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BurnLounge Review (2024 Update): Everything You Wanted To Know!

By: Joel & Josiah

BurnLounge Review

BurnLounge was one of the first organizations to integrate multi-level marketing into the Internet age. From 2005 to 2007, BurnLounge executives and speakers convinced anybody who would listen that starting a digital music store, essentially a BurnLounge franchise, could lead to riches.

The BurnLounge music business did make a lot of money—for its founders, who were at the top of an illegal pyramid scheme. The money came from tens of thousands of want-to-be digital entrepreneurs who bought into the plan, not from music sales.

If you want to know more about BurnLounge, dig in and keep reading my review!

Disclaimer:
This BurnLounge review has been thoroughly researched with information and testimonials that are available to anyone in the public. Any conclusions drawn by myself are opinions.
Amazing business model
Inexpensive
You can earn commissions
Not BBB accredited
Misleading claims
Pyramid scheme

PROS

  • Amazing business model
  • Inexpensive
  • You can earn commissions

CONS

  • Not BBB accredited
  • Misleading claims
  • Pyramid scheme

Why Listen To Us?

My name is Josiah, and this is my Dad, Joel.

Together, we make up the team here at Scamrisk.

If you’ll let me bother you for two minutes, I’d like to quickly explain why I’m even here writing this review.

In early 2020, I had just graduated from college & had no real career prospects.

I knew I was destined for something more, but I had no clue how I was going to make it happen.

I had this sinking feeling in my gut all the time… like the “big man upstairs” had accidentally given me the version of life where I’d be mediocre forever, instead of the one where I was, ya know – happy & fulfilled.

Anyway…

I had fiddled around with some different online businesses in college:

Some random MLMs, a bit of affiliate marketing, a (failed) dropshipping store or two, all the usual suspects.

Even my dad had been involved in MLMs back in the day… selling knives & other random nonsense people (probably) didn’t need.

All I really wanted was to find something that was going to actually work for me.

Maybe those things had worked for others, but for me it all turned up a fat “0” in the bank account department.

So I searched! And searched… and searched… and searched…

And eventually, I somehow stumbled upon a program that promised to help me build an income online (read about it here if you’re curious).

I didn’t really want to be “rich”.

The thought of making a reliable $5K per month & not having to worry about clocking in to a 9-to-5 ever again was all I needed.

Sure, there were people in the program doing high-6 and low-7 figures per year… but that wasn’t what I was out for.

I just wanted to provide freedom for myself, and if I was lucky, take my family along for the ride.

Fast forward a few days and a few phone calls & I was enrolled!

Here’s the first “money making website” I put up:

I built that site in 2020, and it still makes me $1,500 per month. It’s a basic 5 page website I built based on a template the program provides.

The best part to me? My dad and I get to do it all together!

So between the:

  1. Ease of reaching $5-$10K per month in income online
  2. Straightforward-ness of the system to do it
  3. Fact that I get to do it w/ my family

Is why I recommend local lead generation as my #1 business model for making money online.

Sure, it takes some work and dedication – but anyone that tells you that there’s a business out there that requires no work is selling you a lemon.

I’m not saying you need to sign up for the same program I did, but I would definitely recommend giving the business model a peek!

Contents

There are countless information courses floating around the internet. Why? Because for every problem that exists, someone claims to have the solution.

And that solution is usually some oddball money-making system that tells you how to turn a casual interest – or maybe something you’re super passionate about – into sustainable, reliable income.

Just like BurnLounge. Here’s the hard truth, though…

Most of these programs:

  • Take way more time than you’re led to believe
  • May have hidden fees
  • Require you to buy multiple upsells in order to get the “real” information

But most importantly, a lot of these programs just don’t scale.

“Scale” means once you do the work to make a little money, it should get easier to make more money, not harder.

The problem is, most programs out there make it hard to make money at first and even harder to keep making money.

In other words, you might be able to make some money in the beginning, but it won’t be sustainable, and you’ll end up getting discouraged.

This is the exact opposite of passive income.

When income is truly passive, you do the work upfront, but then you set it and forget it. The money gets made whether you’re working or not. It’s not directly tied to the hours you put in.

So, what if there was a way you could build a passive income stream that’s actually passive?

An income stream that doesn’t require:

  • Inventory
  • Selling to friends and family
  • Selling to strangers
  • Recruiting people
  • Dealing with questionable products that weigh on your conscience

An income stream that brings in consistent monthly revenues (from a couple of thousand dollars to well over $10,000)?

An income stream you could actually build in your spare time, and grow as large or as small as you want to, without having to spend hours a day chasing, selling, or managing anything?

If that sounds like something you’d be interested in, check out Digital Leasing. 

TESTIMONIAL - STILL GETTING PAID

This is nothing like BurnLounge, and that’s probably a good thing.

However, if you’d still like to know more about BurnLounge, keep reading.

What Is BurnLounge?

What Is BurnLounge

BurnLounge organization was created in 2004 and is based in New York City. Its primary line of business was the BurnLounge online music store, affiliated with Orbital Publishing, which created printed materials for the company—previous CEO Alex Arnold (founder and former chairman of NuEWorld.com and former CEO of Excel Communications).

BurnLounge, described as a multi-level marketing company by Gartner G2, uses the phrase “concentric retail” to characterize its business model.

How Does BurnLounge Works?

How Does BurnLounge Works

Customers could review and buy music on the company’s website and communicate using a proprietary client. Customers who wanted to sell music through their own custom sites had to buy a subscription.

Subscription fees varied and included either an annual fee or annual fee + a monthly charge.

These costs only permitted participants to redeem their sales points for BurnLounge items; if they wanted to exchange their sales points for money, they had to pay extra fees. According to Fortune, the fee is five cents for each 99-cent download.

FTC Pyramid Scheme Lawsuit

FTC Pyramid Scheme Lawsuit

A U.S. district court judge has ordered the operators and top promoters of a deceptive pyramid scheme to pay a total of $17 million to compensate customers who were duped by the scheme at the request of the Federal Trade Commission.

The court ruling permanently halts marketing methods used by the BurnLounge business, which enticed over 56,000 customers from all over the country by masquerading as a legitimate multi-level marketing business and making misleading claims about potential earnings.

The FTC accused the defendants of running an unlawful pyramid scheme, making misleading profits promises, and failing to warn that most customers engaged in pyramid schemes would lose money rather than make money. The agency claimed that the activities were illegal under federal law.

As part of its continuous efforts to protect customers from fraud and deception, the FTC filed a complaint against Burn Lounge in 2007.

BurnLounge advertised itself as a cutting-edge way to sell digital music via multi-level marketing, although music sales accounted for only a small percentage of its sales.

The FTC argued that BurnLounge is a prohibited marketing scheme or one of the pyramid schemes companies since it pays more for recruiting new store owners than it does for selling music.

According to the agency, BurnLounge recruited consumers from around the nation by assuring them that participants earned huge incomes. Investors may purchase shares in the BurnLounge organization for $29.95 to $429.95, plus monthly fees.

While members were reimbursed for music and album sales, most of their income came from recruiting others to join the plan.

The defendants are prohibited from participating in the pyramid, Ponzi, chain letter, or any other schemes in which the reward for recruitment is unrelated to the sale of goods to consumers who are not participants by the court’s final decision and order.

The order prohibits making false statements regarding multi-level marketing enterprises or operations, including false statements about sales, revenue, profitability, or the legitimacy of the actions.

Finally, the court ordered the defendants to pay over $17 million to refund consumers who were burned by the scam. Juan Alexander Arnold and BurnLounge, Inc. were required to pay $16,245,799. Rob DeBoer was ordered to pay $150,000, and John Taylor was ordered to pay $620,138.

How Much Does BurnLounge Cost?

Customers of BurnLounge were awarded their own online store on a pre-made webpage called BurnPages by the court. They choose between three packages:

Basic package ($29.95 per year), Exclusive ($129.95 per year plus $8 per month), and VIP ($429.95 per year plus $8 each month). Selling music resulted in reward points, which could be exchanged for cash if the customer paid an extra $6.95 per month to join the Mogul program.

Is BurnLounge A Scam?

Is BurnLounge A Scam

So, is BurnLounge a scam? Not technically. You can make money with this program, but it’s definitely not as easy as they make it sound.

There’s a ton of work to be done upfront, no real guarantee of success, and – most importantly – it doesn’t scale.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with front-loading the work and making the money later.

But if you’re grinding it out for 3 months, and then your reward is being forced to grind it out for another 9 months before seeing any “real money,” well…that’s not a great deal, is it?

What if, instead, you could do that same 3 months of work (in your spare time), and your reward was a $500 to $2,000 payment that came in every single month?

And what if you actually didn’t need to wait 3 months? What if you could get started today and have your first payment in a week?

And what if you could double it next week?

Well, that’s the power of Digital Leasing

And you can legitimately do this from anywhere. It’s a true lifestyle business.

Your laptop and an internet connection are all you need.

Some of the most successful students in this program run their entire 6-figure businesses from:

  • A camper in the middle of the woods
  • A beach chair on the water in Mexico
  • A small villa in Greece

TESTIMONIAL - SAYING GOODBYE TO OUR JOBS

They’re able to travel around, living their lives first, and focusing on their income second.

Because even if they stop working for an extended period of time, the money keeps coming in.

So adventure, memories, and experience are the top priority.

And they never have to worry about how to pay for the next trip, or consider asking for time off.

If this sounds more like the type of life you want to lead, just click here to find out more about Digital Leasing.

Are There Alternatives To BurnLounge?

are there alternatives

Yes, there are plenty of other business models to choose from if you want to pursue making money online.  Here are just a few:

What Is My Top Recommendation For Making Money In 2024?

Digital Real Estate

Our review team has spent months researching, reviewing, and vetting dozens of business models and thousands of programs.

While there may be no “perfect business,” the research IS conclusive:

Digital Leasing is the #1 online business model for those just starting out.

Whether you’ve never made a dollar online or been in this space for a while but never really “made it,” Digital Leasing is for you.

Why?

1) It’s Flexible: got an hour a day? You can do this. Ready to drop everything else and dive in full-time? You can do this. Yes, the more time you put in, the faster you see results. But even with a little time each day, you can move the needle in a Digital Leasing business.

And because this system is so flexible, you don’t have to constantly be working to make more money. It’s called PASSIVE INCOME because if you stop working, the money doesn’t.

Imagine taking 3 months off to just tour around Europe, rent a cabin in the woods to write a book, hike the Appalachian Trail, or live on the beach and surf all day.

This is only possible if you have an income stream that’s not tied to your time.

TESTIMONIAL - JUMP ALL IN

2) You Own & Control EVERYTHING: With BurnLounge, you don’t really own anything. You have no control over the quality of products. You don’t even own your “business”.
Look at the fine print for most of the agreements folks sign when they join one of these companies. At any point, the company can change your commission structure, reduce your profit margins, or kick you out entirely.
With Digital Leasing, you own the assets, which means you have all the power and all the control.

TESTIMONIAL-FEELING-BLESSED

3) Little To No Startup Costs: It’s possible to get into Digital Leasing with zero dollars upfront. Because, using the strategies outlined in this program, you can get a client to pay you BEFORE spending a penny out of your own pocket…even before you do any work.

Even without getting paid in advance, you can have your first Digital Rental Property up, running, and generating profits for less than $100.

TESTIMONIAL-SCOTT-LEAD-GEN

4) No Inventory: Alright, so most BurnLounge doesn’t make you buy the products and fill your garage with them anymore (unlike the good ol’ days), but you’re still in a physical products business.

And physical products always have physical limitations. Even if you don’t have to manage the inventory, you still have to deal with supply chain shortages that cause major delays.

Imagine finally landing your first customer and losing them after one sale because they had to wait 6 weeks to get their order.

With Digital Leasing, a 100% online business, you never even have to think about that risk.

Lance Lead Gen

5) Easy To Duplicate: Ok, here’s the best part: once you have your first Digital Rental Property up and running, you can literally DOUBLE your income with a few clicks, a couple of keystrokes, and a single phone call (and you don’t actually need the phone call).

Remember: each Digital Rental Property is worth $500 to $2,000 monthly in semi-passive income (over 95% profit). Every time you decide to create another one and increase your income, it gets easier.

Because you have more knowledge, more experience, more results, and more momentum.

If you wanted to double your income with BurnLounge, you’d probably need to double the number of hours you spend working. Because, again, this program doesn’t scale.

TESTIMONIAL - ANNA DONE DEAL

6) Make Money Helping Real People: With Digital Leasing, you’re actually helping people by solving your clients’ biggest problem:

Small, local businesses need more customers, and with Digital Leasing, you are unleashing a flood of happy, paying customers for these businesses.

You make money by helping them make money.

Not a big, faceless corporation either…a small business owner who’s using that money to put food on the table for their family, start a college fund for their kids, or take care of a sick parent.

Once you see how Digital Leasing makes a real impact in the lives of real people, you’ll sleep like a baby with a big smile on your face.

TESTIMONIAL-BOSS-OF-MY-FUTURE

Now, the choice is yours. You could continue browsing, looking at opportunities like BurnLounge which could one day make you money.

You could continue researching, never making a decision.

OR, you could take a look inside, consider what you really want, and join a program that makes your dreams a reality. At the same time, joining a community of over 2,000 successful students that are living life on their own terms, thanks to Digital Leasing.

A consistent, reliable, semi-passive stream of income that doesn’t depend on you or your time to keep producing profits.

All while genuinely helping real people who are grateful and happy to pay for it.

If this sounds more like what you want out of life (or if you just want some nice side income), click here to learn more about Digital Leasing.

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