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Singer raises funds on eBay

A young Indian singer has managed to raise enough money to release his debut album by selling shares in his future royalties on the internet site eBay. Shayan, who writes his own songs and plays piano, took five years to get his debut album Deliverance recorded and released, financing the whole project by selling shares in himself on the auction website. The advertisement appealed for people to invest in the singer`s future, offering shares in his career "for every single piece of music I ever write".

This includes CD and DVD sales, concert earnings, and any money paid from appearing on radio, TV, press, or other media work. He pointed out that while the investors were taking a big risk, they were getting investment in the copyright, which exists 70 years after his death in the UK, and 60 years in the US.

"I needed money to record good demos. I had great songs, or at least I believed I had great songs, and it stemmed from there," he said. "I kind of understood how the industry worked in terms of the royalties scheme, so I put up an auction as an individual saying that if you invest 3,000 pounds in me, I`ll give you a quarter percent of my life`s earnings in music. Who would have thought that in a week`s time, I would have got three people to invest 9,000 pounds?!"