Song Backer is a crowdfunding platform dedicated to the YouTube cover video. Fans can back musicians and request songs, with the goal of funding the production of a music video featuring those requests. When the pledge threshold is reached, the artist is paid immediately through PayPal, after Song Backer takes a 15% cut. The site […]

Concerts in Your Home has a slogan: “Living rooms were made for live music.” Judging by the recent resurgence in home-hosted shows, they’re right on. The site features a rich suite of tools for both hosts and musicians. Since these are living rooms after all, acceptable music genres tend toward acoustic singer/songwriter, and for those […]

Many have tried and failed to make crowdfunded concerts a reality. It’s a tough nut to crack. Rabbl seems to have the best shot yet at getting the concept off the ground. The New York Times likes it, and so do we. Their site has a polished user interface, with all the right functionality. They […]

Soundhalo is the premiere live show digital delivery platform. Used by many high-profile artists, the platform is undeniably professional and polished. Live video syncs to multiple devices, and quality is consistently top-notch. Not only does Soundhalo deliver the live experience, it archives show video as well, so users can always return to favorites or catch […]

Flattr is the premiere tipping platform for creators, and facilitates gratuities for a 10% cut. Supporters use the system budget an amount that’s divvied up each month to the folks they “Flattr”. This ensures that a regular stream of tips are distributed to creative entrepreneurs everywhere, every month. Flattr wants to become the “Tweet” button […]

Kickstarter is at the forefront of the crowd funding revolution. For a 5% fee (plus processing fees of 3-5%), Kickstarter provides a great platform for raising interest in funding your project. The list of successes is too long to mention — sites like Kickstarter are increasingly the way creative works are financed. As of this […]

Ustream is one of the leading live video streaming platforms. Their ad-supported free plan gives a generous amount of storage has extremely limited storage, so you’ll have to download and make your own archive. Ustream has a rich feature set and a user-friendly interface. They’ve been around quite a while, so the platform is mature […]

IndieGogo is part of the leading pack of crowd funding platforms for creators. The main differentiation from Kickstarter and Pledge Music is their flexible funding and pricing structure. You don’t have to raise 100% of your goal, but they’ll take a different commission rate if you fall short. Or you can choose to raise a […]

NoiseTrade’s novel approach to empowering the 21st century musician: enabling revenue streams while embracing free music. The premise is simple. Musicians upload a bunch of music, make it available to stream for free and put up a pay-what-you-want “tip jar” in front of the free download. NoiseTrade offers attractive artist landing pages and embeddable widgets. […]