Amsterdam based distributed band promoter Sellaband are partnering with US online book and music sellers Amazon, Tech Crunch reported this week. Sellaband works by letting fans invest 10 USD in a band of their liking. The fans can decide which music they like by downloading it for free. Once 5,000 fans have paid their tenner, Sellaband uses that money to record and promote a professional studio album.

So far 12 bands have reached the 50,000 dollar amount required for a recording. As long as a band does not reach the threshold, the fan (called Believer in Sellaband jargon) can still withdraw the money or invest it in a different band.

According to The Next Web the announced cooperation will include Amazon spamming its own paying customers with Sellaband promotions—did I just read that right? Also, Amazon’s top 50 reviewers will receive free review copies of Sellaband’s albums.

Photo: Sellaband’s Pim Betist at this year’s Hyves party. Source: Thenextweb.org.