Free Download Music Sites On The Up

Breaking away from traditional music distribution models was very much the central theme this week, with the official digital launch of Radiohead’s In Rainbows album being received with such enthusiasm that the site’s server buckled under the influx of downloaders…

Radiohead’s launch was quickly followed by news that The Charlatans and Jamiroquai are planning similar online album distribution methods. Today, Madonna has announced that she is leaving Warner and brokering a deal with Live Nation, reported to be worth $120 million. Live Nation is an event promotion company rather than a record label, so one would presume that once Madonna has fulfilled her contract to Warner by providing one more album for them, she will be then looking to set up an online distribution site of her own.

Are Free Download Music Sites The Future?

Looking at all this, one might be inclined to jump on the ‘death of the record label’ bandwagon, but it seems inevitable that signing a ‘record deal’ for musicians will soon have little to do with production or distribution – it will instead be a purely promotional contract, and the artist can retain all copyrights if desired. As demonstrated by Radiohead’s latest venture, musicians can now easily control the production and distribution of their own music, having complete control over the music downloads offered on their site – all they need is the promotional muscle to create demand…which, luckily enough, they already have.