Magnatune

I came across this website pretty much by accident. As I mentioned a while ago, in one of my old blog posts on intellectual property, there is a nascent movement of musicians and the like, trying to create an alternative to the recording industry. I found another website that is part of this, but unlike the other sites, this site has a broad range of genres.

It's called Magnatune, and if you care about the future of music, and your ability to listen to music however, and wherever you like buy something there. Here's why:

• You can listen to the full songs or albums on the site for free
• You can download an album, in a variety of formats (MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, etc.) completely free of DRM (Digital Rights Management) - that means, you can put it on your iPod, or Zen Micro, or whatever, you can make as many copies as you like, burn as many CDs as you like, without restriction or control.
• The artists get 50% of the price of the album
• You can choose how much to pay for the album (really, no kidding!)
• You can send a link for the download of the album to 3 friends, for free.

I love their motto "we're not evil." It's true, they are not, they are exactly the kind of record company that we (and the musicians) need. If we let the present record companies continue, we'll be spending $20 per album, and will have very limited ability to listen to it however, wherever, and whenever we want - they will have the control.

There is some very nice music on this site. I haven't explored the range of genres, and it's true, there isn't anyone famous on it yet - but there is no risk - you can listen to the whole album for free, and decide for yourself whether you want to buy it. So go, listen, and buy (if you can.)