With the music industry in apparent transition/ turmoil (delete as appropriate) a number of new business models have sprung up that apparently side-step the record label middle-man and give all the power back to the artist. Fresh Deer Meat has been intrigued by the onset of websites such as Slice The Pie and Sellaband in recent months, so when a new site associated with the mainstream A&R guys at B-Unique Records launched in the UK earlier this month we decided to investigate further.

We sat down with Andrew Lewis founder of Bandstocks.com to discuss innovation in the music business and whether fan-funded models of this nature (where fans essentially buy shares in artist's albums) are the future.

FDM : Tell us why you have decided to set-up Bandstocks.com? Do you think that the current set-up gives new artists a raw deal?

Andrew Lewis (Bandstocks.com) : What seems to be happening is that there is a new feeding frenzy every month or so to sign the one artist that ticks all the right boxes when five or more labels all compete for the same artist. These are the ones that the labels expect to have a platinum plus record first time off and these are the ones that get all the record company attention. To pick a current example, Iglu and Hartly typifies the kind of act that ticks these boxes and were hotly fought over earlier this year. Without passing any comment on their art, the reality is that they got the attention they got from record companies because a lot of people thought they could have a platinum album before Christmas - maybe they will.

What this means though is that a lot of great artists who maybe aren't heading for platinum first time round don't sit very well within the major record company system and although there are still a few good and successful independents, many small independents are struggling to pay the bills. So it is hard at the moment for a lot of really good artists to find the right record company that is going to allow them the space to develop and do what they need to do.

We started Bandstocks to provide an alternative to conventional record deals and to allow artists to keep control of their destinies and to develop their careers without the constraints and commercial expectations of the established record business.

FDM : Do you think record labels should take sole responsibility for the problems the industry is encountering at the moment?

AL : No, but they should take responsibility for their luddite reaction to the internet which is part of the problem.

FDM : There have been a number of similar fan-funded ventures launched in the last year. Why does Bandstocks differ from, say, Sellaband or Slice The Pie?

AL : We want to fund a few really good artists. I think the others are maybe more interested in the overall quantity of artists on their sites, but it seems to be working for them, so there's probably room for a few different approaches.

FDM : Could a fan feasibly become rich by buying stocks on Bandstocks.com?

AL : You can figure out how rich you can become by playing around with the calculator on the explore page of the site. You have a decent chance of making a good percentage return on your investment if you pick the right artists, but no-one gets rich on a £10 investment unless they've just bought a winning lottery ticket. Because we have followed all the regulations about offering investments to the letter we have to be careful on the site to warn people that they may lose money, but we also hope that the package of rights and benefits means people will think they have had good value for their tenner. The package includes name credits, a download, the right to buy a special edition signed by the artist and priority booking privileges. Also, if you invest in frYars who was the first artist to sign up, we guarantee that you will at least get your investment back when we do our first distribution next March. With a bit of luck, you may do better than that.

FDM : Do you see this type of model as the future of the industry?

AL : I think we will see lots of different new models over the next few years, but the Bandstocks model could play a significant role if enough people buy into the idea.

Most of the services that record companies provide can be outsourced so the missing ingredient is usually the money. There are already other ways of raising funds for your record - you can go to a venture capitalist for example.

But the reason I think Bandstocks has a role to play, is that as well as raising finance, it also cements the relationship between fans and artists and because the transaction isn't just about money, it means that we will continue to do very artist friendly deals whereas most other models are likely to make things worse for the artists.

FDM : Do you think this model could work with other areas of the Entertainment industry?

AL : I don't see why not. I could see it working for low budget films for example.

FDM : Tell us a little bit about the artists on the site at the moment?

AL : We have 3 that you can invest in at the moment:

frYars - very young, very original, electro made human by an amazingly sonorous voice and great lyrics like nothing else I know about. He's my tip for the Mercury list.

Jersey Budd - he could be the punt that makes people some money if the buzz that is starting to build around him is to be believed - great singer songwriter in more familiar territory - inspired by his heroes Springsteen and Dylan.

Martin Carr - of Boo Radleys fame. Martin is the first established artist to sign up to bandstocks which we take as a great compliment. A brilliant songwriter: his current solo album is a return to form.

FDM : What do you ultimately hope to achieve with the site?

AL : I want it to be treated as a serious option for the most talented artists. I want Jack White on there (when he's free from contract of course).

Bandstocks can be found here - www.bandstocks.com