Unsigned bands get paid with We7 and reach new audiences

Aug 20, 2007

Since launching its beta site earlier this year, We7.com has been distributing its first royalty cheques to unsigned acts across the UK.

The ad-funded music download service - backed by digital music pioneer, Peter Gabriel - has received an unprecedented response to its TasteMakers challenge with thousand of bands signing up to showcase their music to peers. As a result of this peer review system, top new acts such as Public Symphony, The Doppler Shift, and Red Eyes of Russia are already cashing their first royalty payments and Glastonbury performers Big Strides have also released their catalogue on the site.

TasteMakers is the We7 community created to review and decide which new music makes the grade to feature on www.we7.com. Everybody who signs up to We7 has the option to become a TasteMaker and with more than 50,000 early registrations, it's fast becoming one of the most popular features of the site.

The benefit to unsigned acts is two-fold; it allows their fans to download music for free to create a loyal fan-base, but the artists earn money for their tracks by the innovative use of adverts. One of the first bands to break through in TasteMakers was Doppler Shift who has seen a phenomenal success since uploading their music.

Matt Chapman of the band comments "WE7.com has been a great resource for The Doppler Shift as it's provided an opportunity for our fans to download our music completely free, without our pockets suffering! For most new bands, it's pretty much impossible to make any money in the early days, but TasteMakers has allowed us to make money and still keep the fans happy. It's also allowed us to reach out to new fans that might not have heard of The Doppler Shift before now, but have heard of us through TasteMakers. We7.com and TasteMakers will become the home of great unsigned music in months to come and something that every new band should think about."

It's not just unsigned artists that can make the most of TasteMakers. Smaller independent labels such as Monumental Management are using We7 as a platform to widen the fan base of their big act of the summer, Big Strides. Having played at Glastonbury's Avalon stage, Big Strides are on the path to fame but believe that sites such as www.we7.com can play a big part in this process.

Brett Leboff, MD of Monumental Management which manages the band comments "We7.com has proved a great platform for Big Strides in reaching out to fans who might not have come across us just yet, and with free music to boot it's definitely something we're excited about. We've had a great response so far and it's really helping us build an online buzz about the band."

Steve Purdham, We7 Founder Investor & CEO adds: "Our TasteMaker Challenge has created a real buzz in our every increasing community. The ability to personally review new music and bands is crucial in giving community ownership in deciding what music is good and should earn the right to be available for everyone to hear. We're thrilled to see so many great unsigned acts such as Public Symphony, The Doppler Shift and Big Strides chose our site to showcase their talent and hopefully aid their careers. The We7 offering is unique because everybody wins - signed and unsigned artists get paid, fans get free music and advertisers get audiences."