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Music fans are increasingly
being recruited to fund the recording efforts of their favourite
bands (to wit, for example:
Sellaband), so it's no surprise to see that they're
now being explicitly involved on the promotion side as well.
Similar to
GoodStorm's MixTape, which we covered earlier this
year,
Mixaloo is an online venture that lets music lovers
create, distribute and sell custom mixes of the tracks they love
and receive a share of the profits in return.
Mixaloo, which just opened its
doors to the public a few weeks ago, allows music fans to choose
from more than 3 million songs when they create their mix,
including every major label and thousands of independent
artists. Based on their searches, Mixaloo also suggests related
artists to consider. Once users finalize their mix, they can
distribute it with 30-second song samples inside a widget to any
personal or social networking website, or email it directly to
their friends.
Creating and distributing the
mix is free, and users can personalize its appearance by
uploading images, adding titles and selecting from different
widget formats. Visitors and friends can then listen to the
clips for free; if they like the mix, they can purchase and
download it. Best of all, when someone makes a purchase, the
original compiler of the mix receives half the profit from each
sale--generally between 8 and 20 cents per track, Mixaloo
says--along with points that can be redeemed for Mixaloo
merchandise such as T-shirts and audio gear.
"Everyone's favourite songs are closely tied to the experiences
and memories they represent, which makes creating and sharing
mix tapes such an enjoyable way for people to express
themselves," explains Mark Stutzman, Mixaloo's cofounder and
CEO. "We created Mixaloo to merge that experience with the viral
nature of blogs and social networking communities, giving users
the added incentive of earning cash for popular mixes. This
'social record store' creates a vast network of personal
recommendations to increase sales and visibility for artists of
all sizes."
Poughkeepsie, N.Y.-based
Mixaloo is open to advertising and partnerships, but it
currently offers its service only to US users. As fans continue
to play ever-larger roles in the music industry, however, it's a
good bet this type of service will spread quickly. With one part
crowdsourcing, one part viral marketing, one part profit-sharing
and one part great music, sounds like this mix could be a hit...
(For more on rewarding consumers for their valuable efforts, see
trendwatching.com’s
Generation C(ash) briefing.)
Website:
www.mixaloo.com
Contact:
sales@mixaloo.com
Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
Article by
Springwise - New Business Ideas
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