“Even as the recording industry tries to stamp out the
practice of distributing copyrighted music for free, thousands of
musicians are happily using MP3 technology to give their music
away.“
“As the recording industry and commercial artists like the heavy
metal band Metallica try to stamp out the unauthorized distribution
of copyrighted music in the form of computer files known as MP3’s,
tens of thousands of aspiring rock stars are happily using the
technology to give their music away — and more than a few are
beginning to see some payoff….”
“MP3.com, the largest repository of free music on the Web, said
it receives more than half a million visitors who listen to over a
million items each day. The company is perhaps best known for its
legal dispute with the record industry over adding thousands of
copyrighted songs to its database, a case that it is in the process
of settling. But its revenues are generated from advertising sales
based on visitors who come almost exclusively to hear unsigned
artists.”
“Last November it began to pay all artists, signed or not, a
small fee each time someone listens to one of their songs. And
particularly since May, when the company expanded its monthly
Payback for Playback pool to $1 million, it has become a source of
significant revenue for those at the top of the MP3.com heap, and
an incentive for the 75,000 or so others to promote their
music.”