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Selling Independent MP3s Direct to Customer?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the another-nail-in-the-riaa's-coffin dept.

jetsetsc asks: "I am not a programmer but I am a musician. My band's recordings belong to the band, and we'd like to skip the middlemen — labels, iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, etc — and setup a way to sell MP3's cheaply, and directly to fans. I have searched quite a bit and found nothing that fits the bill. Snocap is sort of similar, but they are more about a central store with a MySpace tie in. We don't need a fancy search, or a complicated 'if you liked this try...' feature. I figure potential fans can find our webpage on their own, referred by Pandora, a music blog, internet radio, or even (gasp!) a print article. When they get there it'd be great if they could listen to samples, check off the songs they want, pay 39 cents (or however much) through PayPal, and get a secure non-transferable download just like iTunes. DRM not required. I can't believe in this day and age that a service or software package like this doesn't exist. Any ideas?"

3 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. Secure, non-transferable... no DRM? by beavis88 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    and get a secure non-transferable download just like iTunes. DRM not required.

    How would you go about making it "secure" and "non-transferable" without the DRM part? (Ignoring, for a moment, that DRM is neither secure nor does it necessarily make music non-transferable)

  2. Re:Contradictory... by stoolpigeon · · Score: 2, Insightful

    here's my guess - he means they can download it but can't just email someone else the link. no controls on the file they actually get. so to download it from the band site, they must pay. what they do after that is up to them.
     
    and when you frame it that way, this question can be answered by making it broader. what software allows you to charge someone to download a file? that's it. the music part is really irrelevant.

    --
    It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
  3. Totally irrelevant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Everyone who thinks that people who make music, films, ect should just beg for tips ...

    A tip jar is not a begging bowl. Tips are a donation reflecting satisfaction with services rendered. A beggar offers no services.

    Perhaps you should ask a waiter why he is begging for tips. He might straighten out your misunderstanding.