The Hector Fund is an organisation that aims to help independent artists find the money to produce their material. They provide a platform in which an artist can offer certain privileges to fans like a signed copy of the album or having your name listed in the “thank you” section of the liner notes. These offers come at a range of prices for different levels.

At the moment there are only three artists in The Hector Fund, Linda Thompson, Bodega Girls and Alex Alvear. Linda Thompson is offering a free download of her track ‘Never The Bride’ exclusively for The Hector Fund.

This sort of initiative is important as it stops artists becoming locked into contracts whilst allowing them to professionally produce their albums.

“The Hector Fund is changing the way the world finances music by applying the principles of microfinancing to the music industry. The Hector Fund is supporting economic development in music capitals around the globe by developing an Artistfunding Platform that allows music fans to give financial support directly to their favorite artist in exchange for a more fulfilling fan experience.”

Muxtape is a platform for new music. At the moment, it’s still in it’s beta stage only playing their favourite artists. In the coming weeks, it’s set to begin supporting other bands who chose to sign up. The minimalist approach of Muxtape makes it look promising as a future tool for up-and-coming bands. “Muxtape strives for simplicity and believes that music needs a clean, unobtrusive context.” This means no forced advertising on artists pages and muxtape will allow the bands to sell downloads and tickets through the service.  Muxtape are set to grow and are planning to use an API to allow artists to expand the platform. Watch this space.