Music Ally

Slicethepie has taken a big step forwards via a deal with social network Bebo that will promote its artist-financing model to the latter’s community.

Bebo users will be able to review tracks by new artists on Slicethepie, as well as investing in their favourites. They’ll get paid for every review they write.

Slicethepie could do this simply by launching an application on Bebo (or Facebook, or MySpace…) so what’s the advantage of a fully-fledged partnership? Presumably better visibility on the Bebo website.

However, there’s more to it. Slicethepie reckons that one artist a month will be financed as a result of the deal, with Bebo providing a “valuable promotional package” to each of them, although exact details haven’t been announced.

It all kicks off next month.

One of the things we’re tracking at Music Ally is how artists and labels are using mobile and online to promote music. And since we’re tracking it on an ongoing basis, we thought it was worth rounding up some of the notable campaigns for last month.

Not all are straight digital marketing campaigns – some are more distribution deals – but we think they give a snapshot of what companies are up to. See what you think.

1. AC/DC Excel video (above). Sony BMG turned the new video from the Aussie rockers into an ASCII-art video, embedded into an Excel spreadsheet. The idea: fans would be able to email it round workplaces without fear of getting carpeted by bosses. Watch It

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If you’re not a heavy Bebo user, you might not be aware of The Secret World of Sam King. It’s the social network’s latest online TV drama, following in the soapsteps of KateModern. Except this one’s got a strong music tie-in – it’s shot in the Universal Music building, and features regular cameos from UMG artists.

The label tells us that 5.4 million people have now tuned into the show, which is averaging 100,000 viewers a day on Bebo, plus more on YouTube. And now the show is getting a bit more interactive.

How? As part of a storyline about shooting a video for A&M artist Nick Harrison, the show’s lead character Sam has invited viewers to become extras, via a blog post on Bebo. It’s due to be shot next Monday, and will feature in the show the next day. This is the first time online fans have been invited to actually take part in the show, apparently.

A new survey from Synovate claims that 58% of adults worldwide don’t know what online social networking is, while of those who do, 36% are actually losing interest in it.

The survey quizzed more than 13,000 people in 17 developed nations, although it didn’t include anyone under the age of 18 – one of the keenest demographics for social networking. In the US, the proportion of users losing interest was even higher, at 45%.

With the music industry so excited about social networking, what’s your view? Are we leaping onto a bandwagon as users leap off? Or could music be one of the features that actually keeps people interested in MySpace, Facebook and their rivals?

Up until now, it’s only particularly switched-on kids in the UK who’ve heard of the Jonas Brothers, but that’s changing thanks to a big promotional push ? including an innovative campaign on Bebo, which uses mobile broadcasting service Kyte. The band are being filmed with a Nokia N95, with the footage being broadcast to the Kyte channel on their Bebo profile. It certainly shows the potential for this kind of technology, since in the past producing this kind of backstage / on-tour footage required sending a camera crew around with bands.