Get a slice of the action

By Chris Barnes
published

Legendary guitar maker Gibson is supporting a revolutionary new website where bands are funded by fans.

Slicethepie.com, the website that enables the financing of new music by enabling music fans to run their own record label, recently announced an innovative partnership with Gibson Guitar. A fan driven search for the best UK Guitar Band has been launched with the most promising act receiving a classic Gibson Les Paul guitar as well as securing £15,000 funding to record and market their album.

Launched in June 2007, Slicethepie is a web-based financing engine for the music industry that connects artists in search of funding with fans and investors who want to get involved in the music industry by scouting, breaking and investing in new artists. So far the site has financed 16 acts, with Greenwich quartet The Alps being the first to release their debut album 'Something I Might Regret' in March this year.

Slicethepie is fast becoming one of the major sources of financing for unsigned artists, having recently announced they are set to finance more artists in 2008 than EMI, Sony BMG and Warner achieved in the UK last year.

Chris Barnes
Chris Barnes

I'm MusicRadar's eCommerce Editor. In addition to testing the latest music gear, with a particular focus on electronic drums, it's my job to manage the 300+ buyer's guides on MusicRadar and help musicians find the right gear for them at the best prices. I dabble with guitar, but my main instrument is the drums, which I have been playing for 24 years. I've been a part of the music gear industry for 20 years, including 7 years as Editor of the UK's best-selling drum magazine Rhythm, and 5 years as a freelance music writer, during which time I worked with the world's biggest instrument brands including Roland, Boss, Laney and Natal.