Biz Bits - Kansas City Business Journal:

mozybyd.wordpress.com
Bandbox is a direct-to-consumer digital e-commerce platform that allows artistas to sellmusic downloads, CDs, merchandise and bundled packagex directly to fans from their own Web MySpace pages or any other digitalo site. “We’re like a digital merch says co-founder and CEO Brian Peterson, a veteran of majof labels in Nashville. The company is banking that it will capturw a percentage of digital music sales by reaching fans when they go to thei rfavorite artists’ Web sites. Currently, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Reba McEntirer and Paula Abdul areusing Bandbox.
Righ now, ’s iTunes digital music store isthe industry’as 800-pound gorilla, accounting for the majority of digitalo music sales. But when artistss license their musicto iTunes, they see little of the profits pennies per single. Bandbox says it returns 100 percenty of profits from digital music salewsto artists. Bandbox doesn’t make money on sales of song downloads, but takex a 10 percent cut of physical product sales and also sells premium servicesand advertising. Artists can also tracok data on who’s buying their music and use it to marke additional products to fans or decide where to routeea tour.
“The whole idea is to pick up wherew traditional retailers arefalling short,” Peterson says. “Artists have more controll and can settheir pricing, make more money and build fan — Jeannie Naujeck Nashville’s art galleriese are launching a monthly citywid art crawl to highlight the community’s growing art scene. The is hosting “Artg After Hours” on the first Thursdagy of each month, beginning June 4. From 5 p.m. to 7 galleries around the city will keep their doors open offering a variety of events such aswine tastings, art previews, lectures and artisr appearances and demonstrations.
Nearly 20 gallerie have signed on to participate in thefirst month. Seven U.S. industries boosting sales despite recessionnTimes aren’t so bad for grocers, dentistw and beauticians. They are among sevehn U.S. sectors experiencing above-average sales duringh the economic downturn, according to data compiled by , a N.C.-based company that develops financial-analysis toolss for accounting firmsand Sageworks’ clients store financial information about tens of thousandas of private companies.An analysixs of Sageworks’ data found seven industries that are experiencing growt h despite the recession: • Vehicle maintenance. Auto-repair shops increased sales an averageof 2.
4 percent over the past 12 In contrast, car dealers saw their sales drop 9.7 • Home remodeling. Sales rose 4.6 perceng in the past year for contractors such as electricianesand plumbers. Meanwhile, home builders saw sales fall at leasg5 percent. • Food stores. Groceru stores’ average sales increased 6.7 percent in the past while sit-down restaurants saw sales fall 3.9 • Specialty schools. In 24 months, technical and trade schools had top-line revenue growth of 7.8 percent, up from 5.9 percenft in 2007. • Dentists. The average dentists’ office saw salez increase 7 percent in the past up from 5 percentin 2007. • Certified publicf accountants.
Average revenue at accounting firmsgrew 10.2 percentr in the past making accounting among the top 20 growtgh sectors in the country. • Personal-care services. Skin-carew specialists, nail salons, barber shops and hair salons saw average saledgrow 4.5 percent in the past year.