> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.hypebot.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Why Matthew Ebel Is Leaving SellaBand - URL: https://www.hypebot.com/why-matthew-ebel-is-leaving-sellaband/ - Published: 2010-03-04T08:12:00.000Z - Updated: 2010-03-04T08:12:00.000Z - Description: Last week's bankruptcy and resurrection of fan to artist funding site SellaBand caused many to take a closer look at the model. Indie artist Matthew Ebel, familiar to Hypebot readers. Continue reading [https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2010/03/why-matthew-ebel-is-leaving-sellaband.html] - Author: Bruce Houghton - Tags: DIY Advice & Tips, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-01-21 11:03 *[![image from www.hypebot.com](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201310f60da0d970c-250wi "image from www.hypebot.com")](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201310f60da0d970c-popup?ref=hypebot.com) Last week's [bankruptcy](https://www.hypebot.com/sellaband-issues-statement-on-bankruptcy/) and [resurrection ](https://www.hypebot.com/sellaband-saved-may-be-back-online-today/)of fan to artist funding site [SellaBand](https://www.hypebot.com/sellaband-saved-may-be-back-online-today/) caused many to take a closer look at the model. Indie artist *[Matthew Ebel](http://matthewebel.com/?ref=hypebot.com),* familiar to Hypebot readers for his success [selling subscriptions](https://www.hypebot.com/building-his-career-from-the-basement-up/) to his streamed basement concerts, has decided to pull out of SellaBand entirely. While this guest post shares Ebel's story, there's a broader message about the cost of putting anyone between an artist and their fans.* [![image from llcdn.myxer.com](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e20120a8fa15e5970b-120wi "image from llcdn.myxer.com")](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e20120a8fa15e5970b-pi?ref=hypebot.com) A modern artist really doesn’t *need* microfinancing of any kind. Especially micro- financing that’s badly managed to the point of declaring bankruptcy. The easiest way to cover this is a simple comparison between **Sellaband** and my own subscription service, [**Matthew Ebel dot net**](http://matthewebel.net/?ref=hypebot.com). Of course, by “my subscription service”, I mean “what any artist can offer direct to their fans”. | What Sellaband Offers | [Matthew Ebel dot net](http://matthewebel.net/?ref=hypebot.com) | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Artists can ask their fans for album funding. | I get funding directly from my fans on a monthly/yearly basis. | | Believers are promised one new album once $15k (or whatever) is reached, if ever. | I already give my subscribers [2 new songs](http://matthewebel.net/subscribe?ref=hypebot.com), fully produced, every single month. | | If the target is ever reached, an artist can hire a professional studio, engineer, and producer. | For as little as $5,000 I can buy better equipment *and* hire a professional engineer in my *own* studio.[1](#foot1) | | If the target is ever reached, believers get one album (retail value $10) from their artist. | Every year my subscribers get one or two albums’ worth of new material and, depending on [the subscription level](http://matthewebel.net/subscribe?ref=hypebot.com), stickers, mugs, shirts, etc. | | Sellaband holds onto believers’ money until the artist’s goal is reached, if ever. If they disappear, so does the money. | Subscribers’ money goes directly into better studio equipment, goodies for the [annual goodie bags](http://matthewebel.net/subscribe?ref=hypebot.com), the annual [Beer Bash](http://matthewebel.net/subscribe?ref=hypebot.com), touring, rent, food, etc. with no one holding the money hostage. | | Sellaband charges a percentage to handle the money, on top of anything PayPal takes. | PayPal is the only middle man taking a cut, and even that may change soon. | | Believers may, if the artist allows, share in revenue generated from the album if it is ever produced. | Subscribers can use [affiliate links](http://matthewebel.net/affiliates?ref=hypebot.com) to share in revenue from referrals for as long as they stay subscribed. | I’m sure there are other comparisons to make, but frankly this was enough for me. What it all boils down to is one simple equation: **If every fan who bought a Part via Sellaband spent the same money on a [Matthew Ebel dot net](http://matthewebel.net/?ref=hypebot.com) subscription instead, I would be able to make much better music and they would get music and goodies immediately.** This is true for any artist, not just me. It’s why I’m leaving Sellaband, and it’s why I think artists should take a much more critical look at micro-financing schemes before jumping on board with them. > 1 – Don’t ask “what if I don’t own a studio?” All of the gear I use right now, including the MacBook, cost me less than $6,000 and some of it is unnecessary for a band on a budget. I recorded “Beer & Coffee” in a dining room with Apple’s Garageband and “Goodbye Planet Earth” in my bedroom. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Why I Am Leaving Sellaband", url: "http://matthewebel.com/main/2010/03/01/why-i-am-leaving-sellaband/" });