Why the Indies Are Singing "Take A Chance On Me"

When ABBA sang "Take A Chance On Me," it was clearly a piece of light, romantic fluff. Today, it's a business proposition. As musicians look for new business models (you might've heard rumors that the old business model ain't working so well anymore), some are going straight to the fans and saying "invest in my next album." So far, the best-known artist to have done a record through fan-funding is Jill Sobule, who had a hit song in the mid 90s called "I Kissed A Girl," not to be confused with last year's Katy Perry hit with the same title. Jill's new record was exclusively paid for by fans, including one who gave $10K for the right to sing backing vocals on one track.

This is not a new idea - it's actually very old. Beethoven's Archduke Trio was written for the Archduke Rudolf, a member of the Hapsburg family who became Beethoven's patron, piano student, and friend. To this day, most classical composers make their money not from recordings but from commissions - payments by wealthy patrons, foundations, and arts organizations that essentially say to a composer, "here's some money, write us a piece." That's what Jill Sobule's fans have done - in fact, a few of them have done that quite literally, as you could give Jill $1,000 and have her write a personalized song for you.

Of course, there's something else at work here too... What if I'd invested in Madonna when she was just starting, in return for a small percentage of her future profits? I'd be pretty well off by now. I wonder if that chance of picking a winner, of hitting the musical lottery, is lurking somewhere beneath this fan-funding idea. But realistically, if I'm going to give 10 bucks to some kids in Williamsburg who want to try to make a record, the best return I can hope for is a copy of the album when (and if) it's done. Well, no, I guess the best I could hope for is that the album would be good. And isn't that the reason you'd invest in a band in the first place? When you think of it, investing in one of these Sellaband acts isn't all that different from just buying their record after it's made - you're basically betting 10 or 15 bucks that you'll like the music.

Tell us: would you invest in someone's music, if you were given the chance? Why or why not?
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