already noticed, am I the only one to spot that Kashmere Hakim came over at about the same time as well? Popular over there, but seemingly not so popular over here.
Sellaband
It's fair to say that the rules of the believing game have changed. Where it was only necessary for you to trust in Sellaband before, now a large portion of that trust has been shifted direct to the shoulders of the artist. In my opinion this is a very bad thing for artists unless they already have a decent fanbase willing to support them. From a believer point of view, you no longer have one "unknown" (i.e. Sellaband itself) in which there needs to be trust, but 5 or 10 or 20 (or however many different artists you believe in) instead. It's also a case that there is no simple "Buy one part and get a LE CD" rule any more. Believers now have to take the time to check each profile and understand exactly what's on offer, and, let's face it, how many are going to be bothered or even have the time to do that? Privacy also has the potential to become an issue. As artists can now choose to distribute themselves rather than everything being done through Sellaband, this means information you originally needed to provide only to Sellaband will need to be passed on by them in order for you to receive albums or other incentives.
The changes allowing artists to set their own budget are good, as it means in theory that more should be able to reach the target faster (and then hopefully come back with a slightly larger budget next time around) and not everyone is at the same level of musical development anyway, however just because the budget it smaller, it doesn't mean it is going to be any easier to get believers, because the changes introduced have actually made it harder for music lovers. Much harder.
Considering an average time of 6 months to a year to reach the goal, plus a further year while you wait for the outcome, more and more the question has to be asked - why should I tie up money now? I've already stated in my case it has been the LE CD that answered that question for me originally, but now it's no longer a guarantee, I too am largely looking for a reason to believe early. Unlike other funding sites, Sellaband takes your money now and basically holds onto it indefinitely (or at least until you ask for it back), whereas in other places there is a set time to pledge money - if the target is reached in time the money is taken, but if it isn't it has stayed in your own bank account earning money. A lot of people already won't make the jump to believe early as a result of this simple difference, even if something is only available if they do.
And that's where the problem starts. If even the music lovers who traditionally have believed early to try and give someone a boost (after all, someone has to get the ball rolling) are now sat wondering where the reason is that they should buy parts early, we rapidly start heading towards a point where only those who get a big sponsor on board (whether that be an existing big believer who gets interested or e.g. an indie label willing to buy a large number of parts in advance) are going to make any progress away from the $0 mark and have any chance of reaching their target.
Add to that the move away from community for believers rather than any attempt to foster it and help it grow, and from a music lover point of view, the site is holding less and less appeal.
There was originally an outcry when the listening sessions for believers were removed from the site, and it looks very much to me as if Sellaband may have very quietly found a way to remove them again. As we've now reached a case where it is "the artist's" album rather than a "Sellaband" album, are there going to be listening sessions for the albums any more, once the ones currently in production from the old era have been made? Indeed, what does it mean for the Sellaband shop, now that Sellaband will no longer be producing standard copies of the albums? Will any of the new albums be available for sale there? Will the free download of one track even continue? Add to this the relegation of the forum into the depths of the footer section of the site and it appears that even the few things remaining to attempt to keep people on the site rather than the idea of "visit once and go away" are slowly disappearing.
Sellaband's mission statement has traditionally made a point of saying they are there to break down the fences in the music industry, however with this latest set of changes it looks very much to me as if they'd rather still keep some of them in place instead. The site that will revolutionize the music industry first has to be able to educate and advise new artists coming along, otherwise the fences between those who have the connections and those who do not will remain firmly in place. And it also has to provide an environment that music lovers want to hang around on, form friendships and share in a way that makes the "sheep" realise that actually, this is something great to get involved with.
At the moment there is still time to redress the balance, but it won't be long before I see Sellaband heading down a path from which there will be no return.
And Finally
As you may be aware if you've been around the site for any length of time I usually hold off on the hatchet over the Christmas/New Year period and do something else instead. Last year that was a "review of the year" style post. This year, I'll be giving you the new top 10s as usual, but I'm also looking to do something slightly different.
This is your chance to get to know the "hatchet lady" and ask any burning questions you have lurking in the back of your mind. I am willing to answer a maximum of 10 question publicly in my blog post over the Xmas/New Year period. In the event of too many questions submitted the most popular ones will get answered first, and in the event of a tie it will be the questions asked first that count. Keep it sensible - I'm obviously not going to put personal information like my home address publicly, but otherwise the door is open for whatever you want to ask, whether that be about me or my views/experiences on Sellaband and I promise they will be answered truthfully. The questions themselves must be submitted via PM at my Sellaband profile in order to be considered and you have until December 20th to do so, so get creative!
