An interesting partnership was announced between Sellaband and Amazon in the UK. While not yet in full operation, Amazon plans to have a dedicated store featuring the 50 top-reviewed Sellaband acts’ CDs available for £8.99 and revenues will be shared equally between the artists, Sellaband and supporting fans. I’ll be keeping a close watch to see how this evolution of the Sellaband concept progresses and the major labels’ reactions.

[...] Music 2007 It’s been a tough year to be in the music industry. Sales of the labels bread and butter products – CDs, cassettes LPs etc. – have fallen 15% in the U.S in 2007. Consumers are spending more on other forms of entertainment such as DVDs and video games. Even artists are shunning the major labels. Madonna signed a huge deal with a concert promoter, Prince gave out copies of his CD with a newspaper, Paul McCartney decided to work with Starbucks and Radiohead released “In Rainbows” for free on the internet. Other obvious pressures include file-sharing, the rise of Apple as a giant in one of the only growth segments of the industry and emerging online competitors such as Sellaband and thesixtyone. [...]