March 11, 2008

By By Lars Brandle, London

Web A&R platform Slicethepie has landed $2 million in Series C financing.

Investors in the third round of funding include Microsoft U.K. director Mark Taylor, Mears Group chairman/CEO Bob Holt and Datacash founder Gavin Breeze.

The U.K.-based firm is the brainchild of corporate finance lawyer David Courtier-Dutton. Since launching with an investment of ?1.5 million ($3 million) on June 18, 2007, Slicethepie has financed 13 artists to record and release albums, raising more than ?200,000 from online investors.

"With the business growing strongly," says Courtier-Dutton in a statement, "we are delighted to have completed this third financing round that puts us in a great position going forward."

The cash injection accompanies the news of Slicethepie's first album release, Greenwich, London four-piece indie band the Alps' debut set "Something I Might Regret," released March 10.

Once bands attract ?15,000 ($30,600) worth of investment, the money is used to record an album. Artists will pay Slicethepie a typical ?2 ($4) royalty on album sales, but retain all copyright and publishing rights. Participating artists need only to sell more than 1,000 albums for their investors to start making a profit, Courtier-Dutton explains.

Fans earn cash by reviewing bands on the site for up to 25 pence (50 cents) at a time, cash that can be invested in bands in units of ?10 ($20). They can also trade shares in acts. Since going live, more than 600,000 independent reviews have been submitted to the site.

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