SlicethePie twists the standard online music store model by paying users for their musical acumen. Users are paid a small amount for each review they write, based on how accurately each review reflects the community's taste. In addition, users can invest in bands they think are going to make it, sharing in profits from album sales on the site.
Once registered, you can shuffle through the site's songs by clicking the Play Next Track link in the player, or browse by Genre. When you hear a song that "has legs," as the saying goes, another link lets you add it to your watchlist. Then, if you want to invest in the band later, you'll be able to do so at a discount (details below).
According to SlicethePie, this "turns every music fan into a record label."
Here's how the main two investing options work:
Backstage Pass: $10 gets you a digital copy of the album,
"participation in the recording process," and the exclusive right tobuy up to 10 "contract" units in the artist at a $2 discount.
"Contract" units: Much like stock market investments, these unitsgive you an interest in the artist's album sales, and can be bought andsold on the SlicethePie Exchange market. As with stock dividends, if a band makes money on an album, investors get a slice -- $2 per 10,000 units sold for each contract unit.
The site recently launched
a Facebook app that can be embedded on profile pages there, allowingfriends to see who has the more accurate taste in music, according toSlicethePie.
We asked SlicethePie a couple questions over email to find out more about how these investments work (edited for length and clarity):
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Listening Post: Do people who add a certain song to their wishlists get paid if their artists enter the top 2% as voted by other users, or do they only get paid if the band gets a recording contract?
Jon Ramsay, SlicethePie Press Assistant: Users rate songs (and thus artists) in the scouting phase (the very first stage), and then the site ascertains who the top 2% artists are by averaging the rating. Users are paid a small amount of cash for each review they submit, irrespective of whether they like the song or not. The amount they are paid for submitting reviews varies in accordance with how accurate and comprehensive their reviews are (i.e. if they write better reviews, that are more in agreement with the majority, they get paid more). Wishlists are simply there as a personal reminder of favorite artists, and do not directly impact fan earnings.
After an artist has successfully recorded an album there is ANOTHER way in which users can get paid, as I will explain below...
LP: Do you need to invest in a band in order to get paid when they sign a__ contract, or do you only have to add them to your watchlist?__
JR: Bands and artists who raise enough finance (through sale of 'backstage passes') will record and release an album. Investors have the option to buy contracts in the artist, which are effectively tradeable bets on the success of the album (i.e. the more copies sold, the more these contracts are worth). These contracts can then be traded on an exchange, with shrewd investment leading to profit.
Anyone can buy contracts in an artist, but those who originally bought a backstage pass can buy them at a discounted rate - another reward for investing in the artist.
Essentially, Slicethepie has two kinds of users (scouts/reviewers and investors), who make money in the two different ways described above, although these are not mutually exclusive: scouts are obviously free to invest as well and vice versa.
