Set to revolutionise the way music fans interact with the industry they support and the way brand new artists break into the mainstream, MyMajorCompany launches in the UK on October 21st. MyMajorCompany is a new record label that will give music fans a voice and allow them to choose which artist to launch, supporting them financially and artistically from the very start.

A truly unique model that has already been a huge success in France, MyMajorCompany is vastly different and superior to all other fan-funded platforms. It will give internet users and music fans the ability to invest in the career of the label’s artists, get involved at every stage throughout their development and retain a share of the profit generated by the release campaign following their launch.

“There are more and more talented new artists looking for a recording deal and less and less record labels inclined to take the risk of investing,” explains MMC founder and CEO Michael Goldman. “The web has developed amazing opportunities for creativity and music culture for an entire generation, but at the same time has substantially reduced the options for this talent to access the market. My Major Company provides a system that allows all these young artists to exist.”

Unlike other artist investment sites, users will not be required to trawl through thousands of bands to find one they want to support, nor will the total investment be used for an unspecified or one-off purpose. As with traditional record labels, MyMajorCompany has its own A&R department responsible for finding and presenting the best new acts in the UK to the public. MyMajorCompany’s A&R team are all hugely established names within the industry and have worked with and signed some of the biggest acts in music over the last two decades. Having spent months travelling the country, seeing artists play and listening to demos to find acts to sign to MyMajorCompany, they have ensured that internet users can then be presented with only the very best unsigned artists. From that selection, fans can then choose which band to invest in – be it £10, £100 or up to £1000 – and start to get involved with their development from that point.

Crucially, this is the first time ever that web investors have been given the opportunity to invest in their favourite act alongside the record label, guaranteeing that each artist has the chance at a long term career rather than simply asking fans to help fund a one-off project or tour. Each artist must achieve £100,000 investment from fans, regardless of how long it takes, and this money is then used to properly launch the act into the mainstream including recording, mixing and promoting an album. Investors can of course take their money out at any point leading up to that threshold being reached, or even switch their money to another act if they choose. Once the act is launched successfully, MyMajorCompany then has the funds to carry on the campaign with its own money just as a major record label would. It is a real record company with the structure, strategy and staff to create successful artists, all overseen by a team of industry professionals with vast experience working with internationally renowned artists.

“The model takes into account the amazing and endless opportunities offered to this new generation of artists but at the same time it takes a realistic approach to the professional needs which are and will always be required to support the artists work and promote it to the consumer. This requires creative but also logistic added value. MMC offers both,” says internationally renowned music industry executive Paul-Rene Albertini, ex-Chairman and CEO of Warner Music International and now CEO of MyMajorCompany in the UK.

For investors, the strategy has several unique benefits, not least that it gives them a chance to see a real return on their investment and make money once an album has been released. As Goldman says: “With the MMC model which is based on peoples’ support, if the artists are good, success becomes a formality.” MyMajorCompany also gives genuine fans the chance to truly participate in an artist’s career and get involved in their development. Each investor will be able to access the artist’s schedule and every detail of the forthcoming album launch and can comment or ask questions about every aspect of it. At MyMajorCompany, a team of dedicated community managers will communicate with investors and fans, answering each and every question and relaying information from the band about what will happen next, from marketing strategies to details of new producers and songs. Investment allows real, genuine participation with both the label and the artist to ensure every launch and subsequent success is truly a team effort.

Investors need only to look to France to see just how successfully this model works. MyMajorCompany was launched there in 2008 by three major label A&Rs who passionately believed there must be a better way – for both artist and audience – to launch new acts into the mainstream. Within a year, MMC had successfully launched their first artist, Gregoire, who has since gone on to sell one million albums and is now working on his second release with the label. Those who had initially invested in him saw a return of almost 20 times their initial stake with an incredible 118,000 Euros being paid to one investor alone. Released in January, Joyce Jonathan had already reached Gold status by March 2010.

More recently an artist named Alex Kassel joined the platform and raised the necessary 100,000 Euro in just nine days. His single was playlisted on one of France’s most influential radio stations within four weeks of him appearing on the site and he is currently recording his album and will tour later this year. In less than a month, this unknown artist has become one of the hottest new artist in France as the MMC label was ready and waiting to implement a full marketing strategy almost immediately.

MyMajorCompany France now has 28 fully financed artists with a community of 98,500 registered users. It has also recently launched MMC Books, which already has three fully funded authors now working on their debut publication. The company launched its UK Label on October 21st and will then expand across Europe and internationally over the next twelve months.

With some of the most exciting new acts in Britain set to feature on their roster, the label offers something completely unique and very exciting to both investors and the artists alike. It may well be about to change the future of the music industry forever. 

For further info about how it works and to hear the artist roster please go to www.mymajorcompany.co.uk