There are a number of competing online and D.I.Y. fan to artist financing systems, and perhaps the most popular Slicethepie just hit a milestone as volunteer "scouts" submitted their millionth review.
Scouts on Slicethepie are invited to review a random selection of anonymous tracks - with artist and track name hidden...
and rate them out of ten. After each track has received 50 reviews, the top 2% of artists go through to the next phase and are given the opportunity to raise £15,000 financing for an album. Over 50,000 'scouts' currently operate on Slicethepie and are paid between 1p and 5p per review depending on the accuracy of their reviews.
Slicethepie says the review system has proven effective - after 50 reviews, a track’s average score always falls within a 5% range, regardless of who participates or how many times the same track is submitted. As a result, a number of artists consistently fall in the top 2%.
Slicethepie launched in June of 2007, and so far 16 artists have shared over £250,000 raised from fans and investors. With over 1,000,000 reviews completed, the site's 'scouts' have collectively earned over £50,000.
