D.I.Y.

ReverbNation Launches ‘Music For Good’ Downloads For Charities Program

Music For Good. ReverbNation_s program that allows musicians to sell music while supporting a cause_20130306_132622 "Do well by doing good," is by no means a new business concept (Newman's Own, Tom's Shoes, Stonyfield Farms, etc.). But with the exception perhaps of Bono's broader (RED) shopping for charity site, it's not one that's been tested on any grand scale by the music industry. As of today, however, ReverbNation is putting the axiom to the test on behalf of independent artists with its new offering, "Music For Good".

UPDATE: Since quietly launching the platform in late December, 2012, over 50,000
artists are selling tracks and supporting charities using the program.


Under the program, musicians selling downloads on ReverbNation can choose a charity to receive a major portion of the profits of their download sales. On a $1.29 download 56 cents goes to non-profit, 56 cents to the artist, 12 cents to PayPal in transaction fees and 5 cents to ReverbNation.

"ReverbNation's
mission is to give musicians all the tools they need to compete, cooperate, and
differentiate in the new music economy," ReverbNation president Jed Carlson told Hypebot. "Being able to tie the sale of
their music to a shared cause gives their fans a new reason to engage with
them, and a new reason to buy their music."

image from gp1.wac.edgecastcdn.net

Thirteen charities are currently beneficiaries including CARE, Heifer International, charity:water, The Fender Music Foundation, Zac Brown's Camp Southern Ground, Sweet Relief and Oxfam.


Will Music For Good Work?image from lovehopestrength.org

Will artists sell more downloads? Will ReverbNation gain more fan traffic? Will the 5 cents per download plus increased user loyalty add up to enough to make this philanthropic experiment worthwhile? 

I'll be watching and telling you what I see, but admit to hoping that it works. In fact, I hope that it works so well that every music company is encouraged or even embarrassed into finding their own ways to "do well by doing good".  

Learn more and sign up here.

Music For Good. ReverbNation_s program that allows musicians to sell music while supporting a cause_20130306_132622

Bruce Houghton on 03/06/2013 in D.I.Y. | Permalink | Comments (15)
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15 Comments

  2. ReverbNation suck. They charge for services you don’t ask for unless you unsubscribe to them (of course it’s almost hidden, so you’re charged. Don’t give them your credit card number, you’re going to lose money).
    Then look at their website : myspace feeling…
    Musicians don’t need that kind of service, and the industry doesn’t need musicians, so who cares about rn ?
    Do you really care about the Rn business model ? A place where musicians follow musicians… Come on, it’s out dated for a while…
    Many new services far more interesting out there, don’t you think ?

  3. “Many new services far more interesting out there, don’t you think ?”
    This is precisely why musicians make terrible business people. They make decisions based on what they think is interesting/cool, instead of what works from a marketing perspective (not saying Reverb works, just that this is a common mentality amongst musicians).

  4. @L,
    I am disappointed that you had a negative experience with us. Post your reverb profile URL to this thread and I will reach out to your email on file to resolve any issues.
    -Neal Moody
    Senior Support Manager
    ReverbNation

  5. Afraid I tried to resolve the issue with you but it didn’t work. It seems you’ve got rules you can’t change when we’ve been charged for services we didn’t need.
    No use for me to deal with you again. Of course I’m a little bit angry about what happened, on the other hand I really didn’t like the way you managed it all. Come on, charging for services we don’t ask only because we gave you our credit card number for some promo campaign.
    I clearly encourage anybody there not to deal with you.

  6. Its your decision, I suppose. Happy to help if you change your mind. All you need to do is post your Reverb URL to this thread and I will reach out to you personally.

  7. It’s not about my decision but about the way you “promote” your services. First you send a “free” promo for a one month fan reach pro, so most people don’t care, but what is not obvious is you enter the account for a fanreach pro account then charge for it after the first month. Of course I’ve been surprised to discover this on my bank account.
    Of course after that it’s too late for you to refund my account for a service I never asked for. And I’m sure you’re going to tell me I had to read the small sentence at the bottom of the email to avoid that kind of situation.
    Note I, of course, don’t have a ReverbNation anymore, of course. Deleted it for a while, now. Useless scam.

  10. I would be more hopeful if Hypebot posts about good causes got more traffic but now I just post such news as a public service.
    I’ve also noticed that when you post about cause-oriented music projects they rarely retweet or respond afterwards. So maybe ReverbNation can help them cut through some of the cause-oriented cluelessness about marketing on the web.

  12. This is a great new product to add to their already robust offering. I also especially love the fact that they’ve taken the time to work out all the legal issues with charities so that young bands can actually do some good! Every song in my bands catalog is currently up for sale through this. Good stuff!!

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