To make a internet user into a music producer is the proposal of the Dutch site SellaBand, that challenges the user to act as producer, discovering a “new star.”

The site is divided in two categories, the artists and the “believers” (the ones that believe in the artists). The artist makes their profiles offer some music to be downloaded. If the internet user believes in the artist’s potential, he or she can invest in him, buying quotas, that cost US$ 10 each one.

The artist that get an investment of US$ 50 thousand wins the production of a CD. The income is divided equally among the artist, their backers and SellaBand. According to the site, that is in online since 2006, more than 20 artists, of nine nationalities already recorded and financed CD in this way.

Competitor of SellaBand, the French site http://www.mymajorcompany.com revealed singer Grégoire last year. In less than five months, Grégoire gathered US$ 70 thousand, with 347 investors. His album won a diamond disk, and the internet users/producers received 53 for 10 invested – a profit of 400%.

The Briton http://www.slicethepie.com is another example of that model of “investment”.

On the other hand, the French www.kisskissbankbank.com, launched last month, intends to invest in known artists. “We are a relationship platform between internet users and professional producers”, Vincent Ricordeau, president of the site says.

Via: Remixtures and Sellaband.