• by February 14, 2005

Now here's something to ponder. A jazz composer won a Grammy award last night for an album that didn't sell at retail. Come again? Maria Schneider's album, "Concert in the Garden," was distributed online through ArtistShare, a company that finances album production via the support of music fans. The Web-based music delivery service produced 10,000 copies of Schneider's CD - 9,000 available for pre-order to ArtistShare participants and 1,000 copies that will be auctioned through ArtistShare.

Schneider told Reuters that the record cost $87,000 to produce and that she's already made her money back. There are no profits to share with a distributor, record store, or record label.

ArtistShare takes as its premise that an artist's audience is the most valuable asset. The company enables the audience to participate in an artist's project by selling what it calls "participant offers." The ArtistShare Web site showcases the artist's life and work, and audience loyalty is built up over time. The site also serves as a software collective and a resource for artists to share technology expertise.