Thursday, May 04, 2006

More On Burnlounge

Check this out:


It is now officially time to call bullshit on this. Pay? Pay to be an affiliate and make someone else money?? I thought this was a cool idea before I saw this. I could see maybe offering a free solution to "fans" and charging people who may want some more custom features a premium. Anyone who signs up for this is a sucker.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am a Burnlounge retailer and speaking from a position of strength I can say that this the BEST investment I have ever made. I've turned a $450 investment into $5000 in couple of months and this is only the beginning. I have retailers on my downline who have made more than me ($12,000 in their 1st month). Everyone has an equal opportunity to make more than those who got in first. The compensation plan is amazing, even the monthly fees are commissionable, so it actually pays for itself. I have no overhead, no employees, no rent, no inventory, no shipping costs....I have a self-running business online. I have nothing to lose and so much to gain.

I sat down for dinner at Rick Dees's home alongside the CEO, Alex Arnold and other top retailers in the company. I have never met such quality people in my life. They genuinely have the purest and sincerest intentions with this company. There is something in it for everyone and I am so proud to be apart of it.

Let me break it down for those who don't understand.

WHAT EXACTLY IS BURNLOUNGE?

Burnlounge is a music & entertainment company that has used the viral growth of direct sales and power of personal relationships to establish distribution and sell digital content. Simply put--Burnlounge is the first company to recognize that a direct sales business model actually makes sense with regards to our product. Why? People naturally refer a good book they've read, a can't miss movie they 've seen, or a favorite song or band that moves them. Think about it--people are naturally passionate about the Burnlounge product--Music & Entertainment. Let's face it, the direct sales model works. Even with less obvious products. Are people really passionate about water filtration systems, telecommunication services, and air purifiers? Well, if the model works with those products, imagine what we can do with Burnlounge. Burnlounge retailers can earn commissions doing something people naturally do--promote the music they love!


IS BURNLOUNGE A PYRAMID SCHEME?

NO!!!!! Pyramid schemes are illegal. People love to jump to quick conclusions. It is
easier to have a lowest common denominator, a frame of reference. Bands
fight this same problem. It's the "they sound just like..." syndrome. The
problem is, comparisons often misrepresent the reality. People often assume
that because we are building a team of retailers and sharing in the
compensation they receive, that this is a "pyramid scheme". They couldn't be
more wrong. We have built the BurnLounge model to be unique, legal and fair.
We have combined only the best elements from the home-based, direct-selling
industry and the retail music industry.

We sell a real product that people want. One of the key defining
characteristics of a pyramid scheme is they don't really have a product to
sell. They simply sell an "opportunity". No one can deny that BurnLounge has
a real and credible product that people already consume on a regular basis.
We are not trying to convince people they should buy music. They already do
that.

New retailers never have to buy music before they can sell it. Another
common practice of illegal schemes is called "inventory loading". In other
words, you have to purchase a product before you sell it. At first blush,
this seems like a perfectly legitimate system. What store sells products
without first buying them at wholesale prices? Unfortunately, many
illegitimate schemes took advantage of this by forcing people to buy a
certain amount of inventory every month before they could qualify to receive
any compensation. It didn't matter whether they SOLD the product, simply
whether they ordered it. This led to thousands and thousands of garages
filled with laundry detergent that would never be used. Even other music
services like Passalong.com use this same inventory-loading model. In order
to receive compensation for selling a song (with Passalong) you must first buy
the song. BurnLounge does not work that way. Anyone who wants to become a
BurnLounge retailer has the ability to sell ANYTHING in the BurnLounge
catalog without buying it first.

Retailers do not have to recruit to receive compensation. With BurnLounge,
there are no "qualifications" for receiving compensation on personal sales.
You sell it and you receive compensation... every time. Again, many illegal
schemes not only have "monthly quotas," but they make it impossible to
receive compensation with "recruiting". Again, BurnLounge simply enables you
to sell music. If you want to do that on just one site, you can! But we also
build it so people who want to try and turn this into a larger business have
the ability to do so. However, there are no "requirements" that force you to
build that business through recruiting. The purpose of building a team is to
SELL MORE MUSIC. Another element of illegal schemes is that you receive
compensation for "signing people up" or "selling an opportunity". Once
again, we have built our Shared Compensation model to encourage building a
team as an effort to sell more music.

BurnLounge retailers do not build from the top down. Think of circles
building out from the center. There is not a focus on stacking, rather
expanding outward.

WHAT ABOUT iTUNES, NAPSTER, FREE MUSIC SITES, ETC...?

Great question--simple answer. None of that matters. You think it will--but is doesn't. Why? None of them will pay you! None of them provide a platform for the independent artists to sell their music. The list goes on and on. BUT--the best illustration I use as a rebuttal to that question is the stroy of Exxcel Communications. Ever heard of them? Here is the story: Once upon a time, there was AT & T, SPRINT, MCI, Etc... all companies who were much bigger to the telecommunications industry than iTunes, Napster and the free music sites are to the muisc industry today. When de-regulation entered the telecommunication industry, Exxcel used the direct sales business relationship model to sell the very same product. The same product AT & T sold, Sprint sold, etc... Only they provided the opportunity for anyone to earn commissions through the sale of those services. Same product, but a monetized system. What happened? Exxcell became the fastest (B)illion-dollar company on Wallstreet. Why? People are motivated by opportunity. To put this into perspective, think of the Burnlounge software as the vehicle that has de-regulated the music industry and has allowed everyone to cash in. Burnlounge will be massive. Why? It makes sense, it's fun, and it is attracting people who "traditionally" would never even look at a direct sales concept. And why would I, the consumer, want to buy music from a BurnLounge site and not from iTunes?

It's all about relationships...If my friend Mike told me his worship music was on his own BurnLounge website I would be all over it! Gazillionaire Steve Jobs doesn't need my $1. And since BurnLounge is selling tracks for the exact same price point as iTunes, $0.99 per track, why would I buy from Mr. Jobs...he's not going to help my friend...or should I decide to become a retailer with BurnLounge and have my own store,"I" can earn the commisions on the sale of music. BurnLounge will pay ME - iTunes will pay Mr. Jobs. Same product - different compensation structure.


HOW IS BURNLOUNGE DIFFERENT FROM iTUNES:

CONTENT SELECTION:The size and diversity of the catalog of music that will be available, including all of the majors (Sony/BMG, Universal, EMI & Warner), International, under-served, Independents, Island Hop, Reggae, etc... BurnLounge is committed to having the largest single library of digital music content in the world. We have access to sell this music without having to pay for it or negotiate the license agreements with the artists or record labels. BurnLounge is, and always will be about music and entertainment--NOT selling a device. Think about it--if we provide a platform for ALL artists, signed and independents, to not only sell their own music, but all music, where do you think they will find a home?

WEBSITE: We can have a professionally designed site in seconds, which we can personalize with the music we love without having to purchase it first! How many teenagers will think that is cool, and quickly jump ship for BurnLounge. They can own and operate their own music store. They will share playlists with friends, research new music, etc... and create their own communities of music lovers within their circles of friends.

MONETARY VALUE: We will get PAID to promote the music we love! Stop the pirating, start the profiting! BurnLounge enables people to monetize these personal referral networks, and profit from the sale of music and other entertainment products through multiple points of distribution. The question remains, how many points of distribution does your team represent? There is no limit to the number of teams or stores you can earn commissions.

BONFIRE IM: Free to anyone--Incorporates other instant messaging services so you can communicate, develop communities and share music the latest, greatest music with others. The teenagers understand this better than we do!

BurnLounge MAGAZINE: Our publication is professionally produced featuring hit bands, cool new products and the latest information in the music industry. It is a great marketing tool which creates culture to help you get more customers. Think about it--what if you were part of "Rolling Stone" or "Spin" magazine when they started? You can order additional BurnLounge magazine copies in your back office in the resource center.

MERCHANDISE: Music is just the beginning. We will offer ring tones, movies, books, posters, logo wear, "BurnLounge Wear", portable music players, video games, concert tickets, etc... to sell from our BurnLounge stores. These items are provided through e-commerce - you will have NO inventory which has to be purchased. So again, the question remains, "How many points of distribution does your team represent?"


WHAT ABOUT THE IPOD and MACS?


Apple DRM, AAC file, one store (iTUNES), three MP3 devices that work with that store and ONLY that store, tremendous market share which has begun to decline and a history of losing market share after refusing to expand past a niche market. (i.e. How many people have MAC computers, and how many people have Windows XP? Apple also had the first desktop computer, the Apple II and at first had large market share--75% year one, but 5% by year three) Apple has a reputation and proven history of focused niche markets.


Microsoft DRM, WMA file, EVERY other music store / service, including Burnlounge where you can get paid, EVERY other MP3 devices, currently 115 devices available that use the WMA digital format, and a digital format that the ENTIRE world uses. The Microsfot WMA format is compliant with the following: Sony, Samsung, Creative, iRiver, etc... For details on these devices that work with Burnlounge and the Microsoft file, visit www.playsforsure.com: or look for the PLAYS FOR SURE logo the next time you visit Best Buy, Circuit City, Walmart or Target.


95% of the world currently DOES NOT download digital music, and they DO NOT own an MP3 device. Both products will be available for sale through a Burnlounge Retailers music store, and you can earn the commission. If the entire world is about to start purchasing digital music and digital music devices, wouldn't I want the opportunity to capture some of that market share? Absolutely. With Burnlounge you can. It doesn't matter if you are shopping for cars, music or groceries--people want selection. Burnlounge provides it all--and you can get paid!

If you thoroughly take the time to see the vision of this company, you will understand why the rest of the country is so excited about Burnlounge. It's not a matter of "will it work?", it already is working.

If you want to read more about Burnlounge, go to www.rememberitoldyouso.com
You are welcome to download music and/or become a retailer :-)

BW said...

Sounds like someone hired a street team to do some PR spin. My analysis stands.

Anonymous said...

Actually, I am a burnlounge retailer, and it is free to register as a member to buy music from any burnlounge site.

The "fan" affiliation also allows a member to own a store front and sell music.

Anonymous said...

i am in burnlounge and it is bullshit and i knew that going in but theres one person in the world that i would get into this for and so i did. if anyone else brought this to me i would have said no. maybe someday i will post some real numbers on here so people can see the truth of the money that the LARGE MAJORITY will not make. i understand how people can get sucked into it but sit down and do some math. you may be lucky and make a shit load but the people under you are probably gonna lose money. i have done enough math to figure this out, and by the way you don't have to go very far to see that. this is a real guess but maybe 5 MAYBE 10 % will make back there investment plus make a profit. you make money by getting people "under" you, not selling music. that is the sad truth from someone who is in it. anyone tells you otherwise is wrong, i'm sorry. i don't think the owners are greedy evil people. in fact, everything i've heard about them(from people who have sat down and had meetings with them) say how genuine and motivated they are about the company. I'm not trying to put down the company, i wish them success. I mean, i 've got money in this thing too! the only thing that bothers me would be people with not alot of extra cash, maybe even charging the fees (me), thinking this is gonna be "extra grocery money" as one burnlounge rep put it. that was part of the schpeel. saying it can be anywhere from extra grocery money to a full-time money making beast. if you don't have the money to throw away, i would suggest you not get involved, being your chances of making that money back are slim. if you do happen to make your money back and some, your friends underneath you will be a bit upset ( like me and the 7 or 8 under me that i'm sure will never even make back there startup costs. burnlounge says we're unmotivated? i own my own home-improvement business so motivation is not the issue here. It just won't work for most people. Bypass the flashy ads and what people say "so and so" made and do the math. I believe you will agree. Sorry.

Anonymous said...

Burnlounge is ingenious. First, I would like to debunk the myth that it's a pyramid scheme. People seem to think that network marketing and pyramid schemes are the same thing. Absolutely wrong.
Pyramid schemes are illegal. The government shuts them down, people and prosecuted and go to jail.
Network marketing is a 60 year old business model that works.
People say that word of mouth is the best advertising. Paid word of mouth...getting paid to tell your friends...is even better.
Who agrees with me?
Bill Gates said, if he had to do it over again, he would use network marketing.
Donald Trump speaks highly of network marketing in his books.
Warren Buffett doesn't just talk about it, he started a company called Pampered Chef and is making good money as it's owner.
What sets Burnlounge apart is products and pricing. Multi-level marketing (MLM)companies started with products like soap, vitamins or make-up. You know the names, Amway, Shaklee and Avon. The products were overpriced but, if you sold enough and got enough people in your downline, also selling product, you could become a millionaire.
With Burnlounge the products are entertainment downloads - music, movies, books, tv shows, ringtones and alot more. And they are competitively priced.
These are products that sell themselves. You tell your friends about new music all the time. Why tell them to go to iTunes and give the money to Apple, Inc. when you could send them to your site and make a little money yourself.
If your friend decides to do the same thing, you have a new store under you and you make profit from his store too.
That's how franchising works. Ever heard of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Best Buy, Sears... They are all franchise - or - chain stores. You can find them all over.
This is like having your own corner music store. If you build a team, it can be like having 100 music stores.
The best thing about these music stores is the cost of operation. No building, no rent/lease/mortgage payments, no insurance, no employees, no stocking of shelves...
If you can't see the benefit of this, you don't know business. I suggest you read Why We Want You To Be Rich, Rich Dad Poor Dad, and other business books. You need to shake off the status quo and learn the secrets of the rich.
If you had to choose between poverty and wealth, which would you choose? With Burnlounge, you have an opportunity to make enough money to help people less fortunate than yourself.
Wouldn't it be better if everyone had abundance? you can help make it happen for alot of people.

Anonymous said...

Burnlounge laid off roughly 3/4 of its staff today...