Name: My Major Company
Quick Pitch: This online, fan-funded record label — which recently launched in the UK — mixes traditional A&R and crowdfunding.
Genius Idea: You know how your one friend in that kind of terrible synth band raised a ton of money on Kickstarter to go on “tour” (a.k.a. a road trip to Jersey, Maryland and maybe New York)? That was a wash, huh? Well, My Major Company adheres to the Kickstarter model in some respects, but diverges in ways that contribute to quality control and reward fans for their loyalty and money.
The first iteration of My Major Company launched in France in 2008. The premi se was basically that fans and artists could join the service — fans as investors, because they were called upon to contribute money to an artist in order to get his career off the ground. According to CEO Paul-Rene Albertini — ex-CEO of Warner Music International — the model was very successful, launching 10 bands. Albertini counts Gregoire — a popular musician in France — as the service’s most exemplary artist.
My Major Company — which plans to expand to more countries come summer — just recently launched in the UK, where the model has changed slightly. In the UK so far, the service has mixed in a little more traditional A&R, selecting around 12 musicians to feature that fans can invest in.
Unlike services like Sellaband — where fans can help bands tour or buy a van, etc — MMC has a more overarching goal: to launch the career of an artist.
An artist must raise 100,000 pounds (around $161,200 .12) in order to reap the...
