Markets in Everything: Indie Bands

With apologies to Marginal Revolution, driving home this afternoon I heard a decent piece on trends in digital music on Fresh Air.  What was most interesting to me was the discussion of websites Sell A Band and Slice the Pie where you can invest in a band trying to make it and once they reach a pre-determined price point they cut a record and you get a portion of the profits, you can also buy, sell and trade your "shares" in the band.  It was mentioned on Fresh Air that this is currently illegal in the US as it would qualify as operating an unregulated stock market.  Hopefully Sell A Band and Slice the Pie offer apologies to David Bowie.  You can read more here, here and here.