Echo Republic Announces 'Music Stock Market'

Stratford, Greater London UK (Top40 Charts/ Echo Republic) - Echo Republic, the world's first joint music stock market and sales company, opened to the public on June 20th. Part music sharing, part e-commerce, Echo Republic strives to return the power of the music industry to its two most important members: the artists and their fans. 'We're not a company. We're a movement,' says founder Patrick McConlogue of the California start-up.

A movement that will quickly attract attention for its legal music downloads at a price point even the most penny-pinching college student can handle: 10 cents a song. What's more, Echo Republic's firm belief that purchased music belongs to the buyer means every download is iPod compatible and accessible through the company's cloud-based music library, Echo Encore.

But a revolution in the music industry requires more than just quality music at aggressive prices. Enter "Elements," an innovative service that enables fans to share in the financial success of their favorite artists (a feature available exclusively through Echo Republic). For every song purchased on the company's website, the artist receives 50% of the revenue while 20% is retained for service fees, leaving 30% of revenue unclaimed. This portion is divided equally among Echo Republic customers known as Element Owners, registered users who have purchased one or more of the 100 Elements assigned to each Echo Republic artist. 'Essentially, we've created an online music stock market, a way to reward the people responsible for the artist's success: the fans,' explains McConlogue.

The company is driven by a group of young college students from California with a passion for good music and an innovative idea to share it. Echo Republic is not the end game, it's a launch pad for unrealized talent and artists ready to break out.