Home | List of Articles | Submit an Article | Contact Us

Lift-Off for Innovative New Online Music Store

Downloading music from the internet is fast becoming one of the world's biggest growth industries. A student is now trying to tap into the market by setting up a website for independent musicians to sell their songs on an international stage.

Hawksbillmusic.com, the creation of Joseph Lavington, an 18-year-old student from England, is open to all independent musicians - local, national and international. Internet surfers are able to download and listen to songs up to three times for no charge. If they like the track, they have to buy it to hear it again and the artist receives half of every sale.

Joseph, from the city of Bath, England, said, "There has been a lot of talk of musicians being ripped off by downloads. So many albums and songs have been leaked on to the web and downloaded by fans. The musician's rights are ignored, and he or she loses a lot of money. It discourages record labels from investing in new talent."

Several high-profile bands have taken file-sharing networks to court and won, and now record labels are suing downloaders themselves. But Joseph said: "The artists get a fair deal with Hawksbill Music, and much more cash than other similar services".
Each song will cost between 50p and £2, and once a purchase has been made, the buyer will be free to transfer it to CD or portable player. Users who have purchased a track are encouraged to share it with others, and will earn a small cut of any sales that result from this.

A wide range of artists, of differing genres, have already signed up including Reed Rothchild, a Los Angeles ambient-electronic composer, and Tetrix, a highly experimental Canadian four-piece. Joseph said, "I am confident Hawksbill will be a success, as a whole new avenue in the music world has been opened."

About the Author

www.hawksbillmusic.com

Related Articles:

Jealous Again - Jealousy Among Musicians - Jealousy – do you feel it? Do you sense it in others? Does it hinder your relationships with other musicians? Does it sap your confidence? Does it block your creativity? Here are some questions to help you get clearer about the jealousy in your life. 1. What is my jealousy trying to teach me? Generally when I have a strong emotion towards ...

Musician's Survival was Truly a Miracle: Singer Songwriter Fights for his Life - Every morning when singer-songwriter Michael Alan looks into the mirror and sees the surgical scar across his chest he is reminded of how lucky he is to be alive. Three years ago he suffered a major heart attack and a year after the episode he was required to have open-heart surgery. The heart attack caused physical disability and the onset of s ...

10 Characteristics of legal Music Download Sites - 1. Pay for use The major issue facing the recording industry is how to get paid for all the music that is being downloaded, swapped and sold online. If you are using a legal music download service, there should be a fee per song, per month or per year to have continued access to the service. In keeping with the spirit of the internet, mos ...

Five Steps to Protecting Your Music and Your Money - There are a lot of independent labels out there waiting to use a talented musician to make quick money. The offers may seem hard to refuse, especially if you are a struggling artist or band that has struggled to get a record deal. A little money and exposure may seem great for the moment, but you run a high risk of getting contractually bound t ...

It's Called Jewish Music, But Is It Really Jewish? - A while back I was driving along the Jerusalem highway scanning the radio stations. On one frequency, a very intense dance beat was exploding out of the speakers. I was about to move the dial some more in search of a Jewish tune when the vocalist started in. Shock of shocks, he was a heavily Hassidic singer, complete with eastern European pronuncia ...

It's Jewish Music, But Is The Music Jewish? - A while back I was driving along the Jerusalem highway scanning the radio stations. On one frequency, a very intense dance beat was exploding out of the speakers. I was about to move the dial some more in search of a Jewish tune when the vocalist started in. Shock of shocks, he was a heavily Hassidic singer, complete with eastern European pronun ...

Music Cellular Phone Ringtones - Ring tones represent an ability to customize the cellular phone experience, and customers are buying them. The worldwide market for ring tones topped $2.5 billion in 2004, very little of which was spent in the United States, where sales amounted to only $159 million. Ring tones cost between 99 cents... The ringtone ma ...

For a Complete list of Articles with summaries Click Here