SOUNDRABBIT'S BACKSTAGE COMMUNITY

Radiohead says "name your price." Prince gives a new album away for free. Label execs make a grab at artist merchandise and touring revenues. The industry is turned upside down, and major labels and their artists are throwing anything at the wall to see if it will stick.

And in the midst of this maelstrom, along comes a small independent band from Boulder to try their hand at creating a business model that benefits fans, bands, and society as a whole. The premise is simple, but revolutionary. To our knowledge, SoundRabbit is the only band on the planet running this particular model.

HOW IS THE BACKSTAGE COMMUNITY DIFFERENT FROM A TYPICAL FAN CLUB?
While most bands have "fan communities," the Backstage Community is different in two very important ways:

I. The Backstage Community is the whole enchilada, not just the "extras."
When a fan signs up to be a Backstage member, he/she receives every single music release available during the period of the membership - new albums, old albums, live recordings, etc. A great example of the access provided to fans occured in early 2009, when SoundRabbit completed their sophomore album, Tree Trunk Airplanes. The band posted the entire album to the Backstage for download within 2 hours of the final studio mastering being finished; so quickly, in fact, that two of the band members actually got their own copies of the album from the Backstage website. There were fans who had the album before the band members themselves. Other Backstage Member goodies include

• All studio album releases for download
• Live recordings for download
• "Backstage Session" recordings made exclusively for Members
• Real-time studio journal with band updates on recording
• Real-time road journal with band updates on tour
• One-on-one video drum lessons with SoundRabbit's drummer
• One-on-one video guitar and piano lessons with SoundRabbit members
• Videos from tours and shows
• Personal blogs from each of the SoundRabbit members
• Community forum board
• Photo galleries
• Lyrics and guitar tabs
• Upcoming events listings before they're announced publicly
• VIP guest list invitations for Members
• Lists of charitable donations and events

SoundRabbit realized early on that by generating residual revenues from Membership renewals, they could make the Backstage an engine for charitable contributions. Other revenue sources like merchandise sales, ticket sales, and iTunes sales that are traditionally the bread-and-butter income for a band can instead be leveraged for charitable causes. The financial support of the Backstage members allows the band to donate time and money to charities in ways that artists locked in the traditional industry model cannot.

What charities have been supported by the Backstage Community?

Since fully launching the Backstage Program just over a year ago, SoundRabbit has donated thousands of dollars and many hours of service to causes including

• American Cancer Society
• Alternative Spring Break: Panama
• Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of America
• Colorado Coalition For The Homeless
• Habitat For Humanity
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
• EcoCycle
• Ratna Prison Initiative
• Make A Wish Foundation
• The March of Dimes
• Susan G. Komen Foundation (Breast Cancer)
• National Kidney Foundation
• RMJ Volunteers of Haiti

To support us with a Backstage membership, visit RBTBackstage.com. Thanks in advance!