We can’t really judge the merits of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke’s assessment that the large label-construct music industry is on the threshold of drawing its last breath, perhaps mere months from imminent collapse in his estimation.
But we can say with confidence, based on our own experiences of building and enjoying our personal music libraries, that the music industry landscape has dramatically transformed, and continues to change at a remarkable, rapid clip. It can also reasonably be expected to continue on its metamorphic way for some time to come.
Wireless devices that not too long ago would have been deemed unthinkable have opened up entirely new avenues in purchasing and listening to music. The case is very much the same from a creative production and distribution standpoint as well. With technological advances having engendered a transformative democratization of the marketplace for the sonic arts, it was, we suppose, just a matter of time for someone to hitch the wagon of charity and compassion to the meteoric ascent of the new music landscape.
Behold: fairsharemusic.com (“you download we donate”). This London-based charity-minded music content online store is getting paid with a purpose; meanwhile, those of us who sign up as members and can download albums for as low as $6 are hitting “play” with a purpose. It’s a thing of beauty, really.
News of the music website came our way thanks to recent reporting by The Nonprofit Quarterly, where Bruce Trachtenberg writes that fairsharemusic.com donates a portion of profits from download sales to the charities chosen by members who make the purchase. According to the website itself, that portion is significant: half of what fairsharemusic would otherwise retain as profit is donated to charity, and, remarkably, they go so far as to guarantee that the amount they will donate will never be less than 50 percent of profit.
Individual tracks are approximately $1 (it fluctuates, as it’s pegged to the British pound), so this other-oriented online retailer is able to carve out an appreciable amount of charitable giving with the music customer paying pretty much the same that they would through other online venues.
The library residing within the faresharemusic.com library is already reported to be some 8.5 million tracks. Top current favorites and featured releases available for purchase from fairsharemusic.com include the soundtrack to the hit TV show Glee and offerings by Eminem and Oasis. And the organizations who are benefiting from this incredibly clever music download delivery model include World Wildlife Fund, Amnesty International and Oxfam International.
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Photo by TalAtlas via Flickr.