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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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 ANALYSIS 
9

Watch an Ad, Get an MP3 Download: Genius or Goof?

Free All Music is innovative, but still might not work

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(Newser) – A new site thinks it has the answer the music industry’s woes: Free All Music will allow users to download a high-quality mp3 with no copy restrictions in exchange for watching a 15-second video ad of their choosing. The site then takes a user’s handle and uses it to produce another ad, for third-party sites, that announces what the user downloaded and who sponsored it. Users may download 15 mp3s a month—and perhaps more if Free All Music eventually sells more sponsorships.

The innovative ad scheme allows the site to sell multiple ads per download, but the business model still might not be sustainable, writes Michael Masnick for Techdirt. The site is modeling consumption patterns on iTunes, but iTunes pays record labels approximately 67 per download. Even with spinoff ads, it’s unlikely that FAM can wring 67¢ out of each download—so it will have to force record labels to settle for less.

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FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2009 file photo, The Beatles re-mastered albums are seen in a downtown record store in Vancouver.
FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2009 file photo, The Beatles re-mastered albums are seen in a downtown record store in Vancouver.   (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)
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9 comments
VIEWING:
 
BeatBlaster
Oct 2, 09 2:38 PM CDT
Why would I bother watching ads when I can just hit the torrents? Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+2
scootersrockin
Oct 2, 09 2:47 PM CDT
exactly Reply
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0
IndependentThinker
Oct 2, 09 3:36 PM CDT
I am down for this. I think there needs to be a balance between your stealing (torrent) and the record labels stealing (one hit wonders, 20$ CDs, 2% profits to the bands making the songs, etc). Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+8
PancakeDiplomat
Oct 2, 09 3:45 PM CDT
Genius. And like many people here, I download torrents for free already, but I'd like to see the artists I enoy getting paid for their work. I mean I knoow they get paid, but I mean I'd like to take a part in supporting them. I know what some of you would say, "then go and buy their albums!" and I would, really, but I just can't affor it these days :( So yeah, GENIUS. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+3
IN RESPONSE:
JackShephard
Oct 2, 09 4:40 PM CDT
The sad thing is that the artists are really barely getting paid from record sales. I don't know the exact percent but the vast majority of that money goes to the record companies. The artists make most of their money by touring and selling merchandise. So if you really want to support them, go see them live.
Vote up! Vote down!
+1

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