aelani

Thanks, those are great questions.

OurLabel is a platform that brings fans into the music-making process from discovery to funding to promotion. That covers a few different aspects of a traditional label. You could say it is crowdsourcing A&R. It is also crowdsourcing publicity by incentivizing fans to promote the releases via their social media channels. OurLabel plans to share 25% of net income from releases to fans who helped promote it (in the form of rewards such as music downloads, merchandise, concert tickets, etc.).

OurLabel is also a free service to funded artists in that it helps in the execution of the project by connecting the artists with the right resources (whether it be production, marketing, legal, distribution, etc.). OurLabel DOES NOT manage the artist. Also, it is important to note that this is done on an as-needed basis. We give artists all the freedom they want as well as the support they want.

To us, success is measured by getting new music, commissioned by fans, out to the market. We certainly take an active role in marketing the releases and aim to maximize their value, as it is in the collective interest of the artists, fans, and us that the releases sell more copies, get more licensing deals, etc.

I think you hit the nail right on the head with this statement: "the future of music is disintegration, not centralization"

Rather than making another "vote for your favorite," sites like OurLabel give a voice to the fans of niche genres. They can "take ownership" of music they like and be taste-makers, and then be rewarded for its success (even if it's just within a small niche and not a huge pop hit).

The key here is the hybrid-model (think Kickstarter + traditional label). Labels promote their artists. Very few artists succeed in do-it-yourself models like Kickstarter. They may be able to raise the money needed to record an album, but do they have the resources and expertise to market it on their own?

Secondly, getting the fans involved in the whole process is interesting (especially when they can derive rewards from their engagement). There are a lot of big music fans out there that would love to have a say and a piece in the action.