Magnatune - online record label - the way of the future?

[zoetrope]

(via Metafilter.com)
http://magnatune.com/ is a new online label. You can listen to and trade all the music free. If you buy an album, you download high quality MP3s or Wav files and burn your own CD. Pay a suggested price, or more or less.
Will this work? I hope so. read more info at the site, this guy has some great ideas.

[zoetrope]

I forgot to ask, has anyone had experience with Magnatune?

[jbuckman]

(via Metafilter.com)
http://magnatune.com/ is a new online label. You can listen to and trade all the music free. If you buy an album, you download high quality MP3s or Wav files and burn your own CD. Pay a suggested price, or more or less.
Will this work? I hope so. read more info at the site, this guy has some great ideas.

Thanks for the great plug of Magnatune! I don't know if it'll work out, but for what it's worth, this mention in this webboard sold two albums, 50% of which goes to the artist. It's a tiny thing, but shows the power of the Internet and blogs...

-john (who runs Magnatune)

[wing]

"We are not evil."

funny yet really great slogan!

by the way, i think the idea is wonderful. hopefully this will really take off.

oh yea, and i really like the artist you have on there "Williamson". good songs.

[@?,*???&?]

(via Metafilter.com)
http://magnatune.com/ is a new online label. You can listen to and trade all the music free. If you buy an album, you download high quality MP3s or Wav files and burn your own CD. Pay a suggested price, or more or less.

Knowing the Tapeop crowd, they'll pay pennies instead of dollars for what it's really worth. Lol. Buying label-direct does make sense though- you cut out the middle-man and the label gets the benefit of not having to whore their product for a wholesale price.

As for normally mass-distribute material, you can already pay as little as you want at www.half.com.

Fyi

[No Wave Casio Kitsch]

It's a cool idea, though I don't see commercially produced CDs going away anytime soon. Not in the next handful of years, at least. I heard of this website that used to do a similar thing. I think it was called mp3.com....

-Giahni

[heylow]

It's a cool idea, though I don't see commercially produced CDs going away anytime soon. Not in the next handful of years, at least. I heard of this website that used to do a similar thing. I think it was called mp3.com....

I agree with sentence number 1 but sentence number 3 is WAY off base....not even close.

Other than agreeing with sentence number 1, I don't have much of a hard opinion yet...I'll have to read through a bit more. This page (http://www.magnatune.com/info/plan) DOES make for some very interesting reading though. I'd be VERY interested seeing how something like this pans out over the long run.

Most of us still enjoy the record store/artwork aspect of record buying though, don't we? I know I do. That's about the only thing I have so far...records are a multi medium artform.


Yo, JBUCKMAN....nice to have you aboard and I, for one, appreciate you stopping by and chatting. Very interesting ideas.


heylow

[No Wave Casio Kitsch]

It's a cool idea, though I don't see commercially produced CDs going away anytime soon. Not in the next handful of years, at least. I heard of this website that used to do a similar thing. I think it was called mp3.com....

I agree with sentence number 1 but sentence number 3 is WAY off base....not even close.

heylow

I was being sarcasiticalistic. I know that's a web no-no, but I couldn't resist. Seriously, though, mp3.com was a pretty good concept when it first came about. It just got fucked up down the line. Big time.

I wasn't trying to rag on Magnatunes at all. My father actually sent me a link to their site a week or two ago and I poked around a bit. It looks as though they're coming at this with the right idea(s). The non-exclusivity thing earns them big points in my book and I hope they are able to be successful in the way they wish to.

-Giahni

[heylow]

After reading a bit more:

http://www.magnatune.com/info/musicians

http://www.magnatune.com/info/model

It appears that sentence number 1 is irrelevant as your contract with Magnatune would also leave you free to press CDs, promote as usual and even sign with another label as well as take advantage of what Magnatune is offering as long as you honor that they have the rights to do what you signed and said they could do.

Pretty interesting stuff....the labels seems to pretty honest about what is can/can't/won't/will do.


heylow

[No Wave Casio Kitsch]

After reading a bit more:

http://www.magnatune.com/info/musicians

http://www.magnatune.com/info/model

It appears that sentence number 1 is irrelevant as your contract with Magnatune would also leave you free to press CDs, promote as usual and even sign with another label as well as take advantage of what Magnatune is offering as long as you honor that they have the rights to do what you signed and said they could do.

Pretty interesting stuff....the labels seems to pretty honest about what is can/can't/won't/will do.

heylow

I think it's still a relevant statement. Obviously, with the non-exclusivity agreement, one would be free to independently press ones own CDs, though I'm sure lots of record labels would have a problem with financing a record when the songs are available so cheap elsewhere.

I'm not disputing that it is a good idea because it is. I just see a few kinks that could be smoothed out to make it even BETTER.

-G

[heylow]

I think it's still a relevant statement. Obviously, with the non-exclusivity agreement, one would be free to independently press ones own CDs, though I'm sure lots of record labels would have a problem with financing a record when the songs are available so cheap elsewhere.

Very good point.....I guess it would all depend on a multitude of things per situation. For me, as a buyer though, I will always take the full package if available regardless of the greater expense. Of course that's ME though....I also make it a point to actually purchase the music I download and enjoy.



heylow

[No Wave Casio Kitsch]

Very good point.....I guess it would all depend on a multitude of things per situation. For me, as a buyer though, I will always take the full package if available regardless of the greater expense. Of course that's ME though....I also make it a point to actually purchase the music I download and enjoy.

heylow

I couldn't agree with you more. I, too, would rather get the "full package." And I would also rather get the "full package" as a commercially pressed record with artwork and all that bull shit. I'd rather not have to do any work to enjoy a record....plus I have a ghetto CD player that is finnicky about playing CD-Rs. Physical product isn't going away anytime soon because the electronics companies have a vested interest in keeping them around in one form or another just like gas-powered automobiles are still around because oil companies have a strong interest in keeping their pockets lined with money.

I think it's going to be a while before pay-to-download works. Most people who download will probably continue to download for free and most people who want to buy the record will probably go out and buy the record. Personally, I have a very interested eye cast upon this and any area in which the future of media distribution lies. Will the iTunes music store work? eMusic? Magnatunes? Time will tell.

Sorry if this sounds a bit scattered. It's getting late.

-G

[mpedrummer]

Holy hell...I've just read most of the info here...I think I'm in love, conceptually.

[DryCounty]

Does anyone know if they will take music from artists that have self-released CDs? I just saw that Rapoon are listed as one of their artists, but this could be a one-off thing for them.

[sarth]

My only concern with the magnatune concept is that the deals seem to last indefinitely.

I can understand why they need a long term contract in order to pursue liscensing agreements, but if they really "aren't evil" I would think they would provide an exit provision. Even with a non exclusive contract there are reasons a musician may want out.

-- Sarth