Idefi Launches As “All Access Record Label” With Confusing Approach
Idefi launched out of beta this month as an "all access record label" but it's really more of an ecommerce and related services company. For DIY artists that may be just the thing but Idefi undermines itself with a complicated system for actually getting services beyond sales on the site. Artists have a lot of control over what happens and can end the relationship at any point but the confusing system raises some concerns.
I guess this is my week to give people a hard time but I do try to give new ideas the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately Idefi has certain problems that are hard to ignore.
[Note: Founder Brady Deaton shares a thoughtful response in the comments.]
Basically you set up an account, decide what percentage Idefi gets with the option of 0% and then you can sell your music on the platform. So you can just use it as another outlet to sell your music without being charged fees. There's no mention of transaction fees but I'd suggest double checking on that if you take a closer look.
When you sign up you're immediately faced with the decision of what percentage to give Idefi and this is where it gets confusing. I did not complete the registration process so there may be more info available later but everything up to that point is explained here.
Beyond sales on the platform Idefi offers a number of services from distribution to artist development to next album production. You earn points based on your sales and what percentage of sales you give to Idefi:
"You get to choose the amount of each sale you keep and which part goes to idefi. This decision directly affects the rewards points and works like this:"
- 15% to idefi, 85% to you = 0 rewards points
- 25% to idefi, = 75% to you = .5 Point per $1
- 50% to idefi, 50% to you = 1 Point per $1
- 75% to idefi, 25% to you = 1.5 Points per $1
- 100% to idefi, 0% to you = 2 Points per $1 (this will be setup as a button that allows you to "crowdsource" your fans to get to that next level)
On the same page they break down the services offered and the amount of points. It's initially confusing but as the cobwebs clear it also means that you can only get services if you sell a certain amount.
If that resonates with your spirit of independence, then I'd suggest contacting them to clarify the details for what would actually happen if you got the points and then got the services.
Here's an interview with CEO Brady Deaton. He makes it sound pretty good but here's my other concern about Idefi:
Would you want to be promoted by a company who failed to successfully promote their own crowdfunding campaign?
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (Twitter/App.net) blogs about music crowdfunding at Crowdfunding For Musicians (@CrowdfundingM). To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
what a nasty blog post.
Not really. Given what I think about this project, I was incredibly kind.
I admit I’ve occasionally been nasty in the comments when dealing with people who are quite nasty themselves.
But I haven’t been nasty in any of my posts on Hypebot. People really have no idea what I could say.
Here’s an example just for reference about no one in particular:
“This nonsense is a clusterfuck headed to a FAIL.”
Now THAT would be nasty. And even though I’ve thought that more than once about various companies, I’ve never said anything that harsh in a post on this blog.
But you have helped me to realize that I shouldn’t be apologetic or couch my criticisms the way I did in this post. It’s all honest but I should just say straight up what I think and leave it at that.
That said, I probably should have been harsher in this post.
Well, it’s up to you. Your blog.
It just sounds a bit like you’re slamming a start-up because you didn’t get their model and they didn’t have a successful crowd-funding campaign.
Technically speaking, it’s not my blog. But I do post a lot here and am one of the main writers.
I do get their model. I’m just saying it’s presented in a confusing manner. That means people are unlikely to use it. Which is bad for a business.
Also, a lot of those services musicians need in order to get sales. But they only get points once they have sales so it becomes kind of a Catch 22.
A smarter approach would be to just go ahead and offer the services at a fair price and maybe come up with some service bundles with a discount. That’s just one possibility that would make it easier for musicians to evaluate Idefi given that they already have a wide range of options for accomplishing all these things.
I mean, a really wide range of options. From tested companies.
Regarding the crowdfunding campaign, record label A&Rs are already looking at crowdfunding campaigns to evaluate artists to see if they have marketing savvy and a fanbase.
It only makes sense to evaluate a company that includes promotional services in their offerings and whose basic product is an ecommerce platform by how they market their own company.
Given that they got a little over $500 with a $20,000 goal is quite damning. Honestly, if they had sense, they would have pledged some of their own money via individuals associated with the company at the beginning to give them a stronger start.
If I had investors or enough money to put a company like this together, I’d certainly seed the pot at the beginning. And if it looked like a FAIL, I would put a bunch of money in and consider the fee IndieGoGo takes as a marketing expense.
Plenty of big artists are rumored to have done a similar thing with album sales. They buy a bunch of albums at outlets that are part of the Soundscan system the first week to boost sales.
Because having a #1 album is a huge validation, it’s just another marketing expense for people that are already spending huge amounts of money on videos and advertising and the like.
Does that sound more reasonable?
hmm…an all about the money model that just highlights the record label reality of “make us more money and we’ll try to give you the time of day. Also, we’ll give you more services when you make more money so that WE can make even MORE money!” Have you looked at their artists page? I hope your band name starts with an “A” because there’s no way of discovering you unless I really love scrolling through pages. Personally, I would be scared to give a company any money when they haven’t built an optimized site using best practices in digital marketing and UI/UX. Sorry to be “harsh” but this is a bit amateur compared to the suite of DIY sites and services out there. They can definitely make it work, but they have a long way to go…
Guys, thanks for the feedback. idefi is currently a minimal viable product and we are indeed still a startup working towards full funding.
The goal behind this model is to allow all musicians access to the services and support of a record label without contracts or recoupment for the label’s investment. Our goal is to level the playing field and provide a pathway for any artist to have a sustainable career and the freedom to do what they want when they want.
I like the idea of buying services because that would be the easy route for us. I am however concerned about artists buying a distribution package for example, who…how can I say this without being harsh? Suck! That puts us in the position of distributing and promoting unproven and poor quality artist.
The points system (which I agree is confusing as it stands, once funded we will smooth all of that out and come up with some simple, catchy names for the points and levels) allows the artist to earn points and income while being laid out like a marketing plan for a traditional release.
You mentioned that labels are looking at fan interaction via crowd funding to make decisions. What better way to do this than points per sale? People vote with their dollars and unlike a traditional label we don’t give you a “loan” to be paid back in full before we pay royalties. On idefi the artist earn royalties on each sale from day 1.
We have many upgrades and tools yet to be unveiled but we wanted to get the basic site out there and get feedback and be able to utilize that feedback as we build. It is a lot cheaper to build based on your feedback them spend a million dollars on something nobody likes.
If you have more feedback please feel free to email me directly: brady@idefimusic.com
Thanks for taking the time to write this entry Clyde. This type of thing really helps us as we continue to develop idefi.com
Brady Deaton
CEO idefi Group LLC
Thanks for your considered remarks. I’ll make a note in the post that you’ve responded.
Sorry about getting into the other stuff in the comments. I have a bad habit of pushing back when it’s probably not necessary.
Thanks Clyde and seriously if you get more questions, comments or suggestions please forward them to me.