Fan-funded musician site Sellaband has scored $5 million funding from Prime Technology Ventures to embark on a US roll-out. CEO Johan Vosmeijer of the Amsterdam-based outfit, which lets visitors buy “shares” in budding acts to fund their careers, told Reuters: “America is the biggest market for us potentially. This new capital will enable us to make the necessary investments and expand in America.”
Sellaband operates the same model as UK-based Slicethepie, which got a $2 million third round in March and claims to have funded 13 acts with a total £200,000. Sellaband, which asks fans to “invest” $10 in bands for a tiny stake of future profits, says it has funded 18 acts since opening two years back and in January it began selling members’ albums via Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN). Prime Technology’s Sake Bosch (via NextWeb): “This investment makes sense, since the music industry is heavenly influenced by the internet nowadays.”