Originally from San Diego, Brian Peterson moved to Nashville at the tail end of the dot-com era when street teams were king and "social networks" still meant friends meeting at the local coffee shop. After seven years working within the major label systems (EMI & SONY BMG), in the areas of New Media/Digital/Mobile, Peterson plunged into the music/tech start-up world.

Peterson is CEO and Co-founder of Bandbox, a Nashville based company that developed the first digital + physical direct-to-consumer platform of its kind that is both free and passes nearly 100% of the revenue through to the artist and/or record label. This widget-based platform allows artist to sell directly to fans from any of their websites and social network profiles (e.g. MySpace, Facebook).

As labels manage the transition from a retail-only sales environment and adopt a highly beneficial direct-to-consumer sales strategy, Bandbox offers a compelling alternative to the proprietary, in-house options labels are considering. Aside from its strong technological advantages, Bandbox's core appeal is that it passes nearly 100% of the revenue to labels. "We've intentionally created a business model whereby our revenue is generated through other avenues, preserving total earnings for the artists and record labels," Peterson says. "We have a product that is as good as or better than any in-house tool being considered by labels. With 100% back, and a cost savings in the hundreds of thousands, there is a fairly decent incentive to sell using the Bandbox platform."