Investing in Music

As the traditional record industry spirals downward, some musicians are turning to fans for help. Two sites, sellaband.com and slicethepie.com, allow listeners to "invest" in unsigned bands, with the investors betting that the acts will eventually sell enough records to make them a profit. Meanwhile, some independent artists skip the sites and raise the funds on their own. Today, we examine this model with Jill Sobule, a singer-songwriter whose fans contributed $85,000 towards her new album, and Glenn Peoples, editor of the music-industry web site, Coolfer.com.

Soundcheck blog: John Schaefer on fans as investors

Weigh in: Would you invest in a band that you don't know? Tell us in our comments section