Republic Project, a new startup launching out of beta, is allowing artists and labels to sell pre-orders of new music directly to fans and receive 100% of the revenue from the album.
Fans will have access to exclusive behind-the-scenes video during the pre-order period which can include footage from the studio, on the road, or elsewhere. Artists will receive an embeddable widget that can be placed on their website, blog and social sites like MySpace and Facebook. This widget will direct fans to the band page on Republic Project where sample videos of footage can be seen, and more.
Through the artist dashboard on Republic Project, the artist can name the album, the album price and the release date. Artists are also able to sell as little as three tracks and as much as a full album. They can upload an intro video explaining to the fans the pre-order and give them up to six sample videos. Minimum pricing is $2.99 and maximum pricing is $9.99. Fans are charged an additional $1.99 transaction fee for the pre-order experience.
Republic Project CEO Ryan Swagar believes that nobody has really created a pre-order platform that provides value to the fans.
Why would they want to put down a credit card for a release that comes out in 90-180 days? So we are allowing the fans to be part of the creative experience and give them exclusive video footage.
Whether six sample videos will be enough to entice hardcore fans to pay $2 extra for the privilege of pre-ordering an album will depend on how good those videos are and how much they love each band, especially since you can usually pre-order an album on iTunes or Amazon. Those videos better be good.
All about the talent. His business will either gorw or die with the talent he works with.
I think this is a great opportunity for artists. Great job guys!
This is a cool way to see your band up close and personal. I liked seeing 311 grinding through the recording process.
kinda sounds similar to mybandstock.com, but instead of raising money, the album is probably going to already be done.
Interesting concept. I’ll agree that their is plenty of room for growth/exploration in the pre-order space. Then again, many artists will be dropping the album model moving forward.
It’ll be interesting to see how this business model evolves.
On a related note, I think http://www.kickstarter.com does a good job with a somewhat similar concept
BIG NEWS! Great success story with amazing leadership driving Republic Project. Nice to see an Arizona company doing fun, cool and innovative things in the music biz.
I’ve talked to these guys a couple of times and they really have their head on straight. It’s an excellent idea and I’m excited to see it finally come to fruition. It has a TON of potential..
Interesting concept. Looking forward to seeing more bands on there. Anyone know if it’s open to all bands or just known bands? What’s the criteria to join?
This just shows you how the music industry is crumbling. Really cool for the artists. I hope it’s not too late. 100% back to the artist is very generous and is what these artists/bands need to stay alive.
I like this approach. Itunes keeps 30%, so this is much better for artists. Cool that fans can see them in the studio making the album.
These guys are a little late, go merch already has been doing this since sep last year.
Hey PJ, how does go merch and this even compare? they are not in the same ballpark.
Different space altogether.
Interesting idea. They seem to be moving in the right direction; which is a good thing.
I like the additional bonus video coverage of the bands in the studio. Seems like a way for bands to sell albums instead of just singles.
Super! Great! Best thing since sliced toast! A sure fire success! Great team! Really solid team! Etc Etc!
Other digital stores are charging 30% or more, so this is a no brainer for bands. I also like that you get the video during the recording process. will be fun to see what bands join.