Notorious hip-hop group Public Enemy has teamed up with SellaBand for their next album with the intention of raising $250,000 for their next album. By selling 10,000 ‘shares’ in increments of $25, the group hope to cover “complete recording costs and expenses … [and] fund a strategic marketing plan for [the album’s] worldwide release … in 2010“. Public Enemy are one of the first established acts to sign up with SellaBand, so a lot of their success rides on whether bands in the future will use this method.

$250,000 may seem like a steep leap of faith these days but the $25 investment “will entitle Believers in this project to a unique, numbered digipak edition of the CD, as well as a pro ratio share of 33.3% of all net revenues generated with this album”. Also consider that even lesser-known glitter pop piper Patrick Wolf raised £100,000 via rival company Bandstocks for his fourth album, “The Bachelor”.

There are of course a few non-“believers” in the fan-support system itself, such as Luke Lewis in The NME Blog who quips “The moment you contribute to band’s recording costs, you’re no longer a fan, you’re a shareholder. And if you think that’s cool or desirable, you’re Bono.”I can’t really say anything to the attitude of the writer except it seems like a cheap shot from a wannabe hipster-pleaser, it’s hardly fair to harp on music fans who are passionate enough to pay money in these times for music from their favorite artists.

Regardless, the same article also brings up the point that “if you have financial stake in the album, do you also have a say in how it’s made? If fans hold the purse strings, they also ought to have power of creative veto.” In this age it seems more than plausible that an artist could stream a few demos for their “investors” and get creative input, but what established artist is really going to be in favor of that? Not saying having no creative filter whatsoever is a good thing either but that’s another downfall to consider with these projects.

Moving on, upon reviewing Public Enemy’s SellaBand profile page there is much room for improvement, especially with interactivity, of which there is very little presently. Patrick Wolf had the right mindset in an interview with Ireland’s Sunday Tribune, “you could put a camera on me 24 hours a day. I have no shame, no dignity. Put it all out there!” Wolf’s Bandstocks page has a “backstage” area for investors only, meaning we were unable to check the extent of him “putting himself out there”, but that has potential to satisfy the “exclusive content is king” preference that will ultimately become standard.

An “investors only” addition would be great for the band to show their appreciation for their fans. At the very least there needs to be more personalisation…I can hardly imagine the stiff ‘thanks for your support’ messages written on the group’s wall were written by the band (I can tell you I’d purchase 10 stocks right now if SellaBand can make Flava Flav write the rest of the updates!). Offline the group has a strong following but they’re missing that vital online connection. Fans these days are getting more and more spoiled with artists like Twitter-addicted Amanda Palmer or video-crazy Miley Cyrus and it figures that if fans don’t get a say in the album’s artistic direction, they should at least get some interactive gems.

Another suggestion is for them to make it clearer what extras are included. Take for instance the iTunes Pass, it mapped out what kind of extra material fans would get whether it was extra tracks or concert or promotional videos…even if they simply mention on the front page that “believers” get a few studio videos it would most certainly engage and intrigue more fans.

Now as for the choice of artist, I think Public Enemy can do great things for SellaBand. Public Enemy have had a strong online presence since the beginning supporting many websites dedicated to rap music, they were one of the first bands to release their catalogue via MP3 and leader Chuck D has been extremely vocal (and analytical) of the music business for the last two decades (and don’t forget the notorious personality of Flava Flav being known to a large audience outside the music world). If SellaBand would have gone for a less controversial artist or one who was more popular but wasn’t really known for technological ingenuity, I don’t think they would have peaked the interest of as many “believers”.

As of today Public Enemy have reached 12% support so it is still early days, but its impending success should be tracked wisely. As long as the band dedicates themselves to offering enough extras to their fans, this could be a great way for them to secure a stronger fanbase and truly it could take a nation of millions to hold them back.

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