Two sites in particular help fans fund albums, the hope is to have the fanbase generate revenue and pay for production costs, something that in the past the Labels used to do.

With CD sales declining and labels whining, it might seem crazy to view recorded music as fertile ground for investment. But for thousands of fans-turned-music-investors on SellaBand and Slicethepie, it makes perfect sense to gamble on a favorite band’s future. “I don’t see anything wrong with the music industry in terms of artists being discovered, financed and released,” said Slicethepie founder David Courtier-Dutton. “The problem is [the labels'] economic model. It just costs way too much money to get to the point where they find whether or not anyone likes the music.”