To Finance Next Recording Via SellaBand Fan Funding Engine
New York, NY (October 6, 2009) — Iconic hip hop group Public Enemy leads a new revolution in the music business as it announces a partnership with SellaBand.com to finance the recording of their next album through fan funding.  The venture brings together two leading forces in independent music to take a powerful step into the future by offering artists control over their own music and giving them the ability to record without artistic or commercial constraints of traditional record companies. 
Pubic Enemy is the first established act to sign up with SellaBand, which has found great success with independent artists since its European launch in 2006.  SellaBand will facilitate the fan funding process for Public Enemy's new album. The band is aiming to raise $250,000 in increments of $25.00. Fans will not only receive an exclusive, numbered copy of the album but will also share in the revenues from this upcoming recording.  "SellaBand's financial engine model goes about restructuring the music business in reverse," says PE frontman Chuck D.  "It starts with fans first, then the artists create from there.  The music business is built on searching for fans and this is a brand new way for acts to create a new album with fans first, already on board."
Longtime champions of self-ownership of music and marketing as well as direct interaction with their fans, Public Enemy see the partnership as a natural evolution of their philosophy about the business of music. Public Enemy was one of the very first acts to release music on MP3, frontman Chuck D is a pioneer in artists rights and artist-owned record labels and his own SLAMJamz Records was launched as an Internet-based label, releasing MP3-only singles by artists as far back as 2001.
Already successful in Europe, this venture not only marks the first time SellaBand will work with a well-known act, it also signals their official entry into the US market.  It reflects the company's continued growth and dedication to fostering independent music around the globe.  "Our goal is to empower the artist and their fans, both creatively and commercially," says SellaBand CEO Johan Vosmeijer.  "Working with Public Enemy is an incredibly exciting way to take the European success we've built over the past three years and offer it to stateside bands."
About Public Enemy:
Public Enemy's musical style and incendiary delivery have earned them critical acclaim and millions of fans throughout their career, Public Enemy continues to blaze musical and technological trails with new songs and new media, pulling rap music into the future, all while keeping its musical roots firmly intact.  Public Enemy transcends the confines of rap and pop music, remaining one of the African American community's most important messengers, digital music's greatest champions, and a rare rap group whose lyrics are dedicated to analyzing, uplifting and empowering all of humanity.  At the close of 1999, The New York Times named Public Enemy's music to their list of the "25 Most Significant Albums of the Last Century" and in May 2005 The US government's Library of Congress included Fear of a Black Planet in a list of 50 recordings worthy of preserving in the National Recording Registry.  Rolling Stone magazine called the group one of the fifty greatest artists of all time, and in 1999 Vanity Fair profiled the group in their Icons of Rock special section. Spin magazine chose two PE albums for their "100 Greatest Albums (1985-2005)" list, with It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back coming in at #2 and Fear of a Black Planet at #21.  The numbers that reflect their extraordinary career are staggering: The band has embarked on over 56 tours, performing over 1300 concerts to fans in 45 countries.  Three albums are certified multi-platinum, three more are gold, with four gold singles and a platinum-selling home video.
About SellaBand:
"SellaBand is based in Amsterdam, the creative capital of Europe. Since its launch in August 2006, SellaBand has coordinated recording sessions for 34 artists or acts who had their albums funded by their fans. Over $3,000,000 has been invested in independent bands via www.sellaband.com. With SellaBand, artists retain complete ownership of the works created and have  the flexibility to determine which incentives they will offer their fans who fund them. SellaBand's fan funding engine also allows artists the freedom to enter into deals with any label, management company, or publisher and there are no advances to pay back. Artists maintain control over their career and have 100% freedom to create the music that they want to create.  SellaBand can also be utlized by management companies, record labels, publishers, sponsors and media companies to fund projects for their own artists while also building the core fan base required to launch an artist or take them to the next stage of their career.
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For further information, please contact:
Jolyn Matsumuro
The Brookes Company
Jolyn(at)brookescompany.com
(310) 558-3000 x202
