An Interview with Burnlounge Co-Founder Stephen Murray

Authored by Scott Goldberg on October 13, 2006 - 7:54am.

DMW recently spoke with Stephen Murray, Co-Founder, President of Entertainment & Chief Creative Officer of Burnlounge, a New York-based community-powered digital download music service, to discuss their service and business model. Here are key excerpts from the exchange.

DMW: What was the driving force behind the idea for Burnlounge?
Murray: I had a record company with Carson Daly and a couple other people including Ryan Dadd. We were trying to figure out how to market our artists in a new and unique way, using a process that’s always existed, which is friends telling friends about artists they think are cool. We tried to figure out how to bring that organic process into the 21st century. So Ryan, myself, and Alex Arnold, we set it up to build Burnlounge about 3 years ago, and we’ve been developing it ever since.

What’s the Burnlounge concept?
What we do is turn fans into retailers. It’s this whole crowd sourcing concept, giving tools and resources to enthusiasts to allow them to become part of the entertainment business, to go semi-pro, if you will.

So for that to occur you need two things: One, a platform, which in this case is a virtual record store. We did that by creating the Burnlounge software that gives anybody their own customizable digital download store. The second thing is marketing resources. We need to give enthusiasts the tools of a professional, so we created an entire suite of marketing resources, some of them physical, some of them virtual. Anything from a magazine that they have the ability to put their information on to use as a means for promoting the content in their store, to web banners, to downloadable record-company approved posters from artists.

So with those tools, how do store owners go about getting customers?
The same way that you already recommend music: you tell your friends about the music you’re into. The difference is you’re not telling them to check it out at another digital music service, you’re telling them to check it out at your own store.

Explain the difference between a Burnlounge store and the Burnlounge Mogul program.
There are three basic packages of software and products that you buy, depending on what you want to do with the business: You could do it as a hobby, as a part time thing, or as a real business. Each of those people has a different set of resources, tools, and products that they buy as a Burnlounge package. But all of them ultimately still earn points unless they buy the Mogul package. The Mogul package is the software that enables you to do two things: One, it tracks your sales most effectively, and it’s in real time, so you can actually see the sales happening not only in your store but in all the stores in your broader network. The other thing is that it allows you to redeem your points for cash. So everybody is earning points, but the points are primarily only redeemable for products in your store, whereas with the mogul program you can redeem points for cash.

Do you have any major success stories from the programs?
We do. We don’t talk publicly about the kind of numbers people are generating. We’ll tell you there are people who have as many as 8,000 people in there extended teams, and obviously as you can imagine every single download that is sold through any of those stores generates a certain level of commission for the person who sponsored them.

How much do store owners get on each download?
They’re guaranteed 5 cents.

On to some tougher questions…Where do you think is the best music scene happening in the US?
I think it depends on what kind of music you’re listening to. Austin is great. Houston is a big center for Hip Hop. I think there’s a resurgence of the really great songwriter craftsman – there’s a big resurgence coming out of Nashville right now. I don’t know that the traditional music centers like L.A. and New York are necessarily a great scene at the moment.

Truthfully, the internet has made it irrelevant where you’re from, The Artic Monkeys being the prime example: A band from Englandhaving more fans in the US than in the UK.

What genre of music has the most passionate fans?
Indie music, by far. More Burnlounge retailers are into the unsigned, unique bands that you’ve never heard of than they are the big artists.

On that note, what’s a band or artist that no one has heard of but everyone should know about?
A guy who has been consistently in the top three and has topped the charts a lot of times on our service is a kid named Coffey. He’s a kid from Texas, a 6’4” African American guy who wears a cowboy hat. He has some really interesting stuff.

What’s one artist or band you’ve seen recently that put on an especially great show?
A South African band called Just Jinjer. They’re a really articulate, adept band.They put on a fantastic show.

Scott Goldberg

Related Links:
www.burnlounge.com

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Comments

Burnlounge

Submitted by Emanuel Daffron Jr (not verified) on October 13, 2006 - 12:05pm.

I first want to thank Stephen, and the guys for their down to earth passion for the business of Burnlounge! I am an Independant retailer, and an Artist whom has struggled with my own business. When I was introduced to Burnlounge something just felt right! The further I explored the concept I realised "WoW" I have something very amazing and viable in my hands! Very empowering I will say. I am not a 'MLM' guy or sales man, but I see the common thread here in Burnlounge taking it to very Real and community minded level. So Thank you for this opportunity Burnlounge, and to all those Nay sayers, Callosed hands are made to be smoothe on fine skin. Burnlounge is that skin in the Digital Age!! Rock on.. www.burnlounge.com/emuse

Burn lounge is a pyramid

Submitted by anonymous (not verified) on October 14, 2006 - 4:51am.

Burn lounge is a pyramid scheme like AMWAY for digital music. Maybe not illegal, but slimy to the core. This whole first comment is a set up done by a PR person. Who the hell in their right mind would PAY to sell music for someone else. The only way anyone makes money is by selling the ability to sell to others. Who need some major label hack?

Is that all you have?

Submitted by Emanuel (not verified) on February 16, 2007 - 8:44pm.

Well this is Emanuel Daffron Jr, in Bristol, RI, and I am not a 'PR' guy for anyone else but myself. As an unmanaged artist...myself, my man~ I do hope and challenge you to put the anti-consumer consumer madness behind you... "got it?" A grand step in the INDEPENDENT empowering relief of BurnLounge I have found. Being the (first)*(Owning) instead of supporting the thousands of dollars of software crafting brought together in one place. Other digital products to come along. Besides the ones in existance don't compare. Also not even as classy as BurnLounge.. Dood!~

So peace and lots of luv here. Got it? My evolution observation of the mainstream society is a beautiful thing. Hope you may grasp that? Take it slow.

Best, Artist whom license their content for free, can make 60 to 70% of the sales from any BurnLounge around the world end of Feb. 07 www.burnlounge.com/emuse Contact me anytime.

Pyramid????????

Submitted by J (not verified) on March 24, 2007 - 1:15pm.

obviously the person making the pyramid statement is a young broke kid. The direct sales industry is a 100 billion dollar industry, and companies like Amway do business in over a 100 countries around the world. The wealthiest man in my county is an amway guy that is worth several hundred million. If this really is like amway, and we have the opportunity to know about it NOW, in yr. 1..... holy smokes, sign me up!!!!!

re: pyramid scheme

Submitted by Michael Shane (not verified) on October 14, 2006 - 11:48am.

Dear Mr. Pyramid scheme,
FYI: Pyramid schemes were OUTLAWED in 1962...
PYRAMID SCHEMES offer NO PRODUCT in exchange for money. It’s simply money going up the ladder in a "pyramid" to the top person and they walk off with ONLY the money and everyone else gets NOTHING in return...
BurnLounge gives people an actual PRODUCT in exchange for their INVESTMENT which is the opportunity to open their own retail store, be it digital; it’s still your OWN store. Brick and mortar stores are closing everyday (See: Tower Records) because all forms of entertainment are going digital. BurnLounge simply gives anyone the opportunity to profit off this turn from physical sales to digital sales instead of iTunes taking all the profits. Furthermore, it gives unsigned artists the ability to have their music distributed digitally without going through a label or distribution company, thus removing the middle man.
Just as tapes turned to CDs and everyone said it would be a fad and pass by, the digital revolution will only happen ONCE, why not jump on the wagon and make some money from it? Or you can just sit there and buy it from here: www.burnlounge.com/musicagent

Not a pyramid scheme, just a pyramid shaped music store

Submitted by Alan (not verified) on January 10, 2007 - 10:31am.

No it is not a pyramid scheme, because yes, those are illegal. It is much more complex than that, but just as harmful to those who don't know what they are getting themselves into. Yes, you can make money, but primarily by signing more people up. So think about it: You are wanting to make money selling music at your store (note: Your specific personal store), but you also are signing up all your friends and family to set up their own store. So who is going to buy from your store? And on the same note, if you get 5 cents a download, maybe more in certain instances, you would have to sell 10,000 songs to make $500, which you are already paying just to get the right to sell music. And once again, if all your friends sign up too, they are needing to sell 10,000 songs as well to make that money back. So do you think complete strangers are going to come around and find your store and just happen to make that their regular place of retail? probably not. You will make money back for signing them up to the company though. Somewhere down the line though, people will run out of others to sign up with the business and they will start to lose money. But hey, what's wrong with swindling money out of your friends and family?

Every company in the world

Submitted by Max (not verified) on July 1, 2009 - 3:06am.

Every company in the world is a pyramid shape, with the CEO's at the top making the most money, so that is nothing new. Each business needs to be evaluated on its own merits and as you pointed out having to pay a $500 joining fee to earn a tiny amount on each song probably isn't the most profitable mlm to get involved in unless you have some existing traffic sources to leverage. Regards, Max

to learn more about this pyramid scheme...

Submitted by Marge Innovera (not verified) on October 18, 2006 - 12:10pm.

Big money is being made in Burnlounge by a few people who have no scruples about running a ponzi scheme. Read more information (both pro and con) here: http://burnlounge.proboards92.com/index.cgi

The Future Of ENTERTAINMENT IS ....... YOU

Submitted by AJWILL.COM (not verified) on October 28, 2006 - 5:15am.

My Name is A. J. Will of www.ajwill.com In my Career life I am a Celebrity Stylist & I love it. You can see a few shots of me with a some of them in my Celebrity Gallery on the above site. Well one of my Celebrity Photographers introduced me into Burnlounge and now I can make INFINITY INCOME with all of my clients ! www.burnlounge.com/willpower Lets face it, we live in a Celebrity Crazed Society. Why fight it ? I say .... Profit from it !! Net work marketing has been around since the 30s & its not going anywhere. However , How many net work marketing companies do you know that are appealing to the STARS!!! ? We HAVE : MADONNA, MARIAH, THE ELVIS ESTATE JAMES BROWN, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE & THE LIST GOES ON & ON ! I know your saying that's great but how can I contact any of these people...... That's where I come in ! Just take a look at my resume' on the site at www.ajwill.com and tell me if you would like to see any of those names on your team ? If so.... what are you waiting for ? Burnlounge is also a Binary with an INFINITY BASED compensation PLAN ! CAN You even IMAGINE the Spill over I will build beneath you? This is the first & ONLY MLM for the MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY !! Which is attracting so many STARS, poised on a "shift in commerce " a 200 Billion Dollar Shift, that is, from CDs & DVDs to DIGITAL DOWNLOADS ! We offer: Any Vocal Artist, Pastor, Speaker, Singer, Movie Producer, Record Label & or STAR, Free Online Distribution, Free Advertisement & Guaranteed Submission. On over 50 thousand sites plus we are about to go GLOBAL! We only started our 1.0 service in June 2006 and we are already 5th in the world for Music Volume with no formal advertisement! That's POWERFUL ! Also in Feb 07 we will begin offering MOVIES,TV SHOWs, Ring Tones, Verizon Music Phones & MORE ! By Owning a web site You automatically become an ENTERTAINMENT STORE ! But not only that ! Your now an A&R Rep for your distribution site ! Plus you have a very valuable jewel for anyone who enjoys or produces entertainment! Also You should know that ENTERTAINMENT is the only recession proof industry! When things are bad .... we escape into ... ENTERTAINMENT ! I mean really, we all talk about Music & Movies. That's why we even go to a movie ... " because your friends said it was good " RIGHT ? Has the Theatre ever sent you a check for all that FREE ADVERTISEMENT You've given them ? If so , I want the name of that Theatre ! lol Well Now You can get paid on ENTERTAINMENT !!! www.yourburncall.com/knbc/ This is a short interview with the CEO Alex Arnold & a few Artist who are with Burnlounge. There is also more info on : www.thisteamburns.com Now, Remember my resume' ..... My very next Celebrity Client will be on your team if your in before them! JOIN MY CELEBRITY TEAM NOW !!

Re: The Future of ENTERTAINMENT IS......YOU

Submitted by Scott Goldberg on October 29, 2006 - 3:13pm.

AJ - Wow, my friend. I doubt very seriously you've ever been accused of shyness. That was some break down.

Burnlounge Store Owner - " a voice from Burnlounge Store Owner"

Submitted by Patrick B. (not verified) on June 21, 2007 - 1:10pm.

I like Burnlounge. As a matter af fact I am very passionate about it and it's future! I believe Burnlounge is here to stay and that many store owners, musicians, and other affiliated businesses will profit because of Burnlounge. Burnlounge is a great company and several of us within Burnlounge believe that we have a great product with a great future, and there are many new products in store and on the way in the near future, with Downloadable Movies as soon as June 29th, 2007 (next week). I am standing up for Burnlounge and want more people to Stand up and say what I believe... I believe that Burnlounge will change many lives of those people who work hard for it. There are some people complaining about not making them enough money in Burnlounge, and many of those same people were thinking they would make money by simply signing up and doing nothing after that. It never works that way, you have to do the leg work, just as you do in a conventional business. Burnlounge is the 1st fan driven digital media superstore in the world. Burnlounge has done away with the MLM part of our business, so now we are only an Affiliate Marketing Model but still have the ability to create wealth. Our Corporate Officers are hard at work creating a New Affiliate Marketing Model, which they should unveil very soon. Burnlounge has appointed a brand new CEO that has allot of experience in the Music Industry and Investment Industry, as well. Note: I am not a representative of Burnlounge, merely a Proud Store Owner.

I am standing up for

Submitted by anonymous (not verified) on July 25, 2008 - 4:04am.

I am standing up for Burnlounge and want more people to Stand up and say what I believe... I believe that Burnlounge will change many lives of those people who work hard for it.>>> Wow, were you right! It sure changed the lives of Rob DeBoer, Scott Elliott and the other defendants who are being charged with running an illegal pyramid scheme! I tried to contact all of the people who proudly posted their Burnlounge websites here, but for some reason the sites are all gone. Gee... what happened? So, how much music did you wind up selling?