Public Enemy Ask Fans to Raise Money for New Album

Times are hard, so it's no surprise that artists need help delivering their masterpieces to the masses. Public Enemy are reaching out to fans via Sellaband to help them fund the recording of their upcoming album.

Public Enemy recently signed a deal with Sellaband -- the Amsterdam-based music community website created to allow fans to become directly involved in a band's recording/output process -- and hope to raise up to $250,000 to cover forthcoming recording expenses.

"SellaBand's financial engine model goes about restructuring the music business in reverse," PE frontman Chuck D explained. "It starts with fans first, then the artists create from there. The music business is built on searching for fans and this is a brand new way for acts to create a new album with fans first, already on board."

What do Sellaband/fans get out of this deal? Fans who donate funds for the project will be considered "investors" in the album and will receive a share of the album's revenue (not profit), along with a copy of the as-yet-untitled CD.