Popcuts is a new site that has a unique business model for its users. The approach essentially rewards trendsetters for spotting new music that later becomes popular. Let’s say you buy a song you like soon after the artist uploads it for the industry standard 99 cents; as it becomes popular you are rewarded for being an early fan and consumer. The credit you receive for your trend spotting is dependent on the point you jump on the bandwagon.
The site currently boasts a paltry library of 700 songs, but artists are encouraged to upload their own content and Popcuts only takes between 10-20% of the revenue. Another issue is that the only payment option is in credit for more song purchases from the site. The top three earners on the site have amassed a combined fortune of almost $40. Time will tell how successful this model becomes, especially among the many music recommendation sites, but it’s certainly an interesting approach to reward early fans for driving more people to particular artists.
[via USA Today]
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There was a push called &ldquolWeed” several years ago which followed the same concept. A customer bought a song and would get a cut anytime someone bought his copy, a smaller cut when that customer sold the song, and maybe one more link on the chain.
Here’s a Wired article from 2004 discussing it.
September 4th, 2008 at 6:15 pm