We're working on a protocol for this, this weekend. Check back to our site early next week for it. It'll enable anyone to write a protocol and use our services to remunerate artists online.
Do Canadian copyright laws differ in any significant ways from the US?
They differ a lot actually.. I read an article somewhere (I read some many these days) that talked about what if Napster was Canadian. In summary it was that Napster would have been protected and the RIAA/Government would have to go after individual users. I may be wrong, but that's what I remember.
Any news on when PayPal will work in the North?
Nope.. Our market here is relatively small compared to the US. Read: It'll be a while. We've actually toyed with the idea of setting it up ourselves... But Fairtunes is keeping us very busy.
I'm kinda hoping that Canadian legislators are taking a wait-and-see attitude to what is happening in the States.
That's usually what happens. Hopefully we (I mean the Canadian government) can learn from their (The Americians) mistakes.
I'm sure I'll be using it in the future!
Sounds good! You can even pay in Canadian dollars, because we hate websites that only accept US dollars.
Good point. But I have a hard time seeing a 15 year old wanting to do this. Though hopefully they will prove me wrong.
Also, you have to be 18+ to get a credit card (usually, at least that's the theory behind any "adult" site)....It would be interesting to know how many kids use their parents credit cards to make online purchases? Is the online revolution going to push down the "age limit" on credit cards so that everyone can partake in ecommerce?
How will services like eMusic/MP3.com capture the under 18 market if that market can't buy their subscription services?
What do people think about voluntarily paying your artist online for music you've downloaded?
We believe this is one answer to the MP3 situation and have started a website at www.fairtunes.com that allows you to do exactly that. It is the Stephen King model implemented for music. We allow you to securely send any amount of money using your credit to ANY artist.
But do we live in a society that can adjust to a voluntary system when we've lived so long in a system that has always set the price for us? Can we handle the freedom that Napster gives us? Can we be trusted to use Napster responsibly? Young kids will always pirate music, and we accept that, but is voluntary payment an option for everyone else?
If you mean sending money to multiple artists on one transaction we are working on that. Should be up by the weekend.
In terms of the actual cost of processing the transaction, once there is sufficient volume then the flat fee we charge will disappear.
Keep the suggestions coming. Matt. - i know what you mean about the moderation! try submitting the story/idea to slashdot. we've tried but nothing yet.
:) We actually own payartists.com. But we decided to go with www.fairtunes.com.
What is Fairtunes? Fairtunes is a website that allows you to send money to ANY artist directly. It is completely voluntary. You set the amount you want to send and we ensure it gets there. The artist is then free to distribute it as they choose.
Or you could use www.fairtunes.com to pay for your music. It is completely voluntary and we will track down ANY artist and send them your money. You even get to specify how much you want to send. Could be as low as $0.01. Plus 95% of your money will go the artist and not a penny is sent to the RIAA.
What needs to happen is a way we can pay the artists for their work and not the record comapnies.
This exists! Check out www.fairtunes.com. A website that enables you to pay ANY artist directly. No more need to buy CDs to support your favorite artist (like they were seeing any of your money anyway).
We've started a basic website that allows you to send micropayments (>$0.01) to essentially any artist.
The idea is that you obtain your song via Napster or through gnutella/scour/ftp/irc/imesh and then once you determine that you like the song you surf over to www.fairtunes.com and send a completely voluntary amount directly to the artist (we do not send money through their record label. it is up to the artist to distribute the funds).
I'm sure some of you are glad that Napster is gone and some aren't. But the fact of the matter is that this is an argument about the future of intellectual property on the Internet.
It's a story of the record companies using their clout to have a competitor forced out of business because they the record company are unable to compete and move fast enough in their own music space.
Some of you are screaming boycott. I couldn't agree more. But let's remember that in the end the artist does receive some of the money that you spend on a CD. So what to do?
One boycott solution: Don't buy CDs. Don't support the RIAA. Don't let them change the laws to suit their goals. But keep the artist in mind and when you pirate/steal/copy/download your MP3s send money to your artist directly. How do you do this? Go to: www.fairtunes.com. A website that allows you to send money directly to ANY artist completely bypassing the RIAA.
I'm sure some of you are glad that Napster is gone and some aren't. But the fact of the matter is that this is an argument about the future of intellectual property on the Internet.
It's a story of the record companies using their clout to have a competitor forced out of business because they the record company are unable to compete and move fast enough in their own music space.
Some of you are screaming boycott. I couldn't agree more. But let's remember that in the end the artist does receive some of the money that you spend on a CD. So what to do?
One boycott solution: Don't buy CDs. Don't support the RIAA. Don't let them change the laws to suit their goals. But keep the artist in mind and when you pirate/steal/copy/download your MP3s send money to your artist directly. How do you do this? Go to: www.fairtunes.com. A website that allows you to send money directly to ANY artist completely bypassing the RIAA.
If you want to get your money directly to the artist by bypassing the record industry middle man then try out: www.fairtunes.com. They enable you to send any amount of money to any artist online.
Enables you to tip all your favorite artists with your credit card (all online of course). And you don't have to provide your address and all that nonesense. All that is required is a valid cc number.
Fairtunes enables the listener (only been done for music so far) to download their favorite songs via Napster/Gnutella/Scour.. And then once they've determined that they like the song and feel it is worth remunerating/compensating the artist they will visit Fairtunes and charge a completely voluntary amount to their credit card. Fairtunes will then send that money to the artist selected in either the form of a check or a direct money transfer. It is now up to the artist to distribute the funds as they see fit. This is opposed to the record label doing it because we all know the record industry is not the fairest. A similar idea has been implemented at PayLars but they only send money to Metallica. Whereas you can use Fairtunes for any artist.
Do people think this idea is completely off the wall? Will it work for music? Or will the participation rate just be too low for the artist to make any real money off of it? Do we live in the kind of society where people can be "trusted" to remunerate as they see fit? Or do we live in a society that has to have rigidly enforced pricing policies and intellectual property laws?
Ah...relying on handouts. What a wonderful way to make a living.
It's not about handouts. It's about giving consumers the right to decide the price of music not some record label guy. It's about taking the power away from the abusive corporations and putting it in the hands of consumers and artists.
What are you going to do, send them a box of cookies? Warm and supportive Hallmark cards?
We could always create a system like this...
It's already been created. Check out Fairtunes. A web service that allows you to send money directly to the artist. The artist can then decide on the distribution of your funds NOT the record company.
if it's good, then I'll buy it. I'd RATHER cut a check directly to the artists
Great! This is the exact situation that the website www.fairtunes.com is trying to address. The site allows you to send money to artists DIRECTLY. You charge a completely voluntary amount to your credit card and Fairtunes cuts a check and ensures it gets to your artist. No more record company. No more middle man. The money goes to the people actually making the music.
We use http://www.strategicprofitsinc.com out of Vancouver who act as a gateway between our website and the Royal Bank's merchant visa program. We have no complaints so far.
Slashdot Mirror
Matt
www.fairtunes.com
Matt.
They differ a lot actually.. I read an article somewhere (I read some many these days) that talked about what if Napster was Canadian. In summary it was that Napster would have been protected and the RIAA/Government would have to go after individual users. I may be wrong, but that's what I remember.
Any news on when PayPal will work in the North?
Nope.. Our market here is relatively small compared to the US. Read: It'll be a while. We've actually toyed with the idea of setting it up ourselves... But Fairtunes is keeping us very busy.
I'm kinda hoping that Canadian legislators are taking a wait-and-see attitude to what is happening in the States.
That's usually what happens. Hopefully we (I mean the Canadian government) can learn from their (The Americians) mistakes.
I'm sure I'll be using it in the future!
Sounds good! You can even pay in Canadian dollars, because we hate websites that only accept US dollars.
Matt
www.fairtunes.com
Also, you have to be 18+ to get a credit card (usually, at least that's the theory behind any "adult" site). ...It would be interesting to know how many kids use their parents credit cards to make online purchases? Is the online revolution going to push down the "age limit" on credit cards so that everyone can partake in ecommerce?
How will services like eMusic/MP3.com capture the under 18 market if that market can't buy their subscription services?
Matt.
We believe this is one answer to the MP3 situation and have started a website at www.fairtunes.com that allows you to do exactly that. It is the Stephen King model implemented for music. We allow you to securely send any amount of money using your credit to ANY artist.
But do we live in a society that can adjust to a voluntary system when we've lived so long in a system that has always set the price for us? Can we handle the freedom that Napster gives us? Can we be trusted to use Napster responsibly? Young kids will always pirate music, and we accept that, but is voluntary payment an option for everyone else?
Matt.
In terms of the actual cost of processing the transaction, once there is sufficient volume then the flat fee we charge will disappear.
Keep the suggestions coming. Matt. - i know what you mean about the moderation! try submitting the story/idea to slashdot. we've tried but nothing yet.
You can even send a note with your "donation"/contribution!
Matt
What is Fairtunes? Fairtunes is a website that allows you to send money to ANY artist directly. It is completely voluntary. You set the amount you want to send and we ensure it gets there. The artist is then free to distribute it as they choose.
Check it out!
Matt.
www.fairtunes.com
Matt.
This exists! Check out www.fairtunes.com. A website that enables you to pay ANY artist directly. No more need to buy CDs to support your favorite artist (like they were seeing any of your money anyway).
Matt
The idea is that you obtain your song via Napster or through gnutella/scour/ftp/irc/imesh and then once you determine that you like the song you surf over to www.fairtunes.com and send a completely voluntary amount directly to the artist (we do not send money through their record label. it is up to the artist to distribute the funds).
Matt
www.fairtunes.com
It's a story of the record companies using their clout to have a competitor forced out of business because they the record company are unable to compete and move fast enough in their own music space.
Some of you are screaming boycott. I couldn't agree more. But let's remember that in the end the artist does receive some of the money that you spend on a CD. So what to do?
One boycott solution: Don't buy CDs. Don't support the RIAA. Don't let them change the laws to suit their goals. But keep the artist in mind and when you pirate/steal/copy/download your MP3s send money to your artist directly. How do you do this? Go to: www.fairtunes.com. A website that allows you to send money directly to ANY artist completely bypassing the RIAA.
Matt
It's a story of the record companies using their clout to have a competitor forced out of business because they the record company are unable to compete and move fast enough in their own music space.
Some of you are screaming boycott. I couldn't agree more. But let's remember that in the end the artist does receive some of the money that you spend on a CD. So what to do?
One boycott solution: Don't buy CDs. Don't support the RIAA. Don't let them change the laws to suit their goals. But keep the artist in mind and when you pirate/steal/copy/download your MP3s send money to your artist directly. How do you do this? Go to: www.fairtunes.com. A website that allows you to send money directly to ANY artist completely bypassing the RIAA.
Matt
Matt.
Check out Fairtunes.
Enables you to tip all your favorite artists with your credit card (all online of course). And you don't have to provide your address and all that nonesense. All that is required is a valid cc number.
Matt.
Check out Fairtunes.
Fairtunes enables the listener (only been done for music so far) to download their favorite songs via Napster/Gnutella/Scour.. And then once they've determined that they like the song and feel it is worth remunerating/compensating the artist they will visit Fairtunes and charge a completely voluntary amount to their credit card. Fairtunes will then send that money to the artist selected in either the form of a check or a direct money transfer. It is now up to the artist to distribute the funds as they see fit. This is opposed to the record label doing it because we all know the record industry is not the fairest. A similar idea has been implemented at PayLars but they only send money to Metallica. Whereas you can use Fairtunes for any artist.
Do people think this idea is completely off the wall? Will it work for music? Or will the participation rate just be too low for the artist to make any real money off of it? Do we live in the kind of society where people can be "trusted" to remunerate as they see fit? Or do we live in a society that has to have rigidly enforced pricing policies and intellectual property laws?
Matt.
Matt
Ah...relying on handouts. What a wonderful way to make a living.
It's not about handouts. It's about giving consumers the right to decide the price of music not some record label guy. It's about taking the power away from the abusive corporations and putting it in the hands of consumers and artists.
Matt.
We could always create a system like this...
It's already been created. Check out Fairtunes. A web service that allows you to send money directly to the artist. The artist can then decide on the distribution of your funds NOT the record company.
Matt.
Great! This is the exact situation that the website www.fairtunes.com is trying to address. The site allows you to send money to artists DIRECTLY. You charge a completely voluntary amount to your credit card and Fairtunes cuts a check and ensures it gets to your artist. No more record company. No more middle man. The money goes to the people actually making the music.
Matt
We use http://www.strategicprofitsinc.com out of Vancouver who act as a gateway between our website and the Royal Bank's merchant visa program. We have no complaints so far.
Matt.
http://www.fairtunes.com