The success story of Grupo Fantasma could very well be foretelling the future of the music industry. In recent years, the eleven members of this Latin-funk band have shown that today you do not need to be signed to a record company to come from nowhere and make name for yourself. The musicians, who come from various Latin American countries, met one another in Austin, Texas. Their desire to forge Latin, funk, reggae and other styles into something new made them decide to form Grupo Fantasma. The buzz was immediate and they produced and released their debut album themselves. The album was only for sale after their live performances and sold no fewer than 7,000 copies. Although the group was offered a recording contract they decided to release the follow-up album Movimiento Popular themselves as well. Grupo Fantasma supported Prince in his 3121 Club in Las Vegas and with that confirmed their reputation as a live act, a reputation the rest of the world can check out on their live album Comes Alive. Prince flew the band in especially to support one of his shows at The O2 in London last year and they appeared together on the stage at The IndigO2 at the after-party.
